Lamprechtshausen NS putsch

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In the course of the July coup of the Austrian National Socialists , after the murder of Federal Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in Vienna on July 25, 1934, riots and shootings broke out in several places in the state of Salzburg . The bloodiest clashes took place in Lamprechtshausen during the Lamprechtshausen Nazi putsch on July 27-28, 1934.

prehistory

From 1931 a relatively large National Socialist group had formed in Lamprechtshausen. The starting point was a few local honoraries, such as the district doctor Emil Sprenger, the veterinarian Heinrich Kurz, the businessman Alois Landertinger and the innkeeper Stadler. Even after the prohibition of the NSDAP on June 17, 1933 , which u. a. was ordered because of a hand grenade attack on unarmed Christian military gymnasts , the National Socialists continued their activities by hoisting swastika flags , smearings and bomb attacks. On April 25, 1934, in the course of the introduction of a corporate constitution, the municipal council of Lamprechtshausen was dissolved by the authorities and a non-resident home guard named Martin Buchner was appointed government commissioner; this met with rejection from many locals.

Due to its long border with the German Empire and its proximity to Obersalzberg, the state of Salzburg itself was always particularly at risk from Nazi attacks. However, there were also rivalries and inconsistencies within the National Socialists: For example, the leader of the SA Brigade in Bad Reichenhall had sold weapons stocks from the Austrian Legion to the Austrian gendarmerie. For this reason and because of the preventive arrest of well-known National Socialists, the order to strike out in the July coup in the city and state of Salzburg was followed only hesitantly. When the uprising broke out in Vienna, the local commander of the Salzburg Army, Colonel Stochmal, ordered increased readiness on July 25 and a garrison alarm from 5.15 p.m. Because of the indecision of the local SA leaders, violence only broke out here on the evening of July 27th.

Course of the putsch in Lamprechtshausen

On the evening of July 25th, around 30 SA members gathered near Lamprechtshausen. But since no order was received, the group split up again at around 2 a.m.

On July 26th, Georg Gruber, the deputy storm leader, visited the Salzburg SA leader Fritz Kaltner for further orders. The latter told him that on July 27th at 5 p.m. he should wait at a certain place in Anthering for a messenger with new orders. This messenger actually arrived and had the written order with him: " Carry out the action on July 27, 1934 at 7.30 pm." Then Georg Gruber went to Bürmoos to see Sturmführer Franz Natschläger, who then triggered the alarm. The group met at around 8 p.m. at Georg Stadler's (commonly known as Schleindlbauer) farm and took weapons from their hiding place there. Then a truck was commandeered by the carrier Ammerhauser von Holzhausen under threat of violence. Occupied with around 40 putschists, the squad drove to Lamprechtshausen under the direction of Sturmführer Franz Natschläger. More SA men came by bike. A group attacked the gendarmerie post there, which was only occupied by the Rayon Inspector Franz Seiwald; another has manned the post office, rendering the telephone lines unusable. Incidentally, the postal expedition, Franziska Wolfersberger, refused to hand over 1400 schillings from the post office box. The Gasthaus Stadler, which was a popular meeting place for the National Socialists in the past, was chosen as the collection point. Because of the lack of connections to the outside world and also because a messenger who should have brought news of the failure of the coup was intercepted in Oberndorf , the coup was not stopped.

The gendarmerie officer Josef Auer was at the Stadler inn for dinner at 8 p.m. He tried to help his comrade in the gendarmerie post, but was shot at and arrested. Other patriotic-minded people (Franz Beer, Johann Meingassner, Friedrich Schlager, Michael Schlager, Kajetan Seeleitner, Hermann Weikl) were arrested and taken to the Stadler inn. Shortly after the attack on the gendarmerie post, the Schutzkorpsmen Simon Habl, Peter Maiburger, Franz Felber, Simon Priller and Rupert Fabitsch tried to help the post, but they were shot at and in some cases seriously injured. When the Heimwehr leader Josef Fink wanted to go home from the community meeting shortly after 8 p.m., he was attacked by the insurgents and seriously wounded by three shots.

