Josef Schwaiger (resistance fighter)
Josef Schwaiger (born August 13, 1905 in Königswiesen , † March 19, 1944 in Vienna ) was an Austrian firefighter and resistance fighter against National Socialism . He died by suicide while in custody.
Life
Schwaiger was chief sergeant in the Vienna fire police and belonged to a communist resistance group. He was arrested on March 9, 1944, and from March 13, 1944, he and 46 other resistance fighters were tried before the Supreme SS and Police Court. Schwaiger died during the trial on March 19. In view of his hopeless situation, he chose to commit suicide by hanging .
His colleagues Franz Pascher , Johann Perthold , Hermann Plackholm , Oskar Schlaf and Johann Zak were sentenced to death for “preparation for high treason” and “treason”, the other defendants were sentenced to life or several years in prison. Another colleague, Rudolf Haider , was sentenced to death in a separate trial and executed with the guillotine .
Commemoration
Since 1947, the memorial for the firefighters murdered by fascism at the Vienna fire station Am Hof has been commemorating the resistance fighter against Austrofascism Georg Weissel and five victims of the Nazi justice system , the communists Ludwig Ebhart , Rudolf Haider , Hermann Plackholm , Josef Schwaiger and Johann Zak . The memorial was designed by Mario Petrucci and shows a decapitated firefighter with his head in his right arm.
swell
- Documentation archive of the Austrian Resistance : Searching for traces Hermann Plackholm 1904–1944, accessed on March 15, 2015
- Wolfgang Neugebauer: Resistance and Persecution in Vienna 1934-1945 . tape 1 . Österreichischer Bundesverlag for teaching science and art, Vienna 1984, p. 314 .
- Willi Weinert: "You can put me out, but not the fire": Wiener Zentralfriedhof - Group 40. A guide through the grove of honor for the executed resistance fighters . 2nd Edition. Alfred Klahr Society, Vienna 2005, ISBN 978-3-9501986-0-7 , p. 80; P. 125 .
Web links
- Post-war justice , Via the memorial stone at the fire station
- Antifascist monuments and memorials. In: dasrotewien.at - Web dictionary of the Viennese social democracy. SPÖ Vienna (Ed.)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schwaiger, Josef |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian chief sergeant in the fire brigade and resistance fighter against National Socialism |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 13, 1905 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Königswiesen |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 19, 1944 |
| Place of death | Vienna |