Nicholas of Preradovich

Nikolaus Johannes Hermann Maria (von) Preradovich (born September 28, 1917 in Baošić , Dalmatia , Austria-Hungary ; † June 19, 2004 in Hanover , Germany ) was an Austrian historian , genealogist and publicist .

From 1956 to 1966 he was a university lecturer for general modern history at the University of Graz . Until the 1970s, he moved with his research and publications within serious history. From the 1980s onwards, Preradovich wrote regularly for right-wing extremist bodies in Germany and Austria.

Life

family

Nikolaus von Preradovich came from a large family; his great-grandfather was the kk major general and Croatian national poet Petar Preradović . He was born in 1917 as the son of the liner lieutenant Ivo von Preradovich (1890-1944) and his wife Hertha, daughter of the Austro-Hungarian Vicadmiral Karl Lanjus von Wellenburg , in the Bay of Kotor , an Austro-Hungarian naval port on the Adriatic. The genealogist Friedrich Graf Lanjus von Wellenburg was, along with the German zoologist Thilo Krumbach, his maternal uncle. An aunt on her father's side, Paula von Preradović , was the poet of the Austrian national anthem , her husband (Preradovich's uncle) Ernst Molden , historian and journalist, founder of the press . Molden's sons Otto and Fritz were among his cousins . Another uncle was the writer Petar von Preradović .

From 1946 to 1948 he was married to Johanna, geb. Freiin von Doblhoff and from 1966 to 1968 with Gisela, b. from Böhm-Bezing. In 1971 he married the children's nurse Christa, geb. from Wedel-Kannenberg.

High school and military service

He attended a grammar school in Graz , the Abteigymnasium Seckau , the federal educational institute (for boys) in Horn , the Marieninstitut Graz, the Franciscan college ( Franjevački kolegij ) Varaždin and the high school Graz. In 1940 he graduated from high school .

In the Second World War he served in the Croatian Army ( Hrvatsko domobranstvo ), which was only set up by Croatian fascists in mid-1941, and in the German-Croatian Legion ( Hrvatska legija ).

Studies and academic work

In 1945 he started studying at the University of Graz and took the subjects “Austrian History” and “General History of the Middle Ages and Modern Times”. On January 26, 1949, he submitted his dissertation, Italy's position on the annexation of Bosnia and Hercegovina in 1908/09 (supervisor was Hermann Wiesflecker ); after passing the doctoral examinations on 24 March 1949 he became a doctor of philosophy doctorate .

In 1952/53 Preradovich worked as a scholarship holder or assistant at the institute for research into the displaced persons in Marburg / Lahn , headed by Johann Wilhelm Mannhardt . From 1953 to 1955 he was a research assistant at the Institute for European History in Mainz. In 1956 he completed his habilitation at the University of Graz on The Leadership Classes in Austria and Prussia 1804–1918 and worked there from 1956 until his leave of absence in 1966 as a university lecturer in general modern history. His historical-sociological habilitation thesis was positively discussed and received international attention. The work was criticized, for example, by Ferdinand Tremel , who identified “incorrect judgments” and “factual errors”. Gerhard A. Ritter and Klaus Tenfelde , however, describe the volume as a " standard work ".

From 1966 to 1971 Preradovich was deputy head of the Institute for Research on Historical Leadership Classes in Bensheim an der Bergstrasse. For this purpose he took leave of absence from the faculty several times and did not give any more lectures. In 1971 his Venia finally went out .

From 1972 to 1974 Preradovich was head of the history department at H. Schroedel Verlag in Hanover. Preradovich was a member of the Ranke Society in Hamburg, the Society for Social and Economic History in Munich and the Society for Intellectual History in Erlangen. In 1963 he gave a lecture at the annual conference of the Research Institute for the Danube Region . From 1953 to 1974 he published several articles in the Neue Deutsche Biographie . During this time he also appeared as a reviewer and author in scientific journals and yearbooks (including historical magazine , quarterly for social and economic history , magazine for religious and intellectual history , Hungary yearbook , Saeculum ) and was a permanent contributor to the genealogical manual of the Nobility .

