Hanns Blaschke (1 April 1896, 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 ...

– 25 October 1971, in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

) was an Austrian politician. A member of the

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 ...

(NSDAP), he served as mayor of

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 30 December 1943 until 6 April 1945.World Statesmen
/ref>

Biography

Blaschke was born in Vienna in 1896. The son of a tax officer, he studied electrical engineering at the

Vienna University of Technology TU Wien (TUW; german: Technische Universität Wien; still known in English as the Vienna University of Technology from 1975–2014) is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recogn ...

. His studies were interrupted in 1914 by the outbreak of

World War One 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 ...

. Blaschke fought as a lieutenant 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 ...

until the end of the war. He resumed his studies and graduated in 1922. As early as 1931 Blaschke was working as an illegal functionary in the Austrian NSDAP. After participating in the 1934

July Putsch The July Putsch was a failed coup attempt against the Austrofascist regime by Austrian Nazis from 25 to 30 July 1934. Just a few months after the Austrian Civil War, Austrian Nazis and German SS soldiers attacked the Chancellery in Vienna in ...

he was sentenced to life imprisonment for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

but was released after two years because of the

July Agreement The ''Juliabkommen'' ("July Agreement") was an agreement—officially, a gentleman's agreement—between the Federal State of Austria and Nazi Germany signed on 11 July 1936. The agreement was not initially published. It was negotiated by the Ge ...

Ernst Klee Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was concer ...

: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945.'' S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, , p. 56. In 1938 Blaschke participated in the

annexation of Austria The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the Nazi Germany, German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Ger ...

, taking part in the assault on the building of the Fatherland Front. Afterwards he was a prominent member of the Nazi government, becoming mayor of Vienna in 1943. He held this position until the Nazis surrendered in April 1945. In 1948 Blaschke was convicted of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

in Austria. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment and deprivation of property; however this judgement was overturned on appeal in 1958.Wolfgang Graf: ''Österreichische SS-Generäle. Himmlers verlässliche Vasallen'', Klagenfurt/ Ljubljana/ Wien 2012, p. 154

References

1896 births 1971 deaths Austrian politicians Austrian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Nazi Party politicians Politicians from Vienna Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany {{Germany-Nazi-politician-stub People convicted of treason against Austria Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Austria Nazis convicted of crimes