Gustav Harpner

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Portrait of Gustav Harpner

Gustav Harpner (born March 27, 1864 in Brno ; † April 10, 1924 in Vienna ) was an Austrian lawyer and was considered to be "one of the most distinctive figures of the Austrian legal profession" and "one of the most sought-after and successful lawyers in Vienna".

Life

Harpner completed his school education in Brno and studied law at the University of Vienna from the winter semester 1881/1882 . On November 6, 1886, he completed his studies with a doctorate, was added to the list of Lower Austrian lawyers in 1893 and ran a law firm with Gustav Fried until 1908, then with Leopold Katz.

In 1895 Harpner married the Jewish doctor's daughter Therese Tauszky. In the following years the couple's three children were born: Franz (* 1897), Otto (* 1900) and Marie (* 1908). In 1902 Harpner converted to the Roman Catholic faith and in 1904 received the right to live in Vienna.

Act

From defender in "anarchist" trials, Harpner rose to become the most important party advocate of the rising social democracy . He became Viktor Adler's house attorney , representing Karl Seitz , Wilhelm Ellenbogen , Franz Schuhmeier , Engelbert Pernerstorfer , Leopold Winarsky , Alois Krejci, Anna Boschek , Marie Krasa and numerous other lesser-known leaders of social democracy.

He was also an advocate for the social democratic railway workers 'and teachers' union and their functionaries ( Josef Tomschik , Alexander Täubler, Josef Enslein) and the " Arbeiter-Zeitung " and its editors ( Friedrich Austerlitz , Jakob Reumann , Max Winter , Emil Kralik, August Radimsky and others) , defended the later school reformer of the First Republic Otto Glöckel before the court martial and Friedrich Adler before the exceptional court in the Stürgkh murder trial. His representation of the plaintiffs in the trial against the historian Heinrich Friedjung and the "Reichspost" and the defense of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in the course of the Polish ritual murder caused a sensation.

He also made a name for himself as a lawyer in the culture and music scene and represented Hermann Bahr and Bahr's initially co-edited “Die Zeit”, the newspaper of the “social politicians”, as well as Arthur Schnitzler , Karl Kraus , Siegfried Trebitsch , Kolo Moser and Josef Engelhart , Anna Bahr-Mildenburg , Franz Lehár , Leopold Godowsky and Alma Mahler-Werfel .

In 1919, Harpner was appointed as the republic's lawyer by Karl Renner , and in this function he represented the republic's interests in relation to the property confiscated under the Habsburg law . Harpner was also significantly involved in the creation and amendment of the Habsburg law. In 1919 he became a member of the Austrian Constitutional Court, to which Hans Kelsen also belonged at the time , in 1921 President of the War Victims Fund and in 1922 President of the Bar Association in Vienna.

In addition, Harpner continued to run his law firm and counted among his clients, as before, the "poorest train driver as well as [...] industrialists and bankers". After his death, his partner Leopold Katz took over the office, which Harpner's son Otto also joined after completing his studies. Both were deleted from the list of attorneys in 1938 for "racial" reasons. Katz committed suicide in Vienna in January 1939, while Gustav Harpner's family emigrated to England in 1938/1939.

Works

  • Gustav Harpner: The Austrian Criminal Procedure. Rights and duties of the authorities and citizens. Mainly presented, Vienna no year [1898]

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In detail on life and work: Ilse Reiter: Gustav Harpner (1864–1924). From anarchist defender to lawyer for the republic. Böhlau, Vienna-Cologne-Graz 2008, ISBN 978-3-205-78144-8
  2. ^ Obituary in the Wiener Zeitung of July 10, 1924, No. 157, 5
  3. ^ Bum , obituary, in JBl 1924 150
  4. ↑ Österreichische Anwalts-Zeitung 1924, No. 3/4, 17
personal data
SURNAME Harpner, Gustav
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH March 27, 1864
PLACE OF BIRTH Brno
DATE OF DEATH April 10, 1924
Place of death Vienna