Adele Stürzl (November 23, 1892 – June 30, 1944) was an Austrian communist and resistance fighter against National Socialism.

Life

Stürzl was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, her parents were originally from South Bohemia near

Znojmo Znojmo (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian Region. The hi ...

. She worked as a maid in her youth. In Vienna she came into contact with the Social Democratic workers movement. In

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, she met her husband. Together, the couple moved to Kufstein in Tyrol after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

had ended in May 1918. In Kufstein, Adele Stürzl was an activist for labour rights. She managed for female workers in an arms factory to get a raise. She was an active member of the Social Democratic Party and then the Communist Party. When the Communist Party was prohibited in 1933, she was arrested for a short time. She was again arrested in 1934 and 1935. After Austria became annexed to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, she was active in the resistance against the regime. She collaborated with other resistance fighters around the Robert Uhrig group, they regularly met also at her house. She was arrested in June 1942. She was suspected of trying to bring a deserter out of the country to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in April 1942. For May 1, 1942 she tried to organise a hunger demonstration of housewives at the main square in Kufstein. In November 1942, Stürzl was convicted in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

of helping a deserter and sentenced to four years in prison. On April 14, 1944, she was sentenced to death by the People's Court. Probably on June 30, 1944 (some sources mention August 16, 1944), she was executed in Stadelheim Prison in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Remembrance

A small street in Kufstein was named after her: Adele-Stürzl-Weg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturzl, Adele 1892 births 1944 deaths Executed Austrian women Communist Party of Austria politicians Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians Executed communists in the German Resistance People executed by Nazi Germany by guillotine People from Kufstein Austrian communists 20th-century Austrian women politicians 20th-century Austrian politicians Austrian people executed by Nazi Germany