The movie “7 Years in Tibet” is indeed based on the true story of Heinrich Harrer and his experiences in Tibet, including meeting the Dalai Lama as a young man. The young Harrer was filled with wanderlust, and when he was 24 years old, he ventured off to Tibet, where he planned to document the country’s harsh living conditions and its Buddhist culture. Although he expected the journey to be short, it turned out to be anything but.
Soon this young Austrian man found himself in the middle of one of the most treacherous and dangerous episodes in world history when he was captured by the Chinese Communists and sent to Tibet. The movie “7 Years in Tibet” is based on Harrer’s true story and it tells the tale of his journey and experiences in one of the most inaccessible and forbidden regions of the world.
In 1937, Heinrich Harrer joined the Nazi party. Six years later, he had become a member of Adolf Hitler’s personal bodyguard, the SS. In 1944, Heinrich Harrer and a group of other climbers attempted to summit Nanga Parbat, but were forced to turn back. The mountain was too dangerous, and they didn’t have the proper equipment.
Shortly afterwards, Harrer was captured by American troops and held as a prisoner of war. Harrer escaped from prison in 1947 and fled to India joined by his friend, mountaineer Peter Aufschnaiter. After successfully reaching the summit of Nanga Parbat, Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter, became the first Europeans to reach Lhasa after World War II. There, they met the young Dalai Lama, who was just twelve years old at the time. The two men stayed in Tibet for seven years, teaching the Dalai Lama about the outside world, during which time the young Dalai Lama taught them about Buddhism and meditation.
When the Chinese military invaded Tibet. Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter were two of the many people who had to flee the country. The two men had been living in Tibet for seven years at the time of the invasion. They were forced to walk for three months in order to reach safety. Along the way, they faced treacherous conditions and had to overcome several obstacles. Ultimately, they were able to find refuge in India.
When Tibet became under Chinese control, the Dalai Lama was in danger of being arrested by the Chinese. Harrer helped him cross the Himalayas and reach safety. The two men had become fast friends, and Harrer remained in India to help the Dalai Lama establish a government-in-exile. Harrer eventually became the Dalai Lama’s full-time tutor and advisor in Dharamsala, where HH The Dalai Lama has been living in exile ever since.
Heinrich Harrer was a transformed soul, from Nazi to Advisor to a Spiritual Leader. Upon his passing, HH The Dalai Lama said: “We feel we have lost a loyal friend from the West.”
Harrer had received the International Campaign for Tibet’s Light of Truth Award for 2002. The award was presented to Harrer by the Dalai Lama himself on October 15, 2002 in Graz, Austria. Harrer was honored for his “unparalleled mobilization of concern and sympathy for the people of Tibet.”
After all, Harrer wrote the 1952 book, Seven Years in Tibet. The book was about Harrer and his companion Peter Aufschnaiter living in Lhasa after escaping from a British prisoner of war camp in India. The book showed a glimpse of life in the formerly independent Tibetan state just prior to the Chinese invasion. Subsequently, Harrer had organized expeditions to many other parts of the globe, and became a champion for indigenous and occupied peoples’ rights. In his acceptance of the award, Harrer noted how his outlook on life was changed forever by living with the Tibetan people, and the Dalai Lama.
