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Aid, Assistance, and Advice: German Nazis and the Austrian Hilfswerk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2008

Maurice Williams
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Extract

The National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) of Austria claimed a particular development and an identity which differed from the larger party in the Reich. Unlike the latter, the Austrian Nazis traced their roots to the prewar Habsburg Empire. They also identified with regional objectives and local mentors; they accepted Adolf Hitler's 1934 and 1936 proclamations that their activities were a domestic, not an international affair. Austrian National Socialists further believed their movement was a different entity with different problems and different leaders, despite the repeated advice, support, and protection they received from Germany. The local Nazis also expected to control their own country, developing the new principles as they saw best—not as others dictated.

Type
Articles
Information
Central European History , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , September 1981 , pp. 230 - 242
Copyright
Copyright © Conference Group for Central European History of the American Historical Association 1981

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References

1. See the author's “Delusions of Grandeur: The Austrian National Socialists,” Canadian Journal of History 14 (1979): 419–36Google Scholar. The author presented an earlier version of this article, “German Nazis and Austrian Relief: The Third Reich's Hilfswerk in Austria,” at the Western Association for German Studies, Snowbird, Utah, in Oct. 1978.

2. Seyss-Inquart, Arthur, “The Austrian Question 1934–1938,” PS-3254, Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, 10 vols. (Washington, 1946–1948), 5: 961Google Scholar; USA, Department of State, Messersmith to Secretary of State, Vienna, Jan. 16, 1935, USNA, Decimal Files, 1930–39, 863.00/1143; Strafsache gegen Ing. Knobloch, Max, 07 29, 1936Google Scholar, BMJ 5667, 39.872–4/36, AVA, BMJ, Sign VIe, NSDAP Unterstützungen 1935–38 (hereafter cited as Knobloch, Strafsache, 07 29, 1936Google Scholar); USA, Department of State, Messersmith to Secretary of State, Vienna, Dec. 28, 1934, USNA, Decimal Files, 1930–39, 863.00/1129; USA, Department of State, Messersmith to Secretary of State, Vienna, Feb. 7, 1935, USNA, Decimal Files, 1930–39, 863.00/1152.

3. Anordnung, Der Stellvertreter des Führers (Rudolf Hess), Munich, Aug. 3, 1934, BA, Schumacher, 305; memorandum by an official of Department II (Hueffer), Berlin, Aug. 7, 1934, DGFP, ser. C, 1933–37, 3: The Third Reich: First Phase, June 14, 1934 – March 31, 1935 (London, 1959), p. 293 (hereafter cited as Memo [Hueffer], Aug. 7, 1934; main entry hereafter cited as DGFP, ser. C.).

4. Rodenbücher to Hess, Berlin, Dec. 18, 1934, BA, Schumacher, 306. The Hilfswerk Nordwest succeeded the Austrian Legion. In 1933 when the Austrian government outlawed the party many SA men fled to the Reich. There the Germans collected, outfitted, and trained them as Legionaires, supporting plans for a future advance into Austria. After the 1934 Putsch, however, when the Führer changed his tactics, the Austrian Legion was ordered to return its weapons and armamants, so that, except for small arms and periodic training, the unit remained unarmed. Hitler also forbade its becoming involved in domestic Austrian affairs, and soon ordered its reorganization. The Legion became the Hilfswerk Nordwest, so called because its personnel moved from southern Germany (Bavaria) to the Rhineland, Hanover, and Westphalia. Langoth, Franz, Kampf um Österreich; Erinnerungen eines Politikers (Wels, Austria, 1951), pp. 335–36Google Scholar; Information über Zweck und Ziele der österreichischen Legion in Bayern P2879, 42.591/34, Vor der Abfertigung Einsichtsakt des BKA, betreffend eine von L. G. Feldkirchen über den Zweck und die Ziele der österr. Legion, Sept. 19, 1934, AVA, BMJ, Sign VIe, NSDAP 1935, P2584–3047; Vogel, Rudolf, “Die österreichische Legion im Lager Lechfeld (1933),” Heimatverein für den Landkreis Augsburg 1937 (Augsburg, 1974), pp. 165–66Google Scholar; Jagschitz, Gerhard, Der Putsch: Die Nationalsozialisten 1934 in Österreich (Vienna, 1976), p. 183Google Scholar; BKA, GD, Die österreichische Legion im Deutschen Reich, Abschrift zur Zahl G.D. 302.052, Jan. 15, 1935. NPA, Fasz 152; BKA, GD, Die österreichische Legion im Deutschen Reich, zur Zahl G.D. 323.148, Vienna, Apr. 10, 1935, NPA, Fasz 152; BKA, GD, Information (Allgayer), Mar. 23, 1936, G.D. 310.566, DöW 7116.