For Bernd Wegner , Preradovich was relevant for his “contributions to empirical research on elites ”. His estate (including the nobility, ruling classes of Prussia and Austria and militaria) is in the holdings of the Institute for Personal History of the Friedrich Wilhelm Euler Foundation in Bensheim.

Right-wing journalism (1980s ff.)

His writings “God bless the Führer!” The churches in the 3rd Reich ( Druffel-Verlag , 1985), “Reichskristallnacht”, November 9, 1938. Backers and backgrounds ( Türmer-Verlag , 1988) and The seven deadly sins of Adolf Hitler. A critical investigation (Türmer-Verlag, 1989) is carried out as “right-wing extremist book publications” in the documentation center of the Institute for Political Science (right-wing extremism archive) at Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University in Hanover .

His work, Die Generale der Waffen-SS , published by Vorwinckel Verlag in 1985 , was classified by Bernd Wegner as a “radical right-wing work”.

From 1992 Preradovich belonged with Karl-Heinz Sendbühler , Gustav Sichelschmidt , Fritz Hippler and others to the editorial board of the right-wing extremist magazine Nation. The political magazine for Germany . For years he was an employee of Gerhard Frey's national newspaper . In addition, he published in other extreme right-wing organs such as Die Aula , Deutsche Geschichte and the Deutsche Annalen von Gert Sudholt , the communications of the Glasenbacher welfare association , the Eckartschriften series (No. 106) of the Schutzverein Österreichische Landsmannschaft , as well as the Deutsche Monatshefte , the magazine Nation Europa , the magazine Germany in the past and present , the magazine New Order and the magazine Die Kameradschaft .

In Aula 3/94, Preradovich wrote in the article 'Gypsies' or 'Roma and Sinti' ? : "Since the gypsies did not change between 1417 and 1883, it can hardly be assumed that any significant change could have occurred in the last 110 years."

Since after the bomb attack on Roma in Oberwart on February 5, 1995, the perpetrator (s) were suspected to be in the vicinity of the readers of the auditorium , Preradovich's "Gypsy" article in the auditorium led to MdB Ulla Jelpke and the group on June 19, 1995 The PDS in a small question asked the German federal government what "constitutional protection-relevant knowledge" they had about Preradovich.

Preradovich was one of the signatories of the 1996 “ Appeal of the 100 ”, a statement that spoke out against laws against Holocaust denial (see Helmut Schrätze ).

Preradovich was initially a lecturer at the right-wing extremist Society for Free Journalism (GfP), and in 1999 he was awarded the GfP's "Ulrich von Hutten Medal".

The Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance (DÖW) reported on the Ulrichsberg meeting in 2000 that a leaflet had been distributed there, on which Preradovich's confession could be read: “I admire Adolf Hitler more and more every day. The man ruled for twelve years . He was at war for more than five years , three of which were extremely successful! And that with a people, one third of which had emigrated, one third sat in the concentration camp and one third offered furious resistance. First someone should imitate the man. "

According to the historian Niels Weise - he refers to an article in the German Soldier's Yearbook and to the " historical revisionist representation" of the NSDAP's Schutzstaffel - Preradovich "hushed up" Theodor Eicke's functions as a concentration camp commandant and inspector of the concentration camps with "the euphemism that this was in "Active in a leading position in the SS". Elsewhere he cites "perfidiously the Dachau camp regulations as evidence that there was a clear order in the concentration camp."

Fonts (selection)

1950s to 1970s

• The ruling classes in Prussia and Austria 1804–1918. With an outlook up to 1945 (= publications of the Institute for European History Mainz . Volume 11). Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden 1955 (2nd edition 1966).
• The national thought in Austria 1866–1938 (= historical-political notebooks of the Ranke Society . Issue 8). Musterschmidt-Verlag, Göttingen 1962.
• The emperor's border guards. 300 years of defense against the Turks. Molden, Vienna a. a. 1970.
• Wilhelmstrasse and the Anschluss of Austria, 1918–1933 (= European university publications. Series 3: History and its auxiliary sciences. Volume 3). Lang, Bern a. a. 1971.
• Kuk anecdotes. Amalthea Signum Verlag, Vienna a. a. 1975, ISBN 3-85002-062-2 (unabridged licensed edition, Ullstein Verlag, 1989; licensed edition Tosa 1996).
• The military and social origin of the generals of the German army, May 1, 1944 (= studies on military history, military science and conflict research. Volume 14). Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1978, ISBN 3-7648-1061-0 .

