Berthold King
Berthold König (born June 21, 1875 in Vienna , † November 25, 1954 in New York City , New York , United States ) was an Austrian politician .
Life
Berthold König studied medicine for ten semesters after graduating from the University of Vienna , but never graduated. Instead, he entered the civil service in 1899, worked for the railroad, and in 1913 became a member of the railroad management. König was also involved in trade unions early on , so that in 1928 he became central secretary of the railway workers' union . In 1931 he was elected to the presidium of the Federation of Free Trade Unions in Austria, the forerunner of today's Austrian Federation of Trade Unions .
On April 29, 1931, König became a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria to the National Council , to which he only belonged for one legislative period, until February 17, 1934 (the fourth legislative period ). It was also King who in 1933 uncovered the arms smuggling known as the " Hirtenberg Arms Affair". As part of this campaign, weapons were originally supposed to be delivered from Italy to Hungary via Austria . However, part of the delivery, including 84,000 rifles, was diverted and made available to the Austrian Home Guard. König was last appointed SPÖ district chairman of Vienna-Leopoldstadt in 1933 .
In 1934, because of the danger posed by Austrofascism , König had to flee from Austria to Brno in what is now the Czech Republic , where he was still in contact with the Social Democrats operating illegally in Austria. When the so-called Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was annexed by Hitler's troops in March 1939 , König fled to the United States via Sweden and New Zealand . First he lived for some time in California , where he became a member of a socialist emigrant group. In 1942, König moved to New York, where he became a member of the Austrian Labor Committee .
After the war, König stayed in the United States, where he died eight years later, at the age of 79.
Web links
- Berthold König on the website of the Austrian Parliament
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | King, Berthold |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian politician (SPÖ), member of the National Council |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 21, 1875 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 25, 1954 |
| Place of death | New York City |