Alfred Frauenfeld
Encyclopedia
Alfred Eduard Frauenfeld (18 May 1898 in Vienna
- 10 May 1977 in Hamburg
) was an Austria
n Nazi
leader. An engineer by occupation, he was associated with the pro-Nazi Germany
wing of Austrian Nazism.
's movement, before becoming a highly influential figure amongst the city's Nazis during the late 1920s. He was confirmed by Adolf Hitler
as Nazi Gauleiter
in Vienna in 1930. In this role he became hugely active, organising over 1000 propaganda
meetings in three years and founding a party newspaper Der Kampfruf with his own money in 1930, before ultimately running four Nazi dailies and four weeklies. Under his command the Nazis became an important force in Vienna, winning almost ten times as many votes in the 1932 elections as they did in 1930. Frauenfeld's success saw him considered for the post of leader of the Austrian Nazi Party in 1931, although ultimately Theodor Habicht
was chosen for the role by Gregor Strasser
on Hitler's advice.
Frauenfeld became associated with the terrorist activities of the Nazis within Austria and in June 1933 he was held at Wöllersdorf internment camp. He was also closely involved with Habicht in the abortive putsch of 1934.
, of which Frauenfeld had long been an advocate, the popular local was a leading choice for the role of Gauleiter of Vienna. However in what proved to be a fraught selection process Frauenfeld lost out to Odilo Globocnik
, an old rival from Carinthia
. He was not sidelined completely however and found a number of positions within the Nazi administration. He was something of a patron of the arts and enjoyed a close relationship with the conductor Clemens Krauss
and had also been an actor and so within the Reich Chamber of Culture Frauenfeld served as managing director of the Theatre Chamber.
Later he served under Erich Koch
as the General Commissar for Crimea
and in this role Prof Dietrich Orlow grouped him along with the Commissar for Belarus
Wilhelm Kube
as being a "rehab" - that is to say Nazis who had fallen from grace but were able to make a comeback in the eastern administration. Whilst his time in charge saw a surprisingly high level of co-operation between the occupation government and the local administration, it has been argued that this was more the work of Erich von Manstein
and that Frauenfeld instead spent most of his time in the Crimea trying to prove the Gothic
origins of local culture. He had also hoped to transfer the South Tyrolean
population to the region in order to unite them with their kin as a common Nazi belief suggested that the German inhabitants of South Tyrol
were descendants of Goths. Frauenfeld further wished to settle the Volga Germans and the Russian Germans of North America to the peninsula. Frauenfeld's role had originally been intended for his fellow Austrian Josef Leopold
although his death left the position open. He re-emerged in Vienna in 1945 as an official spokesman for the Gau.
where he was manager of a building firm. He also was close to Gustav Adolf Scheel
who was active in similar secret societies.
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
- 10 May 1977 in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
) was an Austria
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...
n Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
leader. An engineer by occupation, he was associated with the pro-Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
wing of Austrian Nazism.
Activism in Austria
Frauenfeld first came to prominence in Vienna, initially in Hermann HiltlHermann Hiltl
Hermann Hiltl was an Austrian officer who became leader of his own right wing militia, the Frontkämpfervereinigung , after the First World War...
's movement, before becoming a highly influential figure amongst the city's Nazis during the late 1920s. He was confirmed by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf 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...
as Nazi Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
in Vienna in 1930. In this role he became hugely active, organising over 1000 propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
meetings in three years and founding a party newspaper Der Kampfruf with his own money in 1930, before ultimately running four Nazi dailies and four weeklies. Under his command the Nazis became an important force in Vienna, winning almost ten times as many votes in the 1932 elections as they did in 1930. Frauenfeld's success saw him considered for the post of leader of the Austrian Nazi Party in 1931, although ultimately Theodor Habicht
Theodor Habicht
Theodor Habicht was a leading political figure in Nazi Germany. He played a leading role in the Austrian movement.-Early years:...
was chosen for the role by Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser was a politician of the National Socialist German Workers Party...
on Hitler's advice.
Frauenfeld became associated with the terrorist activities of the Nazis within Austria and in June 1933 he was held at Wöllersdorf internment camp. He was also closely involved with Habicht in the abortive putsch of 1934.
Under the Nazis
Following the AnschlussAnschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
, of which Frauenfeld had long been an advocate, the popular local was a leading choice for the role of Gauleiter of Vienna. However in what proved to be a fraught selection process Frauenfeld lost out to Odilo Globocnik
Odilo Globocnik
Odilo Lotario Globocnik was a prominent Austrian Nazi and later an SS leader. He was an acquaintance of Adolf Eichmann, who played a major role in the extermination of Jews and others during the Holocaust...
, an old rival from Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
. He was not sidelined completely however and found a number of positions within the Nazi administration. He was something of a patron of the arts and enjoyed a close relationship with the conductor Clemens Krauss
Clemens Krauss
Clemens Heinrich Krauss was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss.-Biography:...
and had also been an actor and so within the Reich Chamber of Culture Frauenfeld served as managing director of the Theatre Chamber.
Later he served under Erich Koch
Erich Koch
Erich Koch was a Gauleiter of the Nazi Party in East Prussia from 1928 until 1945. Between 1941 and 1945 he was the Chief of Civil Administration of Bezirk Bialystok. During this period, he was also the Reichskommissar in Reichskommissariat Ukraine from 1941 until 1943...
as the General Commissar for Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
and in this role Prof Dietrich Orlow grouped him along with the Commissar for Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
Wilhelm Kube
Wilhelm Kube
Wilhelm Kube was a German politician and Nazi official. He was an important figure in the German Christian movement during the early years of Nazi rule. During the war he became a senior official in the occupying government of the Soviet Union, achieving the rank of Generalkommissar for...
as being a "rehab" - that is to say Nazis who had fallen from grace but were able to make a comeback in the eastern administration. Whilst his time in charge saw a surprisingly high level of co-operation between the occupation government and the local administration, it has been argued that this was more the work of Erich von Manstein
Erich von Manstein
Erich von Manstein was a field marshal in World War II. He became one of the most prominent commanders of Germany's World War II armed forces...
and that Frauenfeld instead spent most of his time in the Crimea trying to prove the Gothic
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
origins of local culture. He had also hoped to transfer the South Tyrolean
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
population to the region in order to unite them with their kin as a common Nazi belief suggested that the German inhabitants of South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
were descendants of Goths. Frauenfeld further wished to settle the Volga Germans and the Russian Germans of North America to the peninsula. Frauenfeld's role had originally been intended for his fellow Austrian Josef Leopold
Josef Leopold
Josef Leopold was a leading member of the Nazi Party in Austria. He was the Landesleiter of the party from 1935 to 1938 and the head of the Sturmabteilung in Austria...
although his death left the position open. He re-emerged in Vienna in 1945 as an official spokesman for the Gau.
Post-war activity
Frauenfeld, who finished the war in Germany, was sentenced in absentia to 15 years imprisonment by a Vienna court in 1947. According to a German secret service report on 22 July 1949 Fraunefeld joined a secret "Bruderschaft" of crypto-neo Nazis in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
where he was manager of a building firm. He also was close to Gustav Adolf Scheel
Gustav Adolf Scheel
Gustav Adolf Scheel was a German physician and "multifunctionary" in the time of the Third Reich...
who was active in similar secret societies.