Seven Years In Tibet

Heinrich Harrer (1912-2006) was an Austrian mountaineer, writer, explorer, and a figure defined by the dramatic personal transformation he experienced while living in Tibet just before the Chinese invasion in 1950. His skied for Austria in the 1936 Winter Olympics, and co-led the first ascent of the treacherous Eiger North Face in 1938 (an ascent sponsored and affirmed by the Nazis). 

Though Harrer later framed his Nazi involvement as opportunistic, archival records show he joined the Sturmabteilung (SA) in 1933 and became an SS Oberscharführer in April 1938, soon after the Anschluss (the annexation of Austria), before entering the Nazi Party on May 1st. Hitler personally congratulated him after Harrer’s Eiger ascent, and Harrer himself shared that he wore his SS uniform on his wedding day and used party ties to access a government-sponsored Himalayan expedition. 

In British India in September 1939, Harrer was planning to climb Nanga Parbat when he was interned as a prisoner of war (POW) after WWII began. Harrer eventually successfully escaped with three other POWs. He traversed jungles, swamps, snowfields, and Himalayan passes until reaching Tibet. While Harrer’s curiosity led to a deeper respect for Tibetan culture, spirituality, and communal life, he maintained a Eurocentric mindset and often either romanticized or judged the Tibetans as “other” compared to Western culture.

Between 1946-1950, Harrer was integrated into Lhasa society; he learned Tibetan, surveyed the city, worked on flood control, and built a cinema powered by a jeep engine. Most notably, he tutored and befriended the 14th Dalai Lama, introducing him to film, geography, Western clothing, and modern technology. The Dalai Lama, described by Harrer as modest and intellectually curious, “liked to get to the bottom of things instead of taking them for granted” (249). He became a loyal pupil and friend. Meeting him face-to-face in Potala Palace was transformational for Harrer. Harrer transformed from a fame-driven, Eurocentric adventurer to a culturally immersed bridge between East and West. His early arrogance, rooted in athletic fame and political opportunism, gave way to introspection, cultural respect, and emotional depth.

The controversy of Harrer’s Nazi past peaked in 1997, just before the Brad Pitt film release. German magazine Stern revealed his SS and Nazi Party memberships, prompting Harrer to hold a meeting with Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, who affirmed he had no direct involvement in war crimes. Harrer described his Nazi-phase as a mistake, rooted in ambition rather than ideology. Critics, however, accused him of moral evasiveness and argued he systematically downplayed his past, even until the film’s release.

After leaving Tibet in November 1950 (Aufschnaiter departed later), Harrer eventually returned to Austria and continued exploring—climbing peaks in the Andes, Papua, and Alaska, and authoring The White Spider (1959) and other works. He visited Tibet in the 1980s and wrote Return to Tibet (1983), lamenting the cultural devastation caused by the Chinese occupation. 

Despite the controversy, Harrer remained deeply connected to Tibet for decades, organizing a museum, making documentaries, and earning honors such as the Dalai Lama’s “Light of Truth” award in 2002. Harrer maintained a close friendship with the Dalai Lama, and the Dalai Lama honors him as someone who brought Tibetan culture to the world. On his death in 2006, Tibetan exiled leaders called him a lifelong friend who bore witness to their struggle.