Hans Jonak von Freyenwald

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Hans Jonak von Freyenwald (born December 7, 1878 in Vienna ; † November 10, 1953 ibid) was an Austrian anti-Semitic publicist. He also published under the pseudonyms Stephan Vász, Karl Bergmeister, Tibor Erdély and Hans Richter .

Life

Jonak von Freyenwald came from a Catholic Bohemian noble family. After graduating as Dr. jur. he worked as an administrative lawyer in the civil service, first in the Vienna Post Office, then in the Austrian Ministry of Commerce . In 1917 he became President of the Office for People's Nutrition , and from 1919 he held the official title of Ministerial Councilor. As a result of the Treaty of Saint-Germain , Austria had to reduce its administrative apparatus and Jonak was given early retirement in 1922.

He then devoted himself entirely to the “Jewish question” as a publicist and “private scholar”. He wrote articles for the anti-Semitic magazines Der Hammer and Der Weltkampf . From 1932 to 1934 and again from 1937 he was a member of the NSDAP . In the Bern trial for the " Protocols of the Elders of Zion " (1933–1935), Jonak and Ulrich Fleischhauer submitted an extensive report in which they tried to prove the authenticity of the alleged protocols. In the subsequent revision proceedings (1935–1937) Jonak supported the defendant anti-Semites by researching the origin of the “protocols” in circles of right-wing Russian emigrants and drafting the pleading for the defendant's attorney. He maintained close contacts with Nikolai Markow , Nikolai Shevachov and Sergei Nilus' son .

From 1934 to 1941 Jonak worked for the anti-Semitic propaganda and news agency Welt-Dienst, founded by Fleischhauer and Georg de Pottere . He was then a permanent employee of the striker . Jonak's most successful work is the anthology Jewish Confessions from All Times and Countries , published by Stürmer-Verlag in 1941 , which in some cases contains genuine quotations from religious writings and works by Jewish authors, which Jonak deliberately torn out of their context. The book was reprinted after 1945 - allegedly for scientific purposes.

In addition to his own name, Jonak also used numerous pseudonyms in his publications in order, according to Michael Hagemeister, to create the impression that there was a broad international front of anti-Semitic authors.

The Wiener Library acquired in 1955 a large part of the written estate Jonak von Frey forest - the so-called Freywald Collection . It is in the Vienna Collection of Tel Aviv University .

Works (selection)

  • (as Stephan Vász :) The Bernese misjudgment about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. U. Bodung-Verlag, Erfurt 1935.
  • (as Karl Bergmeister :) The Jewish world conspiracy plan. The minutes of the Elders of Zion before the criminal court in Bern. U. Bodung-Verlag, Erfurt 1937.
  • The Bern Trial of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Files and reports. Volume 1: Indictment and Testimony. U. Bodung-Verlag, Erfurt 1939.
  • Jewish confessions from all times and countries. Stürmer-Buchverlag, Nuremberg 1941. Reprint: Facsimile Verlag, Bremen 1992.

literature

  • Michael Hagemeister : Jonak von Freyenwald, Hans. In: Wolfgang Benz (Hrsg.): Handbuch des Antisemitismus. Hostility to Jews in the past and present. Band 1.2: Persons A-K . Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2009, pp. 411-412.
  • Michael Hagemeister : The "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" in court. The Bern Trial 1933–1937 and the «Anti-Semitic International» . Zurich: Chronos, 2017. Short biography on pages 539–540.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Manfred Gebhard: Dr. Hans Jonak von Freyenwald. A fascist apologist against Jehovah's Witnesses. In: Contributions to the history of the labor movement , 39th year (1997), No. 1/97, pp. 20–39, here p. 38, fn. 69.
  2. ↑ a b c d Michael Hagemeister: Jonak von Freyenwald, Hans. In: Wolfgang Benz (Hrsg.): Handbuch des Antisemitismus. Hostility to Jews in the past and present. Band 1.2: Persons A-K . Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2009, pp. 411-412.
  3. ↑ a b Bastian Obermayer: "A Jew hater as it is hard to imagine." Interview with Michael Hagemeister. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung (online), June 2, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Jonak von Freyenwald, Hans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vász, Stephan (pseudonym); Bergmeister, Karl (pseudonym); Erdély, Tibor (pseudonym); Richter, Hans (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian anti-Semitic publicist
DATE OF BIRTH December 7, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH November 10, 1953
Place of death Vienna