Military gymnast (Austria)
Military gymnasts were paramilitary groups in the First Republic of Austria , some of which legally or illegally carried out military training for their members within the framework of sports clubs . Characteristic for Austria was the splitting of the gymnastics movement according to the three existing political "camps": the social-democratic, the Christian-social and the "German national" or German national camp.
Division into political camps
The athletes who belong to the Christian-German Gymnastics Association of Austria (CDTÖ) and who have also been integrated into the voluntary protection corps as assistance troops can be seen as legal military gymnasts .
According to the understanding of the fascist corporate state, illegal military gymnasts were those who were trained underground by social democratic sports and shooting clubs after the ban on the Republican Protection Association on May 30, 1933 . A militarization of workers 'sport began by the Republican Protection Association, which recruited some of its members from the workers' athletes. From 1925 there were military gymnastics departments in the workers 'gymnasts and workers' rifle clubs (order exercises, hand grenade throwing, map reading, small caliber shooting, obstacle gymnastics). Around 1930 the sports in the ASKÖ included weight training, shooting and military sports. These exercises were continued underground on May 30, 1933, after the Republican Protection Association was banned (see Richard Bernaschek ).
Although not generally forbidden, the so-called “German nationalist” gymnastics clubs, whose members were often National Socialists or Nazi sympathizers, were also considered “anti-government” and were under observation after the NSDAP was banned from operating.
Attack by the National Socialists on Christian-German military gymnasts
The Christian-German military gymnasts became known through a hand grenade attack carried out on them by the National Socialists in Krems an der Donau on June 19, 1933. These military gymnasts had held a weapons exercise in Egelsee which was supposed to prepare them for future assistance missions. As they marched back , three hand grenades were thrown at the young men in a ravine in Alauntal near Krems. 30 gymnasts were injured, 17 seriously and two life-threatening. One of the critically injured, Franz Blamoser, died from his injuries on July 6, 1933.
The 21-year-old SA war leader Herbert Mosel and Adolf Weichselbaum, a former pupil in the reformatory in Eggenberg, Lower Austria, were identified as the perpetrators . While Weichselbaum and other backers fled to Germany to the Austrian Legion , at the request of Security Minister Fey, a ban on the Austrian " NSDAP - Hitler Movement ", its subsidiary and sub-organizations and the Styrian Homeland Security, which pacts with it, was issued. In connection with this, 43 “German national” gymnastics clubs were officially dissolved on June 21st. The Reich German national leader of the NSDAP, Theo Habicht , was deported to Germany. However, that did not mean the end of the Nazi terror, it was just the beginning of it. In addition, the death penalty was reintroduced on November 10, 1933, and expanded to include bomb attacks on July 8, 1934.
Assistance assignments for military gymnasts
Well-known assignments of the military gymnasts as part of the assistance assignments took place in the defensive battle with the Austrian Legion in the course of the National Socialist July coup .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gerhard Zeillinger: "Died for Austria." In: Die Presse. com from June 20, 2008 (slightly biased article)
- ^ Franz Winkler: Grenzland. Chronicle of an eventful time. Mühlviertel - Bavaria - Bohemian Forest. Kollerschlag: District home association Rohrbach. 2004.