Hubert Klausner
Encyclopedia
Hubert Klausner was an NSDAP Gauleiter
and a Landeshauptmann
(premier) of Carinthia
.
A minor official's son, he went to Gymnasium
and completed his military service as an "Einjährigfreiwilliger" ("one-year volunteer"). Thereafter he served at the front between 1914 and 1918 in the First World War, where he was seriously wounded in 1915. When the war ended, Klausner was made a first lieutenant
. Having served in the Volkswehr between 1919 and 1920, he joined the Austrian Federal Army
in 1920. In 1922, he joined the Austrian Nazi Party, which he left in 1927, after the ill-fated Beerhall Putsch. In 1930 he was promoted to major – the highest rank that he would reach in the Austria
n Army before he had to leave for health reasons in 1933.
In February 1931, he once again joined the NSDAP, which won influence in local council and provincial elections in Carinthia in 1931 and 1932. Klausner was appointed acting Nazi Gauleiter in January 1933 and four months later, in May 1933, he took over as Gauleiter the leadership of the still-outlawed Nazi Party in Carinthia. In the time of the Austrian Ständestaat
, Klausner was interned in 1936 for a few months for political reasons, which did not, however, keep him from doing further work for the Nazi movement, nor even from joining the SS
, in which he was given the rank of Oberführer
.
After Anschluss
with Nazi Germany
, Klausner was appointed by Arthur Seyß-Inquart on 13 March 1938 to be the Minister for Political Decision Making in the first National Socialist cabinet, and on 22 May of the same year he became Reichskommissar Josef Bürckel
's deputy, as well as Austrian interior minister at the same time.
Along with all this, he also held, as of 1 June 1938, the office of Gauleiter of Carinthia. Hubert Klausner died suddenly on 12 February 1939 in his flat in Vienna of a stroke
. Adolf Hitler
even showed up at Klausner's state funeral in Klagenfurt
, and he delivered the commemorative address.
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:...
and a Landeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann is a former German gubernatorial title equivalent to that of a governor of a province or a state....
(premier) of 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...
.
A minor official's son, he went to Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
and completed his military service as an "Einjährigfreiwilliger" ("one-year volunteer"). Thereafter he served at the front between 1914 and 1918 in the First World War, where he was seriously wounded in 1915. When the war ended, Klausner was made a first lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. Having served in the Volkswehr between 1919 and 1920, he joined the Austrian Federal Army
Military of Austria
The Österreichisches Bundesheer , is the name for the military of the Republic of Austria....
in 1920. In 1922, he joined the Austrian Nazi Party, which he left in 1927, after the ill-fated Beerhall Putsch. In 1930 he was promoted to major – the highest rank that he would reach in the 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 Army before he had to leave for health reasons in 1933.
In February 1931, he once again joined the NSDAP, which won influence in local council and provincial elections in Carinthia in 1931 and 1932. Klausner was appointed acting Nazi Gauleiter in January 1933 and four months later, in May 1933, he took over as Gauleiter the leadership of the still-outlawed Nazi Party in Carinthia. In the time of the Austrian Ständestaat
Austrofascism
Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used by historians to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria with the May Constitution of 1934, which ceased with the forcible incorporation of the newly-founded Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938...
, Klausner was interned in 1936 for a few months for political reasons, which did not, however, keep him from doing further work for the Nazi movement, nor even from joining the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
, in which he was given the rank of Oberführer
Oberführer
Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
.
After Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
with 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...
, Klausner was appointed by Arthur Seyß-Inquart on 13 March 1938 to be the Minister for Political Decision Making in the first National Socialist cabinet, and on 22 May of the same year he became Reichskommissar Josef Bürckel
Josef Bürckel
Joseph Bürckel was a German politician and a member of the German parliament...
's deputy, as well as Austrian interior minister at the same time.
Along with all this, he also held, as of 1 June 1938, the office of Gauleiter of Carinthia. Hubert Klausner died suddenly on 12 February 1939 in his flat in Vienna of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. 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...
even showed up at Klausner's state funeral in Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
, and he delivered the commemorative address.