1980s ff.

• The strangely wild life of the Pandur Colonel Franz von der Trenck, Leopold Stocker Verlag, Graz and Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-7020-0361-4 .
• The encirclement. Causes and occasion of the First World War. Druffel, Leoni am Starnberger See 1984, ISBN 3-8061-1031-0 .
• The generals of the Waffen SS. Vowinckel, Berg am See 1985, ISBN 3-921655-41-2 .
• with Josef Stingl : “God bless the Führer!” The churches in the 3rd Reich - a documentation of confessions and personal testimonies. Druffel, Leoni am Starnberger See 1985, ISBN 3-8061-1040-9 .
• Greater Germany 1938. Dream - Reality - Tragedy. Druffel, Leoni am Starnberger See 1987, ISBN 3-8061-1051-4 .
• Austria's higher SS leaders. Vowinckel, Berg am See 1987, ISBN 3-921655-55-2 .
• I dared with my senses. Ulrich von Hutten and his time (= Eckartschriften, H. 106). Austrian Landsmannschaft, Vienna 1988.
• Adolf Hitler. The judgment of the contemporaries. Türmer-Verlag, Berg am See 1988.
• “Reichskristallnacht”, November 9, 1938. Backers and backgrounds. Türmer-Verlag, 1988.
• The seven deadly sins of Adolf Hitler. A critical investigation (= Türmer-Taschenbuch. No. 14). Türmer-Verlag, Berg 1989, ISBN 3-87829-125-2 .
• (Ed.): Waldemar Schütz (Ed.): German history in the 20th century shaped by World War I, National Socialism, World War II. Chronology. DVG, Deutsche Verlags-Gesellschaft, Rosenheim 1990, ISBN 3-920722-00-0 .
• (Ed.): Germany and Poland 1919–1939 (= Türmer-Taschenbuch. No. 15). 2nd Edition. Türmer-Verlag, Berg am See 1990, ISBN 3-87829-132-9 .
• Koenigsberg. A German city through the ages. Verlagsgesellschaft Berg, Berg / Starnberger See 1993, ISBN 3-86118-30-8 .
• Czechoslovakia 1918–1992. The state that only the Czechs wanted. A historical-political study. Publishing company Berg, Berg am See 1993, ISBN 3-86118-023-5 .
• Cultural and contemporary history, Archiv der Zeit e. V., Rosenheim (ed.): Anschluss 1938. Austria and Sudetenland. Book Service DVG, Preußisch Oldendorf 1994, ISBN 3-920722-20-5 .
• Cultural and contemporary history, Archiv der Zeit e. V., Rosenheim (Ed.): June 30, 1934. Röhm-Putsch. Book Service DVG, Preußisch Oldendorf 1994, ISBN 3-920722-19-1 .
• July 20, 1944. Goals - People - Errors. A critical study. Druffel, Berg am Starnberger See 1994, ISBN 3-8061-1094-8 .
• Danzig. Path and fate of a German city. VGB, Inning am Ammersee 1995, ISBN 3-86118-047-2 .
• The NSDAP Schutzstaffel. A documentation. Druffel and Vowinckel, Stegen / Ammersee 2004, ISBN 3-8061-1138-3 .