Since the permanent connection between the Lamprechtshausen gendarmerie and Oberndorf was interrupted, three auxiliary gendarmes (Josef Neumeier, Harner II, Johann Feichtner) were sent out from Oberndorf with a telephone worker to rectify the disturbance. Near Arnsdorf they were greeted with " Heil Hitler " and when they did not respond, they were shot at. Two officers were injured, one of them seriously (Johann Feichtner shot through the lung). The attack was then reported to Oberndorf and help was asked. Around 11 p.m., a bus from Salzburg with 25 members of the Home Guard under the command of Major Ulrich was supposed to drive to Lamprechtshausen. This was also taken under fire near Holzleiten without anyone being hit. The Heimwehr men found the seriously injured auxiliary gendarme Josef Feichtner, whom they wanted to take to the doctor in Lamprechtshausen. At the entrance to the village they came under fire from the Stadler inn. The driver Karl Riegersberger was badly hit by a shot in the stomach. Another six home guardians were also wounded and the home guard had to withdraw again.

On the night of July 28th, at 1 a.m., the Salzburg Security Director, Colonel Gendarmerie Ludwig Bechinie, asked for military assistance. This was approved by Colonel Stochmal two hours later. The 2nd company of the Alpine Jäger Regiment No. 12 from the Lehen barracks under the command of Captain Franz Rosenkranz , consisting of 116 men and equipped with four light and two heavy machine guns and a 7.5 cm mountain cannon, was deployed. The troops were transported by car to Riedlkam, about 2.5 km east of Lamprechtshausen, at 3:30 a.m. and arrived there at 5:15 a.m. The military was reinforced by around 40 home guard members. Rosenkranz divided the company into three groups: the first platoon, under officer deputy Johann Weiderer, was supposed to advance towards Lamprechtshausen from the north, the second platoon, under the command of staff sergeant Anton Fingernagel, was to come from the east (who was also Captain Rosenkranz), and the third platoon under the command of Oberleutnant Karl Preßlmayer was to advance from the south towards the place. Before these measures were taken, Rosenkranz sent Sergeant Johann Brüggler to the inn on a patrol. It was supposed to call on the coup plotters to surrender in order to avoid useless bloodshed. But this was shot at by the SA and had to withdraw. At around 7 a.m., Captain Rosenkranz sent Sergeant Anton Fingernagel again to the putschists with a white flag. But he could not negotiate because he was also shot at immediately.

During the night, gendarme Johann Hagn from Obertrum came to Lamprechtshausen with two auxiliary gendarmes . They first penetrated Dr. Sprenger, who provided first aid to five injured people. Then he met a patrol with staff sergeant Fingernail. Both of them then stormed the outbuilding of the Stadler inn with military and protection corps people, and the confusing situation resulted in a shootout. Fingernail was shot three times. Count Franz Schaffgotsch , who later died in a German internment camp in Dubrovnik, is said to have stood out among the Home Guard . As the military approached, Sturmführer Natschläger had given the order to lay down arms, according to statements by the putschists involved. Georg Gruber also testified that he too had given the order that shooting should not be allowed. In the jury trial against officers Rosenkranz, Stochmal and Celar, Gruber did not rule out the possibility that, despite the leaders' request to lay down their arms, shots were still being fired by the Nazis. So a fierce fight developed in and in front of the inn.

After some of the putschists had been disarmed and placed in front of the Stadler Inn, machine gun salvos were fired over their heads as fire protection on the upper rows of windows of the Stadler Inn. This may have led to the erroneous impression that the putschists should be shot. In addition, an insurgent with a swastika armband rushed from the inn with a pistol at a machine-gun and fired two shots at the protective shield of the machine-gun. This was also repulsed by machine gun salvos.

