Adolf Schärf
Encyclopedia
Adolf Schärf was, from 1957 to his death, the sixth President of Austria
. Born into a poor working class family, he put himself through law school working part time and with a scholarship granted for academic excellence. He received a doctorate in law from the University of Vienna in 1914 and volunteered for service in the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces in the same year. At the end of the Great War, he was discharged as a Second Lieutenant. He entered politics and found employment as the secretary of the social democratic
president of the Nationalrat
during the years of the first republic (1918–1934) and served on the Bundesrat
1933-1934. After the fall of the Republic in 1934 and twice during the Nazi
occupation, he served time as a political prisoner
. Unemployed after the dissolution of the Socialist Party, he passed the Austrian Bar exam in 1934 and worked as an associate with a law firm. However, in 1938, he aryanized
the office of Arnold Eisler, a Jewish lawyer who had to leave Austria. He took over the law firm and it was never restituted
. Later on, he also helped in the aryanization process of buildings in Vienna.
After World War II
, he became the chairman of the refounded Social Democratic Party of Austria
and a member of the new Nationalrat. In 1955, he also took part in the Moscow
negotiations for the Austrian Treaty. He became Vice Chancellor in 1956, before being elected president in 1957 and 1963.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Born into a poor working class family, he put himself through law school working part time and with a scholarship granted for academic excellence. He received a doctorate in law from the University of Vienna in 1914 and volunteered for service in the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces in the same year. At the end of the Great War, he was discharged as a Second Lieutenant. He entered politics and found employment as the secretary of the social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
president of the Nationalrat
National Council of Austria
The National Council is one of the two houses of the Austrian parliament. According to the constitution, the National Council and the complementary Federal Council are peers...
during the years of the first republic (1918–1934) and served on the Bundesrat
Federal Council of Austria
The Federal Council of Austria or Bundesrat is the second chamber of the Austrian parliament, representing the nine States of Austria on federal level. As part of a bicameral legislature alongside of the National Council of Austria , it can be compared with an upper house or a senate...
1933-1934. After the fall of the Republic in 1934 and twice during the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
occupation, he served time as a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
. Unemployed after the dissolution of the Socialist Party, he passed the Austrian Bar exam in 1934 and worked as an associate with a law firm. However, in 1938, he aryanized
Aryanization
Aryanization is a term coined during Nazism referring to the forced expulsion of so-called "non-Aryans", mainly Jews, from business life in Nazi Germany and the territories it controlled....
the office of Arnold Eisler, a Jewish lawyer who had to leave Austria. He took over the law firm and it was never restituted
Restitution
The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery. It is to be contrasted with the law of compensation, which is the law of loss-based recovery. Obligations to make restitution and obligations to pay compensation are each a type of legal response to events in the real world. When a court...
. Later on, he also helped in the aryanization process of buildings in Vienna.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he became the chairman of the refounded Social Democratic Party of Austria
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
and a member of the new Nationalrat. In 1955, he also took part in the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
negotiations for the Austrian Treaty. He became Vice Chancellor in 1956, before being elected president in 1957 and 1963.
Suggestive abuse of biographical similarities
- The neo-Nazi song "Adolf's Ehrentag" by Frank RennickeFrank RennickeFrank Rennicke is a German singer-songwriter from Braunschweig in Lower Saxony. He is linked with the far right political scene in Germany, and describes himself as a "national bard"....
attempts to bypass German anti-Nazi glorification laws by pretending to be about Adolf Schärf instead of Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
; at the end of the song similarities are listed: both are born on April 20, both have been imprisoned, and both were leaders of Austria. - The same approach is visible in a poem by Wolf Martin, a columnist from the Kronen ZeitungKronen ZeitungThe Kronen Zeitung, commonly known as the Krone, is Austria's largest newspaper. According to a Österreichische Media-Analyse study, the average daily readership is 2,970,000 , which corresponds to 43,7% of all newspaper readers...
, published in 1994 on the occasion of Adolf "Schärf"'s birthday which caused an uproar at the time.