Adolf Schärf (; 20 April 1890 – 28 February 1965) was an
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n politician of the
Socialist Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...
(SPÖ). He served as
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
from 1945 to 1957 and as
President of Austria from 1957 until his death.
Life
Schärf was born in
Nikolsburg
Mikulov (; german: Nikolsburg; yi, ניקאלשבורג, ''Nikolshburg'') is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The historic centre of Mikulov is well preserved and i ...
,
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The m ...
(present-day Mikulov, Czech Republic), into a poor working-class family. Living in the Austro-Hungarian capital
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
from 1899, he attended the
gymnasium in
Hernals
Hernals (; Viennese German: Hernois) is the 17th district of Vienna, Austria (german: 17. Bezirk, Hernals).
Hernals is in northwest Vienna.Statistik Austria, 2007, webpagestatistik.at-23450.
Wien.gv.at webpage (see below: References).
It was anne ...
and went on to study at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...
. The talented young man put himself through law school working part-time and with a scholarship granted for academic excellence. He received a doctorate in summer 1914 and, upon the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
four weeks later, volunteered for service in the
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...
.
Political career
At the end of the Great War, Schärf was discharged as a Second Lieutenant. Having witnessed the defeat and dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, he entered politics and, through the mediation of the deputy
Otto Glöckel
Otto Glöckel (8 February 1874 in Pottendorf, Lower Austria – 23 July 1935 in Vienna) Socialism, social-Democracy, democratic politician and school-reformer during the First Austrian Republic. First Minister of Education during the First Aust ...
, found employment as the secretary of the Social Democratic president of the
National Council parliament
Karl Seitz
Karl Josef Seitz (; 4 September 1869 – 3 February 1950) was an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Workers' Party. He served as member of the Imperial Council, President of the National Council and Mayor of Vienna.
Early life
Sei ...
. He held the post as a secretary throughout the years of the
First Austrian Republic until the resignation of Parliament President
Karl Renner
Karl Renner (14 December 1870 – 31 December 1950) was an Austrian politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republic" because he led the first government of German ...
in March 1933. Schärf, as well as Karl Seitz and the
Austromarxist
Austromarxism (also stylised as Austro-Marxism) was a Marxist theoretical current, led by Victor Adler, Otto Bauer, Karl Renner, Max Adler and Rudolf Hilferding, members of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria in Austria-Hungary an ...
party official
Otto Bauer
Otto Bauer (5 September 1881 – 4 July 1938) was one of the founders and leading thinkers of the left-socialist Austromarxists who sought a middle ground between social democracy and revolutionary socialism. He was a member of the Austrian Parl ...
, had urged Renner to step down from office, which proved to be fatal as it gave the government of Chancellor
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuß (alternatively: ''Dolfuss'', ; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ...
the opportunity to overthrow the parliamentary system.
Schärf became a deputy of the
Federal Council in 1933, and though he kept aside from the Social Democratic ''
Republikanischer Schutzbund
The Republikanischer Schutzbund (, ''Republican Protection League'') was an Austrian paramilitary organization established in 1923 by the Social Democratic Party (SDAPÖ) to secure power
in the face of rising political radicalization after World ...
'' paramilitaries, he was arrested after the
1934 February Uprising and lost his public offices in the course of the establishment of the
Austrofascist dictatorship. Unemployed after the dissolution of the Social Democratic Party, he passed the Austrian bar exam in 1934 and worked as an associate with a law firm.
Upon the Austrian ''
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
'' to
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in March 1938, Schärf was arrested and served time as a political prisoner of the ''
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
''. However, three months later, he "
aryanized
Aryanization (german: Arisierung) was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. I ...
" the office of Arnold Eisler, a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
lawyer and party colleague who had to leave Austria. He took over Eisler's law firm and it was never
restituted. Later on, he also helped in the aryanization process of buildings in Vienna. On the other hand, Schärf avoided membership in the
National Socialist Association of Legal Professionals
The National Socialist Association of Legal Professionals (German: ''Nationalsozialistischer Rechtswahrerbund'', or NSRB) was the professional organization of German legal professionals ( lawyers, judges, public prosecutors, notaries and lega ...
and was in contact with
resistance circles. There were contacts with the important resistance group (Maier-Mesner group, CASSIA) around the later executed priest
Heinrich Maier
Heinrich Maier (; 16 February 1908 – 22 March 1945) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, pedagogue, philosopher and a member of the Austrian resistance, who was executed as the last victim of Hitler's régime in Vienna.
The resistance gr ...
, who was in contact with the American secret service OSS. Upon the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, his only son Reinhold was conscripted in the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
armed forces and was killed in action in 1941. After the
20 July plot in 1944 Schärf spent another five weeks in prison.
Immediately after the Soviet
Vienna Offensive
The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945.
After several days of street-to-street f ...
and the occupation of the city in April 1945, Schärf became acting chairman of the refounded Social Democratic Party of Austria and joined the Austrian
national unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nat ...
of Chancellor Karl Renner. Together with Renner, the Conservative politician
Leopold Figl
Leopold Figl (2 October 1902 – 9 May 1965) was an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party (Christian Democrats) and the first Federal Chancellor after World War II. He was also the youngest Federal Chancellor of Austria after the w ...
and the
Communist Johann Koplenig he formed the first provisional cabinet of the Second Republic. After the
1945 legislative election Schärf became a member of the re-established National Council parliament. He served as
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
in the
grand coalition governments between the Conservative
People's Party and Social Democrats (the Communists were pushed out in 1947) under Chancellor Leopold Figl and his successor
Julius Raab
Julius Raab (29 November 1891 – 8 January 1964) was a conservative Austrian politician, who served as Federal Chancellor of Austria from 1953 to 1961. Raab steered Allied-occupied Austria to independence, when he negotiated and signed the Austri ...
until 1957.
Schärf had reservations about the restitution of Jewish property and also about the return of emigrants like
Bruno Kreisky
Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldes ...
in
Austrian politics. He opposed any collaboration of Social Democrats with the Communist Party and instead approached to the right-wing
Federation of Independents
The Federation of Independents (german: Verband der Unabhängigen, VdU) was a German nationalist and national-liberal political party in Austria active from 1949 to 1955. It was the predecessor of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).
Formation
Th ...
, which, however, did not prevent the decline in votes for the Social Democratic Party in the
1949 legislative election. The SPÖ again became the strongest party upon the
1953 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 1953.
Africa
* 1953 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland election
* 1953 South African general election
* 1953 Southern Rhodesian federation referendum
* 1953 South-West African legislative election
...
, which, however, was not sufficient for the appointment of a Social Democratic chancellor. In 1955, Schärf together with Chancellor Raab and Foreign minister Leopold Figl took part in the
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
negotiations for the
Austrian State Treaty
The Austrian State Treaty (german: Österreichischer Staatsvertrag ) or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying p ...
, whereby he expressed strong reservations against the
Declaration of Neutrality
The Declaration of Neutrality (german: Neutralitätserklärung) was a declaration by the Austrian Parliament declaring the country permanently neutral. It was enacted on 26 October 1955 as a constitutional act of parliament, i.e., as part of th ...
.
Presidency
When President
Theodor Körner died in office on 4 January 1957, Schärf became the Social Democratic candidate in the
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
held on May 5. Elected president, he assumed office on May 22. In June 1961 he hosted the
Vienna summit
The Vienna summit was a summit meeting held on June 4, 1961, in Vienna, Austria, between President John F. Kennedy of the United States and First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union. The leaders of the two superpowers of the Cold ...
meeting of US President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
and the Soviet Premier
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
, including a ceremonious state banquet at
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace (german: Schloss Schönbrunn ; Central Bavarian: ''Schloss Scheenbrunn'') was the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, Vienna. The name ''Schönbrunn'' (meaning “beautiful spring”) has its root ...
whereby Schärf, a widower since 1956, presided together with his daughter
Martha
Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness ...
as "
first lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
".
A firm supporter of the Austrian ''
Proporz
''Proporz'' (, from german: Proportionalität, "proportionality") is a long-standing practice in the Second Austrian Republic in which positions in government are distributed between political parties in a manner proportional to their electoral o ...
'' system and collaborating with three Conservative chancellors (Raab,
Gorbach and
Klaus
Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas.
Notable persons whose family name is Klaus
* Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American base ...
), Schärf gained recognition by exercising his office according to the principle of non-partisanship. He did, however, interfere in internal SPÖ affairs, which led to the resignation of Interior Minister
Franz Olah
Franz Olah (13 March 1910 – 4 September 2009) was an Austrian politician who served as the country's Interior Minister from 1963 until 1964 as a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ).
Olah was born on 13 March 1910 in Vienna. He attended ...
in 1964. After a six-years term, Schärf was the first post-war president to be re-elected in
1963, defeating his Conservative rival Julius Raab.
Schärf died in office in 1965. He is buried in the Vienna ''
Zentralfriedhof
The Vienna Central Cemetery (german: Wiener Zentralfriedhof) is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its ...
''. A square in the Vienna
Donaustadt
Donaustadt (; literally, Danube City; Central Bavarian: ''Donaustod'') is the 22nd district of Vienna, Austria (german: 22. Bezirk, Donaustadt).
Donaustadt is the eastern district of Vienna.Statistik Austria, 2007, webpage statistik.at-23450.
...
district was named after him in 1983. In 1985 a monument in his honour, designed by
Alfred Hrdlicka, was inaugurated near the
Vienna Town Hall in the presence of his daughter.
Suggestive abuse of biographical similarities
* The neo-Nazi song "Adolf's Ehrentag" by
Frank Rennicke
Frank Rennicke (born 18 December 1964 in Braunschweig) is a German songwriter and ballad singer from Braunschweig in Lower Saxony. He is one of the key figures within the far-right scene in Germany, and describes himself as a "national bard". attempts to bypass German anti-Nazi glorification laws by pretending to be about Adolf Schärf instead of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
; at the end of the song similarities are listed: both are born on 20 April, both have been imprisoned and both were leaders of Austria.
* The same approach is visible in a poem by Wolf Martin, a columnist from the
Kronen Zeitung
The ''Kronen Zeitung'' (), commonly known as the ''Krone'', is Austria's largest newspaper. It is known for being Eurosceptic.
History
The first issue of the ''Kronen Zeitung'' appeared on 2 January 1900. Gustav Davis, a former army officer, ...
,
[Borgers, Nathalie (2005) '' Kronen Zeitung – Tag für Tag ein Boulevardstück''. ARTE] published in 1994 on the occasion of Adolf "Schärf"'s birthday which caused an uproar at the time.
Sources
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scharf, Adolf
Presidents of Austria
Vice-Chancellors of Austria
People from Mikulov
Austrian people of Moravian-German descent
Former Roman Catholics
Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery
1890 births
1965 deaths
Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Justice ministers of Austria