Karl Toman (2 January 1884 – 5 February 1950) was an Austrian politician and trade unionist. Toman hailed from a

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

family. He went on to become a metal industry worker.Starch, Roland.
„Die KPÖ und die Komintern“
' Toman joined the Social Democratic Labour Party of Austria in 1898. In the run-up to the First World War, Toman served as secretary of the Goldsmiths' Trade Union. He was taken as a prisoner of war in Russia, and went on to fight on the Soviet side in the Russian Civil War. Toman becoming a leading figure in the Communist Party of Austria. He served as general secretary of the party for a brief period in 1920. He belonged to the party leadership until 1924.
Berör ytterligheterna varandra? Om renegater/överlöpare från kommunism/socialism till fascismAollaboration 1920-1945: En jämförande analys
' Toman represented the Communist Party of Austria at the second (1920) and third congresses (1921) of the Communist International. He took part in the fifth congress of the Communist International in 1924 as a non-voting delegate, representing of the inner-party minority in Austria. He was expelled from the party on August 31, 1924. In August 1925 he was readmitted to the Communist Party as a member. He worked with the

Red International of Labour Unions The Red International of Labor Unions (russian: Красный интернационал профсоюзов, translit=Krasnyi internatsional profsoyuzov, RILU), commonly known as the Profintern, was an international body established by the Comm ...

(Profintern), having been appointed secretary of the Trade Union Sector of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the Communist Party in 1928. At the Profintern congress of 1930, held in Moscow, Toman was elected to the central council of the international body. He moved to Moscow, working as instructor at the Organizational Department of Profintern. Toman relocation to the Soviet Union was seen as a way of resolving the fractional frictions inside the Austrian Communist Party. In the Soviet Union, Toman was accused of mismanagement of funds. In September 1931 he was sacked from Profintern. He was given a new employment at a sailor's club in Leningrad, politically demoted. Having returned to Austria in 1932, Toman was finally stripped of his Communist Party membership. Toman joined the

Revolutionary Socialists The Revolutionary Socialists ( ar, الاشتراكيون الثوريون; ) (RS) are a Trotskyist organisation in Egypt originating in the tradition of 'Socialism from Below'. Leading RS members include sociologist Sameh Naguib. The organisati ...

in 1934. He was detained at the Wöllersdorf prison camp, but was released in 1935. After '' Anschluss'' (German annexation of Austria in 1938) Toman was threatened with imprisonment at the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

. He was however able to negotiate a release from captivity, citing his expulsion from the Communist Party. He undertook a loyalty oath to the Third Reich. In April 1938 German authorities appointed him as a member of the local administration of

Eichgraben Eichgraben is a town in the district of Sankt Pölten-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located ...

. In January 1940 he joined the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) and SA. Toman was captured by Soviet troops in May 1945. He died in a Soviet Gulag prison camp on February 5, 1950. There are very few documented cases of former Austrian communists having joined the NSDAP, Toman being the most prominent amongst them. There is little written about Toman's political journey, but speculation points towards blunt opportunism.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toman, Karl 1884 births 1950 deaths Communist Party of Austria politicians Austrian trade unionists Austrian prisoners of war Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in World War I World War I prisoners of war held by Russia Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Austrian expatriates in Russia Austrian communists Prisoners and detainees of Austria Austrian Nazis Mayors of places in Austria People from Sankt Pölten-Land District Austrian people who died in Soviet detention Foreign Gulag detainees