literature

• Preradovich, Nicholas. In: Fritz Fellner , Doris A. Corradini: Austrian History in the 20th Century. A biographical-bibliographical lexicon (= publications of the Commission for Modern History of Austria. Volume 99). Böhlau, Vienna a. a. 2006, ISBN 978-3-205-77476-1 , pp. 327-328.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Cf. Preradović, Paula von. In: Ilse Korotin (Hrsg.): BiografıA: Lexicon of Austrian women. Volume 3: P-Z. Böhlau, Vienna a. a. 2016, ISBN 978-3-205-79590-2 , pp. 2599–2600, here: p. 2599.
2. ↑ Further information: Rainer Egger :  Lanjus von Wellenburg, Karl Gf .. In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1972, p. 14.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Preradovich, Nikolaus. In: Fritz Fellner , Doris A. Corradini: Austrian History in the 20th Century. A biographical-bibliographical lexicon (= publications of the Commission for Modern History of Austria. Volume 99). Böhlau, Vienna a. a. 2006, ISBN 978-3-205-77476-1 , pp. 327-328, here: p. 327.
4. ↑ Further information: Jäger – Sunstenau:  Lanjus von Wellenburg, Friedrich Gf. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1972, p. 14.
5. ↑ Hitler: No evidence of Aryan . In: Der Spiegel . No. 24 , 1957, pp. 54–58, here: p. 57 ( online - June 12, 1957 ).
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Preradovich, Nikolaus. In: Fritz Fellner , Doris A. Corradini: Austrian History in the 20th Century. A biographical-bibliographical lexicon (= publications of the Commission for Modern History of Austria. Volume 99). Böhlau, Vienna a. a. 2006, ISBN 978-3-205-77476-1 , pp. 327-328, here: p. 328.
7. ^ Georg Franz: The ruling classes in Austria and Prussia (1804-1918). With an outlook to 1945 by Nikolaus Von Preradovich. In: Historische Zeitschrift 183 (1957) 3, pp. 615–617, here: p. 617.
8. ↑ Cf. Hajo Holborn : The Leadership Strata in Austria And Preussen (1804-1918), With An Outlook Until 1945 by Nikolaus von Preradovich. In: The American Historical Review . 62 (1957) 2, pp. 390 f .; Ernest Manheim : The ruling classes in Austria and Prussia (1804–1918); with a view up to 1945. by Nikolaus von Preradovich. In: American Sociological Review 21 (1956) 4, p. 517 f .; Dankwart A. Rustow : The Study of Elites: Who's Who, When, and How. In: World Politics . 18 (1966) 4, pp. 690-717, here: p. 694.
9. ^ Ferdinand Tremel : The ruling classes in Austria and Prussia (1804-1918). With an outlook up to 1945. Publications of the Institute for European History Mainz, Volume 11 by Nikolaus von Preradovich, J. Lortz, M. Göhring. In: Quarterly for social and economic history . 43 (1956) 4, pp. 376-379, here: p. 379.
10. ↑ Gerhard A. Ritter , Klaus Tenfelde : Arbeiter im Deutschen Kaiserreich 1871 to 1914 (= history of the workers and the workers' movement in Germany since the end of the 18th century. Volume 5). Dietz, Bonn 1992, ISBN 3-8012-0168-6 , p. 134, fn. 68.
11. ↑ ^{a b c d} Pogrom of November 9, 1938: White washers at work ( Memento of March 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: publikative.org , October 24, 2008.
12. ^ Peter Berger: Annual conference of the research institute for the Danube region. In: Yearbooks for the History of Eastern Europe . NF 11 (1963) 1, pp. 152-153, here: p. 153.
13. ^ Hit for Nikolaus von Preradovich. In: deutsche-biographie.de, accessed on August 26, 2016.
14. ↑ Cf. Genealogical Handbook of the Nobility. Freiherrliche Häuser B, Volume II. CA Starke Verlag, Glücksburg 1957, p. VI. (listed there as "Univ.-Lecturer. Dr. phil. Nicolaus [!] von Preradovich").
15. ↑ ^{a b} Bernd Wegner : Nikolaus von Preradovich: The Generals of the Waffen SS. In: Military history messages . 46 (1989) 2, pp. 188-190, here: p. 188.
16. ↑ Legacies in the IPG (assortment) ( Memento from July 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). In: Personengeschichte.de, accessed on August 26, 2016.
