Karl Brunner (politician, 1889)

Monument to Karl Brunner in Murau

Honor for Karl Brunner at the park entrance in Pöllau

Karl Brunner (born December 31, 1889 in Vitis , Lower Austria ; † April 3, 1964 in Graz ) was an Austrian politician ( ÖVP ) and resistance fighter against National Socialism.

Karl Brunner attended elementary school and business school. In 1914 he took over his father-in-law's business. Before the Second World War, Brunner was a local councilor in Murau and the local leader of the Styrian Homeland Security . He participated in the suppression of the Austrian July coup of 1934. Right after the port in March 1938 he was appointed as a political by many opponents of the Nazis imprisoned and lifelong later years of 15-to prison sentenced in Graz. At the end of the war in 1945, Brunner saved the lives of two prison guards and the director, who were buried under bomb debris, and was released out of gratitude.

Back in Murau, Brunner took part in the local resistance, which disarmed the mayor and the Waffen SS and placed them under house arrest. In the chaos of the end of the war, he freed eight British prisoners from forced labor and armed them as "British occupation troops". British flags were hastily sewn and the astonished Soviet troops were shown that the city of Murau had already been occupied. Thus Murau was in the British zone of occupation until 1955. In order to avoid diplomatic difficulties, this incident was concealed for decades.

Karl Brunner joined the ÖVP , became the first President of the State Parliament in Graz and was a member of the National Council for many years . In 1995 a memorial was erected for him. The Karl-Brunner-Europahaus at Forchtenstein Castle in Neumarkt in Styria is named after him.

His two grandsons Karl (Charly) and Johann (Joggl) are known as the Schlagerduo Brunner & Brunner in the German-speaking area.

Awards

• 1962: Large gold medal with the star for services to the Republic of Austria

Web links

• Karl Brunner on the website of the Austrian Parliament

Individual evidence

1. ^ Entry on Karl Brunner on the website of the municipality of Murau (culture / significant Murau residents)
2. ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF; 6.9 MB)