Emil Liebitzky

Emil Liebitzky (born October 5, 1892 in Dux , Bohemia as Emil Josef Liebitzký ; † April 12, 1961 in Vienna ) was an Austrian general of the artillery and a leader in the re-establishment of the Federal Army of the Second Republic.

Life

Liebitzky was born in Dux in 1892 as the son of the Imperial and Royal District Court adjunct Anton Liebitzký and his wife Rosina Kříž. His father converted from the Jewish faith to the Catholic Church before the wedding. After graduating from the Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy in Mödling near Vienna, Liebitzky was retired in 1913 as a lieutenant in the Imperial and Royal Artillery Regiment No. 1. He experienced the First World War on the fronts in Serbia, Galicia, Italy and the Ukraine. At the end of the war he was a major in general staff training. Taken into the first armed forces in 1920 , he finished his higher education there and also studied political science at the University of Vienna . In 1923 he received his doctorate as Dr. rer. pole. In 1927 he was appointed as a major adjutant to Federal Minister Carl Vaugoin . At this post, "the little wiry officer with the serious face" (Jedlicka) became a well-known figure in the entire armed forces. In 1933 he became a colonel. From 1933 to 1938 he was an Austrian military attaché in Rome . In this function, its importance went far beyond normal attachment work. Above all, he played an important role in securing Italy's support in securing Austria's independence. In this he was initially successful, but the closer Mussolini got to Hitler's Germany after his adventure in Abyssinia, the more difficult his mission became.

After the “ Anschluss ” in March 1938, he was recalled from Rome, judged by the so-called “ Muff Commission” to be “unsustainable” for the German armed forces and retired with reduced pay. During the war he was interrogated several times by the Gestapo . Through General Luschinsky he found contact with the Austrian resistance movement O5 .

post war period

At the end of the war he made himself available to the newly established Army Office in order to serve the Ministry of Finance after its early dissolution by the Allies. As head of the so-called "Pension Department A", the now Hofrat Liebitzky played an important role in preparing for the rearmament of Austria. There he became the founder of the " B-Gendarmerie ", which was decisive for the later rapid and smooth formation of the armed forces.

With the conclusion of the State Treaty in 1955, he became head of Section VI of the Federal Chancellery, the "Office for National Defense". With all his might he turned against all remnants of National Socialism and campaigned for the building of a democratic and truly Austrian army. Of course, he too had to recognize that a rapid build-up of the army would not be possible without the cooperation of the war generation. During the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Defense , Colonel Fussenegger, a military service inspector, was assigned to him. The cooperation between the two officers was by no means entirely smooth, but they finally found a practical and productive cooperation in the service of building an Austrian army. On September 12, 1956 Liebitzky was promoted to general of the artillery. While Colonel Fussenegger, as General Troop Inspector and Head of Section II, dealt with questions of organization, equipment and training, as well as command management in the event of an incident, General Liebitzky, as head of Section I, worked on personnel, supplementary and medical services, the Army budget, all legal, disciplinary and military-political questions, intelligence with reconnaissance and counter-espionage and attaché matters. The fact that the Armed Forces followed a democratic and Austrian path from the beginning, without deviations or political scandals, is no doubt also thanks to the uncompromising Nazi opponent and patriot Liebitzky. At the end of 1957 he retired. In 1958 he received the Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold for services to the Republic of Austria . After barely three years in retirement, this “founding father” of the Austrian Armed Forces died.

Military awards (as of 1933)

• Iron Cross 2nd Class
• Wounded medal
• Karl-Troop Cross
• Bronze Military Merit Medal on the ribbon of the Military Merit Cross with Swords
• Silver Military Merit Medal on the ribbon of the Military Merit Cross with Swords
• Military Merit Cross III. Class with the war decorations and swords
• Order of the Iron Crown III. Class with war decorations and swords (eligibility confirmed after November 12, 1918)

literature

• Stefan Bader: At the highest point…. The generals of the Federal Army of the Second Republic (= writings on the history of the Austrian Federal Army . Vol. 3). Gra and Wis, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-902455-02-0 , p. 196 ff.
• Walter Blasi : General of the Artillery Ing. Emil Liebitzky - Austria's "Heusinger"? (= Military history and defense sciences . Volume 6). Bernard & Graefe, Munich 2002, ISBN 978-3-7637-6239-2 .
• Peter Broucek :  Liebitzky, Emil. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-00195-8 , pp. 501-503 ( digitized version ).
• Ludwig Jedlicka : An Austrian military diplomat in Rome, 1933–1938, Colonel of the General Staff Dr. Emil Liebitzky . In: Ders .: From the old to the new Austria: Case studies on contemporary Austrian history 1900–1975 . 2nd edition, Verlag Niederösterreichisches Pressehaus, St. Pölten 1977, ISBN 3-85326-412-3 , p. 341 ff.
• Christoph Hatschek: Uniform skirt M 56 for General of the Austrian Armed Forces, Second Republic, worn by General der Artillerie Ing. Emil Liebitzky (Item of the Month May 2018) , 2018 online on HGM Wissens-Blog

Web links

• Entry on Emil Liebitzky in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )