Alfred Proksch (8 March 1891 in Larischau – 3 January 1981 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) 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 ...

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

official, who briefly served as the leader of the Nazi Party in Austria.

Life

Proksch enrolled in the Kaiser Infantry Regiment No. 1 of 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 ...

in 1910 and then the Railway Academy in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

in 1912 before taking a job with the government railways. He returned to the army in 1914 with the Infantry Regiment No. 91 and saw action during the

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 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *'' Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pr ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the ...

'', 1990, p. 305 He first became involved in politics in 1912 when he joined the

German Workers' Party The German Workers' Party (german: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, DAP) was a short-lived far-right political party established in Weimar Germany after World War I. It was the precursor of the Nazi Party, which was officially known as the National Soci ...

and worked on behalf of the party in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

and

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 me ...

. After his war service Proksch settled in the now much smaller Austria and returned to politics by rejoining the renamed Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei.Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right'', p. 306 Proksch met

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 ...

as early as 1919 and became a loyal follower of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

from then on. Proksch launched the Nazis in Linz in

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

the same year. He also founded both the party newspaper ''Linzer Volksstimme'' (1923) and the NSP-Verlag publishing house (1926). In 1922, Proksch began to team up with the Passau National Socialists to fight against leftists in Linz. Later, he was a featured speaker in Passau and other towns in

Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...

. He also served on the Linz City Council as the chairman of the Nazi faction from July 1923 to January 1932. On 29 August 1926 Hitler appointed Proksch ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

'' for Upper Austria, and he served in this post until June 1927. In 1928 he was made Deputy ''Landesleiter'' (State Leader) for all of Austria. Then on 6 June 1931 he was promoted to ''Landesleiter'' and held the post until 23 June 1933, although most power rested with Hitler's personal representative, the German

Theodor Habicht Theodor Habicht (4 April 1898 – 31 January 1944) was a leading political figure in Nazi Germany. He played a leading role in the Austrian National Socialism, Austrian Nazi Party. During World War II, he was involved in the administration of Nazi- ...

. However, Proksch did have strong influence over finances and he was credited with eliminating the 30,000 schillings of debt that the party found itself in.F. Parkinson, ''Conquering the past: Austrian Nazism yesterday & today'', Wayne State University Press, 1989, p. 37 He fled to Germany on 24 June 1933 following the banning of the Nazi Party in Austria. He settled in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

where he was made Deputy to Habicht who continued to be responsible for Austrian policy. Proksch returned to Austria in time to take part in the coup attempt that resulted in the killing of

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 a ...

in 1934. In July 1934 he was granted the title of Honorary ''Gauleiter''. Returning to Germany, he acquired German citizenship in 1935. In March 1936, he was elected to the '' Reichstag'' for electoral constituency 34, Hamburg, and in April 1938 he switched to representing district 8, Liegnitz. Given Proksch's position as a Hitler loyalist, his profile was raised following the

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 ...

. Joining the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...

'' (SA) as an SA-''

Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire de ...

'' in June 1938, he was promoted to SA-''

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...

'' on 20 April 1943. In 1940 he was made the Reich Trustee of Labor for Vienna and Lower Austria. He then served as President of the Labor Office in Vienna from 1943 to 1945. Arrested in May 1945, he was interned, tried by the People's Court in Vienna and sentenced to 4 years hard labor. After his release, he worked as a laborer until 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proksch, Alfred 1891 births 1981 deaths People from Bruntál District People from Austrian Silesia Austrian Nazis Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Sturmabteilung officers