Fritz Preiss

Friedrich "Fritz" Preiß (born February 27, 1877 in Hüttenberg , † October 29, 1940 in Bregenz ) was an Austrian politician ( SDAP ). From 1918 to 1932 he was a member of the Vorarlberg state parliament and from 1918 to 1920 and from 1923 to 1932 a regional councilor in the Vorarlberg state government .

Live and act

Fritz Preiß was born on February 27, 1877 as the son of Oswald and Aloisia Preiß into a working class family in the Carinthian community of Hüttenberg. Preiss attended elementary school in Innsbruck and completed his subsequent apprenticeship as a locksmith in Hall in Tirol . In evening courses he also completed the commercial school, which he graduated with distinction.

After his acquittal as a trained fitter, Preiß entered the service of the Imperial and Royal Austrian State Railways , where he became a locomotive heater in Landeck two years after joining. In 1898 he passed his exam as a train driver , after which he was used in this assignment. On May 26, 1902, Fritz Preiss married his first wife, Theresia Schmid, with whom he subsequently had two children. In 1905 he was forcibly transferred to Wörgl due to his trade union activities , and in 1908 he was transferred to Feldkirch , where he then lived with his family. As early as 1910, Preiß was the list leader for the Social Democratic Party in Vorarlberg in the National Council election. When his wife Theresia died on September 13, 1914, Fritz Preiss was doing military service in the transport service in Trieste . On June 21, 1915, he married his second wife, Mathilde Krivetz, whose marriage also had two children.

From 1916 Fritz Preiß worked as a machine foreman at the Bregenzerwaldbahn in Bregenz , now his home town. In this new hometown Preiß was also politically active as a member of the city ​​council from 1919 to 1932 . As early as 1918, he retired from active rail service in favor of his political activities. On November 3, 1918, Preiss was sworn in for the first time for the Social Democrats as a member of the Vorarlberg state parliament , at the same time he was appointed second deputy state president. In addition, he was a member of the regional government until June 15, 1920. From 1918 to 1931, Preiss was professionally active as head of the industrial district commission in Bregenz. In 1923 he was appointed official machine foreman, and in 1928 for chief railway machine foreman. From November 6, 1923 to November 21, 1932, Preiß was again a state councilor with the departments of workers' insurance, unemployment welfare, automobiles and railways.

In February 1934 Fritz Preiss was arrested and imprisoned as an avowed and well-known Social Democrat. When the National Socialists came to power in 1938, he was placed under house arrest and transferred to the labor office in Linz in a subordinate role. Only after repeated requests was he allowed to retire and return to Bregenz. He finally died there on October 29, 1940.

Works

• Mathilde and Fritz Preiß: Brazil as asylum for emigrants with German language. Meyer publishing house. Dornbirn, 1925

Web links

• Biography of Fritz Preiss in the parliamentary documents of the Vorarlberg Landtag.