Otto Binder (Manager)

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Otto Binder (born January 2, 1910 in Vienna ; † February 15, 2005 there ) was General Director of Wiener Städtische Wechselseiten Insurance Company from 1959 to 1981 . He was a contemporary witness of the crimes of the National Socialists .

life and work

Binder, who lost his father in the war in 1914, found his way early on into the socialist youth movement, which for him became a substitute for families, a place of assimilation and the epitome of solidarity . From 1928 he was chairman of the Socialist Workers' Youth Inner City (SAJ). After moving to Salzburg as an employee of Wiener Städtische Versicherung, he was chairman of the SAJ Salzburg-Stadt from 1931 to 1934. In April 1934 he was temporarily arrested for activities for the Social Democratic Workers' Party, which had already been banned , and fired by his employer. After the National Socialists came to power , he was arrested again and initially interned in the Dachau concentration camp and later in the Buchenwald concentration camp .

After a year in prison, the Matteotti Committee in Paris succeeded in obtaining an exit permit for Binder. He emigrated to Sweden, learned the trade of metalworker and later worked as an employee of the Swedish cooperative insurance group Folksam . In Sweden, Binder also married his long-time companion Anni Pusterer . The couple had three children, two of whom were born in exile. The daughter Margit (* 1943) has been married to the former Federal President Heinz Fischer since 1968 , the son Lennart (* 1948) works as a lawyer and human rights activist in Vienna, daughter Marianne was born in Vienna in 1953. The friends of the Binders in Sweden included the Kreisky , Reitbauer, Böhm and Stern couples .

In 1949 the family returned to Vienna. Otto Binder, in turn, found a job at Wiener Städtische Versicherungsanstalt, played a key role in the construction of the Vienna Ringturm and was appointed general director of the company in 1959 as the successor to Norbert Liebermann . The 22 years of his leadership were marked by an upswing in the company. Binder was also president of the supervisory board of Austrian Airlines and represented on the supervisory board of other companies. Even in retirement, Otto Binder took an active part in political life. As a contemporary witness , he made himself available to discussions and conversations in public space. In 2004 he saw his son-in-law's election as Austrian Federal President . A few days before his death, he took part in public events.

Book publication

  • Vienna - return. Report to the offspring. Salzburg - Buchenwald - Stockholm. Vienna: Böhlau, 3rd edition 2010, ISBN 978-3-205-78534-7

proof

  1. ↑ Otto Binder: Vienna - return. Report to the offspring . böhlauWien, 1997, ISBN 3-205-98674-1 .
  2. ↑ Margit Fischer: What we pass on . Brandstätter Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-85033-925-4 .
  3. ^ Austria Press Agency : Wiener Städtische: Retired General Director Otto Binder: 1910 - 2005 , February 16, 2005
personal data
SURNAME Binder, Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian general director and Holocaust survivor
DATE OF BIRTH January 2, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH February 15, 2005
Place of death Vienna