Theodor Habicht
Encyclopedia
Theodor Habicht was a leading political figure in Nazi Germany
. He played a leading role in the Austria
n movement.
and educated in his hometown and Berlin
, he volunteered for the German Imperial Army in 1915, serving on the Western Front
and at Isonzo in Italy
. Briefly involved with communism
after his 1919 demobilization
he soon took part in skirmishes against the Spartacist League
before settling into various low-level white-collar jobs.
for Nassau
and theoretically retained this position until 1938.
Under orders from Adolf Hitler
he was sent to Austria in 1931 as Landesinspekteur to oversee the reorganization of the Nazi Party in the country, and before long he was the effective leader of the group, despite official control resting with Alfred Proksch
. Under Habicht the Nazis experienced growth, mostly at the expense of the Heimwehr
, many of whose members switched over to Nazism
.Initially Engelbert Dollfuß attempted a conciliation, notably offering Habicht two Nazi cabinet seats, before trying to get Italy
to exert pressure on Hitler to restrain Habicht's anti-government activities. Habicht was deported in 1933 after the Austrian government finally decided to ban the Nazi Party outright. In response Habicht set up a leadership-in-exile in Munich
which directed a campaign of terror against the Dollfuß regime which culminated in a failed coup attempt in the murder of Dollfuß in July 1934. An unpopular figure with many of the Austrians, he was excluded from the country after this failure as Hitler placed the blame on Habicht, who had been responsible for determining the details of the coup attempt.
mountains before being allowed to take up the post of mayor of Wittenberg
in 1937. His reputation partially restored, Habicht returned to a more important role in the Nazi Party in 1939 when he was appointed Undersecretary in the Foreign Department of the Nazi Party. As part of his duties he was sent to Norway
in 1940 to investigate the organization of government in the newly occupied territory and he called for the removal of the Vidkun Quisling
government and its replacement with an administrative council. Initially he had hoped to give any regime more legitimacy by placing the popular Paal Olav Berg
at its head rather than the minor figure of Quisling, although Berg rejected any such settlement.However, when his plans were rejected by Johan Nygaardsvold
and Haakon VII of Norway
Hitler once again lost faith in Habicht and ordered him into the Wehrmacht
. He spent the remainder of his life on the Eastern Front
and died in action there at Nevel
.
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...
. He played a leading role 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 movement.
Early years
Born in WiesbadenWiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
and educated in his hometown and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, he volunteered for the German Imperial Army in 1915, serving on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
and at Isonzo in 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...
. Briefly involved with 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...
after his 1919 demobilization
Demobilization
Demobilization is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and military force will not be necessary...
he soon took part in skirmishes against the Spartacist League
Spartacist League
The Spartacus League was a left-wing Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. The League was named after Spartacus, leader of the largest slave rebellion of the Roman Republic...
before settling into various low-level white-collar jobs.
Nazi leader
Habicht joined the Nazi Party in 1926 and established a number of local journals for the group, whilst also serving as a member of the Hesse-Nassau assembly and the leader of the Nazis on Wiesbaden council. By 1931 he had also been elected to the ReichstagReichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
for Nassau
Nassau, Germany
Nassau is a town located in the German Land of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies in the Lahn River valley between the cities of Bad Ems and Limburg an der Lahn. Nassau is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Nassau. The town is on the German-Dutch holiday road, the Orange Route...
and theoretically retained this position until 1938.
Under orders from 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...
he was sent to Austria in 1931 as Landesinspekteur to oversee the reorganization of the Nazi Party in the country, and before long he was the effective leader of the group, despite official control resting with Alfred Proksch
Alfred Proksch (politician)
Alfred Proksch Alfred Proksch Alfred Proksch (8 March, 1891, in Larischau was an Austrian Nazi Party official.Proksch enrolled in the Kaiser Infantry Regiment No. 1 of the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1910 and then the Railway Academy in Linz in 1912 before taking a job with the government railways....
. Under Habicht the Nazis experienced growth, mostly at the expense of 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...
, many of whose members switched over 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...
.Initially Engelbert Dollfuß attempted a conciliation, notably offering Habicht two Nazi cabinet seats, before trying to get Italy
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...
to exert pressure on Hitler to restrain Habicht's anti-government activities. Habicht was deported in 1933 after the Austrian government finally decided to ban the Nazi Party outright. In response Habicht set up a leadership-in-exile in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
which directed a campaign of terror against the Dollfuß regime which culminated in a failed coup attempt in the murder of Dollfuß in July 1934. An unpopular figure with many of the Austrians, he was excluded from the country after this failure as Hitler placed the blame on Habicht, who had been responsible for determining the details of the coup attempt.
Post-Anschluss
Severely discredited by the failure, Habicht went into seclusion in the HarzHarz
The Harz is the highest mountain range in northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart , latinized as Hercynia. The legendary Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz...
mountains before being allowed to take up the post of mayor of Wittenberg
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
in 1937. His reputation partially restored, Habicht returned to a more important role in the Nazi Party in 1939 when he was appointed Undersecretary in the Foreign Department of the Nazi Party. As part of his duties he was sent to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
in 1940 to investigate the organization of government in the newly occupied territory and he called for the removal of the Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat that garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying...
government and its replacement with an administrative council. Initially he had hoped to give any regime more legitimacy by placing the popular Paal Olav Berg
Paal Olav Berg
Paal Olav Berg , born in Hammerfest, was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He was Minister of Social Affairs 1919-1920, and Minister of Justice 1924-1926...
at its head rather than the minor figure of Quisling, although Berg rejected any such settlement.However, when his plans were rejected by Johan Nygaardsvold
Johan Nygaardsvold
Johan Nygaardsvold was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 1935 to 1945 , as head of the cabinet Nygaardsvold.-Political career:...
and Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
Hitler once again lost faith in Habicht and ordered him into the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. He spent the remainder of his life on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
and died in action there at Nevel
Nevel
Nevel is a town and the administrative center of Nevelsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on Lake Nevel southeast of Pskov. Population:...
.