Hans von Hammerstein-Equord

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Hans von Hammerstein-Equord (1930)

Hans August Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord (born October 5, 1881 in Loosdorf , † August 9, 1947 in Micheldorf ) was an Austrian writer and politician .

Life

Sitzenthal Castle near Loosdorf

Hans von Hammerstein-Equord was born at Sitzenthal Castle in the market town of Loosdorf . He came from a German aristocratic family that had settled in Austria. His father was Helge Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord (1833-1893), his mother came from the family of the Counts of Stolberg . He went to school in Vienna, with the Jesuits in Mariaschein in Bohemia and in Brixen . He then studied law in Vienna , Munich and Marburg an der Lahn . On December 6, 1924, he married Anna Christiane Zeleny (1902–1980) in Salzburg, the marriage had three children, Hans Georg (* 1925), Elisabeth (* 1931) and Franziska-Ulrike (* 1936), married to the German legal scholar Georg Ress .

His civil service career began with various political authorities in Upper Austria. After completing his "active community service" and active military service between September 1, 1914 and May 1, 1918, Hammerstein became state secretary of government. On August 16, 1923 he was entrusted with the management of the Braunau district administration. In 1924 he was awarded the title of state government council by the Federal Chancellor Seipel . With effect from January 1, 1934, Hammerstein was appointed security director for the federal state of Upper Austria. After just seven months, on July 29, 1934, Federal Chancellor Schuschnigg transferred the office of State Secretary for Security to him. In 1936 he was Minister of Justice . As of November 30, 1936, he was head of section at the Federal Chancellery and the services the Federal Ministry of Education allocated. His task was that of a “Federal Commissioner for Cultural Propaganda”. Immediately after the Anschluss , Hammerstein was retired, first with the withdrawal of his earnings and later with their reduction. From 1943 onwards he had to work in the construction department of the Kirchdorf district office. He was arrested on July 21, 1944 and was sent to Mauthausen concentration camp in early May 1945 . There he escaped the planned murder because of the end of the war. After the end of the war, Hammerstein was reactivated as a civil servant with effect from January 1, 1946 to December 31, 1946, but at the same time he was given leave of absence due to illness. He is buried in the Kirchdorf cemetery.

From 1935 to 1938 Hans von Hammerstein was President of the Austrian PEN Club.

The place of the current district administration Braunau is named after him "Hammersteinplatz".

plant

Pernlehen near Micheldorf: The Hammerstein-Equord family still lives in the house today.

Basically, Hans von Hammerstein-Equord wanted to pursue a poetic and literary activity and therefore he was also looking for a quiet administrative activity. While still at school he brought out a volume of poetry under the pseudonym "Stein", which almost got him expelled from the Jesuit school in Mariaschein. His poetic work was created between 1911 and 1936 and makes him appear as a poet caught up in romanticism and the world of Nordic myths. Added to this are his autobiographical works, which were completed during and after the war. His support for the Innviertler Künstlergilde , an association of artists and writers who were born in the Innviertel or who lived there, initiated by Hugo von Preen , was important in terms of cultural policy . Hammerstein was a founding member, first president and later honorary president of this association. He also made contact with Alfred Kubin, who lived in Wernstein in the Innviertel , and during this time of economic hardship he supported the members of the Innviertel artists' guild through exhibitions and yearbooks.

Grave of Hans von Hammerstein and his wife Anna in Kirchdorf an der Krems

As district captain of Braunau, Hammerstein-Equord had to deal with the political unrest on the part of the extreme social democracy, the National Socialists and the Heimwehr. His attitude towards the National Socialists was shaped by his first experiences as district captain, which made him experience this group as extremely skillful and dangerous. Hammerstein-Equord played an important role in 1934 in the suppression of the February uprising of the Social Democrats, which began in Linz. Also worthy of discussion are the evidence mentioned by Hammerstein-Equord that there may have been close ties between the Social Democrats and National Socialists when the uprising in Upper Austria was initiated. As security director in 1934, he also made a significant contribution to the suppression of the July coup in Upper Austria by the National Socialists and then handed over his office to Peter Revertera-Salandra .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sitzenthal Castle
  2. ^ Harry Slapnicka: Hans von Hammerstein-Equord: civil servant, politician, poet. In: Harry Slapnicka (ed.); Hans von Hammerstein: In the beginning there was the murder: Experiences as district captain of Braunau am Inn and as security director of Upper Austria in the years 1933 and 1934. Oldenbourg, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-486-50121-6 . (Studies and sources on Austrian contemporary history; Vol. 3).
  3. ↑ Hans von Hammerstein: In the beginning was the murder: experiences as district captain of Braunau am Inn and as security director of Upper Austria in the years 1933 and 1934. Oldenbourg, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-486-50121-6 , p. 115ff. (Studies and sources on Austrian contemporary history; Vol. 3)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hammerstein-Equord, Hans von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hammerstein-Equord, Hans August von; Hammerstein-Equord, Hans Baptist August Franz Seraph Placidus Maria von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian writer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Loosdorf
DATE OF DEATH August 9, 1947
Place of death Micheldorf