5. Rodenbücher to Hess, Berlin, Dec. 18, 1934, BA, Schumacher, 306. The SS-Sammelstelle succeeded the SS-Abschnitt VII (or SS-Abschnitt Donau), the training camp for exiled SS men (ibid.).

6. Abschrift, Bay. Politisches Polizei to Gestapo, Berlin, Munich, June 10, 1936, AA, N2-I, 162–63. The Hilfsbund succeeded the Kampfring der Deutsche-Österreicher im Reich, an association founded in 1933 to establish solidarity among the 30,000 Austrians living in Germany; it also lobbied for union of the two countries. After the Putsch Hitler prohibited the Kampfring from meddling in domestic Austrian affairs. The organization thereafter changed its name and concentrated only on charitable and cultural concerns. BMJ, Abschrift, an Oberstaatsanwaltschaft, Wien, Graz, Innsbruck, May 18, 1934, P2841, 34.970/34, AVA, BMJ, Sign Vie, NSDAP 1935, P2584–3047; BKA, Österr. Legion im Deutschland, Vienna, Dec. 19, 1934, NPA, Fasz 152; Rodenbücher to Schwarz, Berlin, Feb. 12, 1935, BA, Schumacher, 303 II.

7. USA, Department of State, Messersmith to Secretary of State, enclosure entitled Translation of Combat Group of German-Austrian Government Leadership Order No. 4, Aug. 21, 1934, to all Gau, District, Town, and Group Leaderships, Vienna, Aug. 30, 1934, USNA, Decimal Files, 1930–39, 863.00/1046 (hereafter cited as Order No. 4, Aug. 21, 1934).

8. Ibid.; Bundespolizeidirektion in Wien, an die Staatsanwaltschaft Wien I, Dr. Ofner, Robert, und Genosse, verboten Betätigung für die NSDAP, May 19, 1936, DöW 7853 (hereafter cited as Ofner, DöW 7853); Der Chef des Stabes Marxer, Der Oberste SA-Führer, Schnellbrief, Munich, Aug. 16, 1934, BA, Schumacher, 303 I.

9. Aktennotiz über die Sitzung vom 9.3.1937, unter dem Vorsitz des Stabsleiters Pg. Saupert mit dem Leiter des Flüchtlingshilfswerks Berlin, SS-Gruppenführer Rodenbücher, BA, Schumacher, 302 I (hereafter cited as Aktennotiz, 9.3.1937); Rodenbücher to Schwarz (Reichsschatzmeister), Berlin, June 17, 1936, BA, Schumacher, 303 I; Reichsschatzmeister, Anordnung 41/36, Munich, June 19, 1936, BA, Schumacher, 303 I.

The Abwicklungsstelle changed its name to the Mitgliedschaftsamt des NSDAP-Flüchtlingshilfswerkes in Feb. 1937, and then to the Ortsgruppe Mitglieder-Sammelstelle in June 1937. The responsibilities of the two agencies did not change, however, as they continued to deal with questions of party membership for those Austrians who had fled to the German Reich. By June 1936, the Abwicklungsstelle had determined that some 5,000 comrades belonged to the party. By Mar. 1937, it had regularized some 10,000 memberships while another 7,200 awaited resolution. At the time of the Anschluss officials of the Ortsgruppe reported that they had handled some 25,000 cases, resolving 12,000 of them with 13,000 pending.

