Erich Gebert

Erich Gebert (* 7. April 1895 in Lofer ; † 26. September 1978 in Salzburg ) was an Austrian economist and NSDAP - Gau Economics Adviser .

Origin and functions

The son of a gendarmerie officer graduated from the Akademisches Gymnasium Salzburg in 1914 and studied law and economics after participating in World War I and being seriously wounded. He finished his studies with a doctorate .

From 1921 he was employed as a secretary at the Salzburg Chamber of Commerce. In this function, Gebert demanded the "connection" of Austria to the German Reich as early as 1926 , since the Austrian economy was thus integrated into a large market. This is also supported by the fact that Austria finds connections with Germany differently than with " spiritually and economically alien organisms (such as Hungary, Poland etc. in the past), but with internally related connections ."

In April 1933 he joined the NSDAP (membership number 1.605.431) and until the "Anschluss" of Austria in 1938 had already been a member of the illegal NSDAP Gauleitung Salzburg. In February 1938 Gebert became a member of the SS (membership number 323.773). Since in the Gau Salzburg, unlike in Upper Austria, the SS had a considerable influence and occupied the highest positions, SS membership was important for Gebert's career.

In December 1939, Gebert became a commercial attaché to the German legation in Pressburg and, from September 1940, an advisor for economic and financial issues to the Slovak government. In 1941 he was appointed President of the Salzburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Gau economic advisor

As in other districts, the district economic advisor, Erich Gebert, was involved in the “de-Jewification” of the economy through the so-called “ Aryanization ”. Like other functionaries involved in the “Aryanization bureaucracy”, he was primarily concerned with letting party comrades he liked have a chance to acquire Jewish assets. Although as President of the Chamber of Commerce he was actually responsible for safeguarding the economic interests in his chamber district, he paid little attention to economic effectiveness when allocating the assets, but paid more attention to the short-term satisfaction of the wishes of his clientele in the local area.

The "Aryanization" of the largest Salzburg department store, Schwarz, which belonged to a Jewish family, is an example of his activities. There were different objectives within the National Socialist groups and officials. While the "German Labor Front", representing the employees of the Schwarz department store, advocated its continuation, the Salzburg merchants pleaded for the liquidation of the competitor and was supported by the regional economic consultant Gebert.

SS group leader Curt Wittje from Hamburg-Altona appeared as the “Aryanization applicant” who wanted to take over and continue to run the department store . He was supported by Walter Rafelsberger , the head of the “Property Transaction Office” in Vienna ultimately responsible for the Aryanization .

In contrast, in August 1938, Gebert convened an “interest group” made up of representatives of the Salzburg merchants, the brigade leader of the SA (“ as a kind of interested representative in the militant organizations of the consumer classes ”) and a representative of the security service to attempt to take over the department store by Wittje to fend off and to "prefer an applicant from the Ostmark".

As Wittje withdrew his offer and no other buyer could be found, the liquidation of the department store was approved in November 1938.

During the “Aryanization” or “liquidation” of the Salzburger Zündwarenfabrik Handler & Pfifferling, however, Gebert campaigned against other National Socialist officials for the maintenance of the business.

In the case of the “Jewish real estate”, the Berghof in Unterburgau near St. Gilgen , which partly consisted of agricultural property, Gebert protested against the transfer to the “ Landesversicherungs-Anstalt Linz ” with the argument that it was impossible to see “ why Ownership should pass into Upper Austrian hands, because under the conditions under which Upper Danube takes over, a Salzburg group of interested parties can certainly be found . "

Fonts

• The “Anschluss” in the light of Austrian economic policy (report of the Economic and Trade Policy Committee of the Chamber for Trade, Commerce and Industry in Salzburg) , Salzburg 1926

literature

• Ernst Hanisch : National Socialist rule in the province. Salzburg in the Third Reich. Landespressebüro, Salzburg 1983, ISBN 3-85015-001-1 ( series of publications by the Landespressebüros - Salzburg Documentations 71).
• Maria Keipert (Red.): Biographical Handbook of the German Foreign Service 1871–1945. Published by the Foreign Office, Historical Service. Volume 2: Gerhard Keiper, Martin Kröger: G – K. Schöningh, Paderborn et al. 2005, ISBN 3-506-71841-X .
• Albert Lichtblau : "Aryanizations", confiscated assets, provisions and compensation in Salzburg. Oldenbourg, Vienna et al. 2004, ISBN 3-7029-0522-7 ( "Aryanizations", confiscated assets, provisions and compensation 2, deprivation of property during the Nazi era and provisions and compensation since 1945 in Austria 17, publications by the Austrian Commission of Historians ).
• Tatjana Tönsmeyer : The Third Reich and Slovakia 1939-1945. Political everyday life between cooperation and obstinacy. Schöningh, Paderborn et al. 2003, ISBN 3-506-77532-4 (also: Berlin, Humboldt-Univ., Diss., 2002).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gebert 1926
2. ^ Tönsmeyer 2003: 351
3. ↑ Lichtblau 2004: 64