17. ↑ ^{a b} Documentation center of the Institute for Political Science (right-wing extremism archive): inventory overview system point 55.9 - right-wing extremist media, p. 13.
18. ^ Documentation center of the Institute for Political Science (right-wing extremism archive): Inventory overview system point 55.9 - Right-wing extremist media, p. 14.
19. ↑ Damböck, Dr. Michael. In: Brigitte Bailer , Wolfgang Neugebauer (edit.): Handbook of Austrian right-wing extremism. Edited by the Documentation Archive Foundation of the Austrian Resistance . Updated and ext. New edition. Deuticke, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-216-30099-4 , p. 319.
20. ^ Brigitte Bailer , Wolfgang Neugebauer : Right-wing extremist associations, political parties, magazine (circles), informal / illegal groups. In the S. (Ed.): Handbook of Austrian Right-Wing Extremism. Edited by the Documentation Archive Foundation of the Austrian Resistance . Updated and ext. New edition. Deuticke, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-216-30099-4 , p. 124.
21. ^ Elmar Vieregge: Magazine portrait : German history. In: Uwe Backes , Eckhard Jesse (Ed.): Yearbook Extremism & Democracy . Volume 18 (2006), Nomos, Baden-Baden 2007, ISBN 978-3-8329-2431-7 , pp. 238-256, here: p. 240.
22. ↑ Jens Mecklenburg (ed.): Handbook of German right-wing extremism. Elefanten-Press, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-88520-585-8 , p. 403 f.
23. ^ Brigitte Bailer , Wolfgang Neugebauer : Right-wing extremist associations, political parties, magazine (circles), informal / illegal groups. In the S. (Ed.): Handbook of Austrian Right-Wing Extremism. Edited by the Documentation Archive Foundation of the Austrian Resistance . Updated and ext. New edition. Deuticke, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-216-30099-4 , p. 252.
24. ^ Brigitte Bailer , Wolfgang Neugebauer : Right-wing extremist associations, political parties, magazine (circles), informal / illegal groups. In the S. (Ed.): Handbook of Austrian Right-Wing Extremism. Edited by the Documentation Archive Foundation of the Austrian Resistance . Updated and ext. New edition. Deuticke, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-216-30099-4 , p. 190.
25. ↑ monitor. circular from apabiz ev no. 17, September 2004, p. 5.
26. ↑ Quotation from Reinhold Gärtner : The ordinary rights: The "Aula", the freedom and right-wing extremism. Picus-Verlag, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85452-286-X , p. 106.
27. ↑ German Bundestag Printed Matter 13/1817 of 23 June 1995 ( PDF; 259 kB ; ASCII ). The federal government only responded to the relevant request by stating that it would publish “personal data and evaluative statements on the political activities of individuals in the area of ​​extremism only under the conditions of Section 16 (2) of the Federal Constitutional Protection Act (BVerfSchG)”. These prerequisites are "only fulfilled in the case of associations if their activities are directed against the protected assets listed in Section 1 (1) BVerfSchG directly or through support for German citizens or associations." See German Bundestag: Printed paper 13/2019 of July 18, 1995 ( PDF; 322 kB ; ASCII ).
28. ↑ Jens Mecklenburg (ed.): Handbook of German right-wing extremism. Elefanten-Press, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-88520-585-8 , p. 267.
29. ↑ Ulrichsberg meeting. News from the far right - October 2000. Documentation archive of the Austrian resistance , accessed on August 27, 2016.
30. ↑ Niels Weise: Eicke. An SS career between a mental hospital, concentration camp system and Waffen-SS. Schöningh, Paderborn u. a. 2013, ISBN 978-3-506-77705-8 , p. 29., fn. 1.
31. ↑ Niels Weise: Introduction. In: Ders .: Eicke. An SS career between a mental hospital, concentration camp system and Waffen-SS. Schöningh, Paderborn u. a. 2013, ISBN 978-3-506-77705-8 , pp. 19 f., Fn. 79.