Although Rodenbücher served as signing authority for these offices, Franz Hofer, the former Gau leader from the Tyrol, played the key role. Franz Hofer an den Reichskommissar für Österreich, Gauleiter Bürckel, Berlin, April 29, 1938, BA, Schumacher, 303 I; Rodenbücher to Schwarz, Berlin, June 17, 1936, BA, Schumacher, 303 I; Aktennotiz, 9.3.1937; untitled memorandum on Pg. Hofer, March [1938?], AVA, Bürckel Akten, 293a.

10. Der Reichsminister der Finanzen (Reinhardt) an das Auswärtige Amt, Berlin, July 11, 1936, AA, Ö PO 29, Bd. I, 449738; Memorandum of the Discussions Concerning the 1936 Budget for the Austrian Hilfswerk, Held on Oct. 13 and 14, in the Reich and Prussian Ministry of the Interior, DGFP, ser. D, 1937–45, 1: From Neurath to Ribbentrop (September 1937 – September 1938) (Washington, 1949), p. 302Google Scholar; Schwarz to Keppler, Munich, Oct. 19, 1937, USNA, T120, R751, 345301–02.

11. Memo (Hueffer), Aug. 7, 1934; USA, Department of State, Messersmith to Secretary of State, Vienna, Aug. 30, 1934, USNA, Decimal Files, 1930–39, 863.00/1050; USA, Military Intelligence Division, M. C. Schallenberg, Military Attache, G-2 Report, Austria-Hungary, Vienna, Aug. 31, 1934, USNA, MID, 2539-FF-124; USA, Military Intelligence Division, F. L. Whitley, Military Attache, Report No. 3696, Nazi Emigres from Austria, Belgrade, Nov. 30, 1934, USNA, MID, 2057-FF-158; USA, Department of State, Messersmith to Secretary of State, Vienna, Dec. 28, 1934, USNA, Decimal Files, 1930–39, 863.00 BR/42.

12. Bericht über die Revision des illegalen Hilfswerks für Österreich des NSDAP-Flüchtlingshilfswerks, Berlin, Revisoren: A. Schmidt-Scharffund Fr. Bogner, Innsbruck, Nov. 11, 1938, in Hans Rauter file, Berlin Document Center (hereafter cited as Bericht Hilfswerk).

13. Ofner, DöW 7853; Aufzeichnung über die zu zahlenden österreichischen Unter stützungen, Berlin, Nov. 22, 1934, AA, Öst. Pol. 25, 29, K007659–64; Order No. 4, Aug. 21, 1934; Bundespolizeidirektion in Wien an die Staatsanwaltschaft Wien I, Vienna, May 19, 1936, BMJ 5269, 37.238/36, AVA, BMJ, Sign VIe, NSDAP Unterstützungen 1935–38; Der Sicherheitsdirektor für Oberösterreich (Revertera), Amtsvermerk, Linz, Jan. 14, 1935, AVA, BKA, GD, 305.115 (hereafter cited as Revertera, Amtsvermerk).

14. The procedure of direct accounting to Berlin varied after Jan., 1937, when the Hilfswerk leader gave his report to Josef Leopold, the leader of the Austrian party; Leopold then sent the account to Berlin. (Gedächtnis-Protokoll [In der Maur?], Berlin, Dec. 3, 1936, AA, Megerle, Bd. NSDAP 5/5.)

15. BKA, Rudolf Eisenstätter, verbotene Rückkehr und ns. Betätigung, Vienna, June 3, 1936, NPA, Fasz 152; Bericht Hilfswerk.

16. Bericht Hilfswerk.

17. The Head of the Volksbund für das Deutschtum im Ausland to the Foreign Ministry, Berlin, August 2, 1934, DGFP, ser. C, pp. 283–88; Order No. 4, Aug. 21, 1934; Vor der Abfertigung Einsichtsakt des BKA (Eugen Werkowitsch), n.d. (after June, 1935), BMJ 5211, 36.867/36, AVA, BMJ, Sign VIe, NSDAP Unterstützungen 1935–38 (hereafter cited as Werkowitsch [1935?]); BKA, GD, Information, Das nationalistische Hilfswerk (Allgayer), May 7, 1936, GD 323.212, BMJ 5146, 36.540–4/36, AVA, BMJ, Sign Vie, NSDAP Unterstützungen 1935–38.

