Oskar Helmer (1887-1963) was an Austrian printer and social-democrat party politician. He served as the
Minister of the Interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
from 1945.
He won the Nansen Refugee Award in 1959.
Early life and education
Helmer was born on 16 November 1887 in
Oberwaltersdorf in
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
.
After he finished his school education, he studied printing in
Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...
, while also trying to sign apprentices up to the Austrian social-democratic youth movement.
His political activities put him in contact with the
Social Democratic Party of Austria which he joined in 1903
and became the Wiener Neustadt constituency secretary.
Career
After his education, Helmer worked as a newspaper printer. He became the editor of
Gleichheit and Wiener Volkstribüne in 1910.
He became the youngest ever social-democrat politician to be elected to the
Lower Austria state parliament on 15 May 1919.
After Vienna separated from Lower Austria he worked as the head of the social-democratic provincial government constituencies and the parliamentary faction.
In 1927 he was promoted to the provincial capital representative.
Helmer was a member of and the deputy party chair of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
. He was arrested by Nazis in 1934, and from 1935 to 1945 worked in the insurance industry.
In 1945, he became the Ministry of the Interior of Austria, he played a major role in the denazification process, including reforming the police force.
In 1959, he became president of Austria's
Länderbank
The Länderbank, full original name k. k. privilegierte Österreichische Länderbank () was a major Austrian bank, created in 1880. In 1922 its head office was moved to Paris under the name Banque des Pays de l'Europe Centrale (BPEC, german: Zen ...
.
He won the Nansen Refugee Award the same year.
Selected publications
* Ö''. Kampf um die Freiheit'', 1949
* 50 ''Jahre erlebte Geschichte'', 1957
* ''Ausgew. Reden and Schriften'', 1963
* ''Aufbruch gegen das Unrecht'', 1964
Death and legacy
Helmer died in 1963. The Oskar Helmer Hof (
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
: ''Oskar Helmer House'') housing complex was named after him in 1970.
A commemorative postage stamp honouring him was released on November 13, 1987.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmer, Oskar
1887 births
1963 deaths
20th-century Austrian printmakers
20th-century Austrian politicians
Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians
Nansen Refugee Award laureates