The Gasthaus Stadler and its outbuildings could be occupied by 8.45 a.m. At 9 a.m., Rosenkranz reported to Salzburg that Lamprechtshausen had been repossessed. After Colonel Stochmal arrived at 11:15 a.m., the place was combed again. Several National Socialists were picked up and z. T. were also shot. At 3 p.m. the army company moved back to Salzburg with around 30 prisoners.

According to the files, four putschists were killed during the fighting, and two more afterwards. A total of eight people were killed in this failed putsch, two of them on the side of the armed forces (Josef Gassner from Hofgastein and Viktor Mayr from Reifnitz). Six men died on the putschists' side: Franz Armstorfer, Josef Maislinger, Josef Weilbuchner, Kilian Widmann and Johann Wimmer. The leader of the putsch, Franz Natschläger, later died as a result of his serious injury.

Discussion points

In addition to the exact sequence of events, the question of whether a parliamentarian was actually sent to the putschists twice, who was then shot at by SA men, or whether this was not the case, needs clarification. The information on the question of who first entered the Gasthaus Stadler (Gendarme Hagn with his men or the armed forces with staff sergeant Fingernagel) and how the further process unfolded is also unclear.

One accusation that was directed against Colonel Stochmal and then against Captain Rosenkranz was Stochmal's order not to “take prisoners”. The background to this was the fact that the martial law had already been announced on July 27th, so anyone who defied the armed forces or the gendarmerie with a weapon risked being shot. Captain Rosenkranz did not make use of his martial law. In addition, Rosenkranz had even left an escape route to the west and via the Salzach to Germany open for the putschists, an approach that was at least questionable from a military point of view. However, there appears to be evidence that the imprisoned Nazis were treated with disproportionate severity by members of the Home Guard. This is said to have continued even after their imprisonment at the Hohensalzburg Fortress .

28 putschists were sentenced to between 5 and 18 years in prison. In the July amnesty of 1936 all were released. The Austrian officers and high-ranking gendarmerie officers involved suffered a significantly different fate after the “ Anschluss ”. All of them were murdered in various concentration camps. Staff sergeant Fingernagel is said to have committed suicide after the connection. During the Nazi era, the Lamprechtshausen putsch was partially processed by Karl Springenschmid into the Lamprechtshausner consecration play .

literature

  • Kurt Bauer: Socio-historical aspects of the National Socialist July coup 1934. Dissertation: Humanities and cultural studies faculty at the University of Vienna, 2001.
  • Wolfgang Etschmann: July 1934 in the state of Salzburg. In Andreas Maislinger : The Lamprechtshausen Putsch. Witnesses from July 1934 report (pp. 35–39). Self-published, 1992, ISBN 3-901201-00-9 .
  • Ernst Hanisch and Georg Steinitz, “You get such anger”. ORF Salzburg, broadcast on July 3, 1984. In Andreas Maislinger: The Lamprechtshausen putsch. Witnesses from July 1934 report (pp. 11–34). Self-published, 1992, ISBN 3-901201-00-9 .
  • Josef Hofweirer: "We couldn't say we were going to putsch." In Andreas Maislinger: The Putsch of Lamprechtshausen. Witnesses from July 1934 report (pp. 74–81). Self-published, 1992, ISBN 3-901201-00-9 .

Web links

  • Captain Rosenkranz [2]

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kurt Bauer, 2001, p. 349ff.
  2. ↑ Wolfgang Etschmann, 1992, p. 35.
  3. ↑ Ernst Hanisch and Georg Steinitz, 1992, p. 17.
  4. ↑ Captain Rosenkranz [1]
  5. ^ Judgment of the Salzburg Regional Court as a jury court against Captain Rosenkranz, Colonel Stochmal and Lieutenant Colonel Celat from November 19, 1938. In Andreas Maislinger: The Putsch of Lamprechtshausen. Witnesses of July 1934 report (pp. 173-181), self-published, 1992, ISBN 3-901201-00-9 .
  6. ↑ Josef Hofweirer, 1992, p. 78.