18. Rosar, Wolfgang, Deutsche Gemeinschaft; Seyss-Inquart und der Anschluss (Vienna, 1971), p. 88Google Scholar; Ofner, Strafsache gegen Dr. Robert, 07 28, 1936Google Scholar, BMJ 5597, 39.479–4/36, AVA, BMJ, Sign Vie, NSDAP Unterstützungen 1935–38; Revertera, Amtsvermark; Ofner, DöW 7853; BKA, GD, Genossen, Strafsache gegen Johann Lukesch und, 03 20, 1936Google Scholar, G.D. 309.856, AVA, BMJ, Sign VI, NSDAP Reorganist. 1935–37 (hereafter cited as Lukesch, Strafsache, 03 30, 1936)Google Scholar; Werkowitsch [1935?].

19. Ofner, DöW 7853; Knobloch, Strafsache, 07 29, 1936Google Scholar; Pernegger, Strafsache gegen Franz, 07, 1936Google Scholar, BMJ 5601, 39.502–4/36, AVA, BMJ, Sign Vie, NSDAP Unterstützungen 1935–38 (hereafter cited as Pernegger, Strafsache, 07 1936).Google Scholar

20. Rundschreiben an die Vertrauensmänner und Fürsorger des Hilfswerkes, Reichenhall, May 15, 1935, in BKA, GD, Nationalsozialistisches Hilfswerk, GD 323.212, BMJ 5146, 36.540–4/36; AVA, BMJ, Sign VIe, NSDAP Unterstützungen 1935–38; Ofner, DöW 7853; Knobloch, Strafsache, 07 29, 1936.Google Scholar

21. Quote from Bericht Hilfswerk. See also Werkowitsch [1935?]; Lukesch, Strafsache, 03 20, 1936Google Scholar; Pernegger, Strafsache, 07, 1936Google Scholar; Knobloch, Strafsache, 07 29, 1936Google Scholar; Aufzeichnung über die zu zahlenden österreichischen Unterstützungen, Berlin, Nov. 22, 1934, AA, Öst. Pol. 25, 29, K007659–64.

22. Bericht Hilfswerk.

23. Ibid.

24. The breakdown of figures is more revealing: 407 farmers for rm724,000, 45 businessmen in the tourist trade for rm200,000, and 90 other business and professional men for rm310,000. (Rodenbücher an den Herrn Reichsminister des Auswärtigen, Berlin, Oct. 20, 1937, AA, Ö PO 29, Bd. VIII.)

25. The Finance Minister (Schwerin-Krosigk) to the Foreign Ministry, Berlin, Nov. 10, 1936, DGFP, ser. D, pp. 321–22; Rodenbücher an den Herrn Reichsminister des Auswärtigen, Berlin, Oct. 20, 1937, AA Ö PO 29, Bd. VIII.

26. The Germans worked primarily through Atlas A.G. (Zurich, Switzerland), Gewerbe- und Bodenkreditanstalt (GEBO) (Vaduz, Liechtenstein), Irato (St. Gallen, Switzerland), and Kreditvermittlungs- und Treuhandgesellschaft A.G. (Balzers, Liechtenstein). Bericht über die Prüfung des Buchhaltung des Jahresabschlusses zum 31.12.1936 und des Zwischenabschlusses zum 31.8.1937 bei dem Wirtschaftsamt II des Flüchtlings-Hilfswerks der NSDAP, erstattet von Dipl. Kaufmann George Albert Zellman, Berlin, Oct. 18, 1937, AA, Ö PO 29, Bd. IX.

27. Ibid.; Erich Führer an Josef Leopold, Vienna, April 24, 1937, DöW 6036/d; Papen to the German Foreign Ministry, Vienna, Dec. 18, 1936, DGFP, ser. D, pp. 362–63.