Hermann Hiltl
Encyclopedia
Hermann Hiltl was an Austria
n officer who became leader of his own right wing militia, the Frontkämpfervereinigung (Front Fighters' Union), after the First World War. He embraced both fascism
and Pan-Germanism
without fully committing to Nazism
.
before being commissioned to Infantry Regiment No. 33. He also served as a tutor at Vienna
Infantry Cadet School. He served for the entirety of the First World War, initially in Serbia
, then Italy
, before a return to Serbia and finally South Tyrol
where he was captured and spent time in an Italian prisoner-of-war camp
. By the end of the war Hiltl had risen to the rank of colonel.
in Austria and he soon reorganised this group as the Bund für Ordnung und Wirtschaftsschutz. This latter group soon gave way to the Frontkämpfervereinigung, an organisation that served a similar purpose to the Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten
in Germany
i.e. a rallying point for militant nationalist
rightists opposed to the growth of socialism and communism
. This group however called for a unification of the German volk and blamed the Jews on preventing this unity. Hiltl was personally noted for his anti-Semitism
and when speaking to a March 1921 conference of the Antisemitenbund he called for Jews in Austria to be stripped of their citizenship, blaming them for the collapse of the Habsburg Empire.
In 1927 the Frontkämpfervereinigung was involved in a confrontation with the Republikanischer Schutzbund
in Schattendorf
, Burgenland
, on 30 January. When the Frontkämpfervereinigung activists were found not guilty by a jurythe socialist organised a eneral strike] which led to the July Revolt of 1927
Following this the previously shared leadership was done away with and Hiltl became sole leader of the movement in September 1927. By this time he had become a supporter of Italian fascism
and under his leadership the Frontkämpfervereinigung abandoned any pretensions of being pan-nationalist and instead embraced fascism fully. The group operated alongside the Heimwehr
, although it had a sometimes troublesome relationship with that movement due to Hiltl's support for union with Germany. The group also had a youth wing, the Jungfrontkämpfervereinigung, of which a youthful Adolf Eichmann
was a member.
, passed through his movement and he was guest of honour at the Nazi Party conference in 1929. It became a moot point with his death in 1930, although most of the Frontkämpfervereinigung ended up being absorbed by Austria's Nazis.
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 officer who became leader of his own right wing militia, the Frontkämpfervereinigung (Front Fighters' Union), after the First World War. He embraced both fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and Pan-Germanism
German nationalism in Austria
German nationalism is a political ideology and a current in Austrian politics. It has its origins in the German National Movement of the 19th century, a nationalist movement of the German-speaking population in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and had striven for a closer connection of the...
without fully committing to Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
.
Military career
A career soldier, Hiltl attended the military academy at Wiener NeustadtWiener Neustadt
-Main sights:* The Late-Romanesque Dom, consecrated in 1279 and cathedral from 1469 to 1785. The choir and transept, in Gothic style, are from the 14th century. In the late 15th century 12 statues of the Apostles were added in the apse, while the bust of Cardinal Melchior Klesl is attributed to...
before being commissioned to Infantry Regiment No. 33. He also served as a tutor at Vienna
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...
Infantry Cadet School. He served for the entirety of the First World War, initially in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, then Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, before a return to Serbia and finally 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...
where he was captured and spent time in an Italian prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
. By the end of the war Hiltl had risen to the rank of colonel.
Frontkämpfervereinigung
After his release he formed his own 'Batallion Hiltl' as a force against growing radicalismPolitical radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
in Austria and he soon reorganised this group as the Bund für Ordnung und Wirtschaftsschutz. This latter group soon gave way to the Frontkämpfervereinigung, an organisation that served a similar purpose to the Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten
Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten
The Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten also known in short form as Der Stahlhelm was one of the many paramilitary organizations that arose after the defeat of World War I in the Weimar Republic...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
i.e. a rallying point for militant nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
rightists opposed to the growth of socialism and communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. This group however called for a unification of the German volk and blamed the Jews on preventing this unity. Hiltl was personally noted for his anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and when speaking to a March 1921 conference of the Antisemitenbund he called for Jews in Austria to be stripped of their citizenship, blaming them for the collapse of the Habsburg Empire.
In 1927 the Frontkämpfervereinigung was involved in a confrontation with the Republikanischer Schutzbund
Republikanischer Schutzbund
The Republikanischer Schutzbund was a paramilitary organization established in 1923 by the Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs to secure power in the face of rising political radicalization after World War I....
in Schattendorf
Schattendorf
Schattendorf is a town in the district of Mattersburg in Burgenland in Austria with 2394 residents .The nature preserve Rosalia-Kogelberg lies within the district.- History :...
, Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, on 30 January. When the Frontkämpfervereinigung activists were found not guilty by a jurythe socialist organised a eneral strike] which led to the July Revolt of 1927
July Revolt of 1927
During the Austrian July Revolt of 1927 Austrian police forces killed 84 protesters, while four policemen died. More than 600 people were injured....
Following this the previously shared leadership was done away with and Hiltl became sole leader of the movement in September 1927. By this time he had become a supporter of Italian fascism
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
and under his leadership the Frontkämpfervereinigung abandoned any pretensions of being pan-nationalist and instead embraced fascism fully. The group operated alongside the Heimwehr
Heimwehr
The Heimwehr or sometimes Heimatschutz were a Nationalist, initially paramilitary group operating within Austria during the 1920s and 1930s; they were similar in methods, organisation, and ideology to Germany's Freikorps...
, although it had a sometimes troublesome relationship with that movement due to Hiltl's support for union with Germany. The group also had a youth wing, the Jungfrontkämpfervereinigung, of which a youthful Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
was a member.
Relationship with Nazism
Hiltl's support for union with Germany brought him into contact with the Nazi Party, although he was never a member as he hated party politics. Nonetheless a number of leading Nazis, including Alfred FrauenfeldAlfred Frauenfeld
Alfred Eduard Frauenfeld was an Austrian Nazi leader. An engineer by occupation, he was associated with the pro-Nazi Germany wing of Austrian Nazism.-Activism in Austria:...
, passed through his movement and he was guest of honour at the Nazi Party conference in 1929. It became a moot point with his death in 1930, although most of the Frontkämpfervereinigung ended up being absorbed by Austria's Nazis.