Kurt Schuschnigg
Kurt Alois Josef Johann von Schuschnigg (German: [ˈʃʊʃnɪk]; 14 December 1897 – 18 November 1977) was an Austrian politician who was the Chancellor of the Federal State of Austria from the 1934 assassination of his predecessor Engelbert Dollfuss until the 1938 Anschluss with Nazi Germany. Although Schuschnigg considered Austria a "German state" and Austrians to be Germans, he was strongly opposed to Adolf Hitler's goal to absorb Austria into the Third Reich and wished for it to remain independent.
Kurt Schuschnigg | |
|---|---|
Schuschnigg in 1936 | |
| Chancellor of Austria | |
| In office 29 July 1934 – 11 March 1938 | |
| President | Wilhelm Miklas |
| Vice-Chancellor | Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg Eduard Baar-Baarenfels Ludwig Hülgerth Edmund Glaise-Horstenau |
| Preceded by | Engelbert Dollfuss |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Seyss-Inquart |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 29 July 1934 – 11 March 1938 | |
| Preceded by | Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Seyss-Inquart |
| Minister of Education | |
| In office 24 May 1933 – 14 May 1936 | |
| Preceded by | Anton Rintelen |
| Succeeded by | Hans Pernter |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 29 January 1932 – 10 July 1934 | |
| Preceded by | Hans Schürff |
| Succeeded by | Egon Berger-Waldenegg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kurt Alois Josef Johann Edler von Schuschnigg 14 December 1897 Reiff am Gartsee, County of Tyrol, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 18 November 1977 (aged 79) Mutters, Tyrol, Austria |
| Political party | Fatherland Front (1933–1938) |
| Other political affiliations | Christian Social Party (1927–1933) |
| Spouses | Herma Masera
(m. 1926; died 1935)Vera Fugger von Babenhausen
(m. 1938; died 1959) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Freiburg Innsbruck University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Austro-Hungarian Empire |
| Branch/service | Austro-Hungarian Army |
| Years of service | 1915–1919 |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
When Schuschnigg's efforts to keep Austria independent had failed, he resigned his office. After the Anschluss he was arrested, kept in solitary confinement and eventually interned in various concentration camps. He was liberated in 1945 by the advancing United States Army and spent most of the rest of his life in academia in the United States. Schuschnigg gained American citizenship in 1956.