Franz Kutschera (22 February 1904 – 1 February 1944) was an

Austrian Nazi Party Austrian Nazism or Austrian National Socialism was a pan-German movement that was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. The movement took a concrete form on 15 November 1903 when the German Worker's Party (DAP) was established in Austria ...

politician and '' SS-Brigadeführer''. He was a member of the '' Großdeutscher Reichstag'' and served as the Acting ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...

'' of

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...

from 1939 to 1941. In 1943, Kutschera was appointed the SS and Police Leader in German-occupied Warsaw. Due to his crimes against Poles, including Polish Jews, the Polish resistance

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) es ...

, in agreement with the

Polish government in exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

, targeted him for assassination. He was gunned down in front of the SS headquarters in Warsaw in a special operation by

Kedyw ''Kedyw'' (, partial acronym of ''Kierownictwo Dywersji'' ("Directorate of Diversion") was a Polish World War II Home Army unit that conducted active and passive sabotage, propaganda and armed operations against Nazi German forces and collaborat ...

, a dedicated Polish resistance special operations unit. In reprisal, the Germans executed 300 Polish civilians.

Life

Kutschera was born in

Oberwaltersdorf Oberwaltersdorf is a town in the district of Baden in Lower Austria in 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 fed ...

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 ...

(then part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

) and was the son of a professional

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppl ...

and minor

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. After primary school he served as a

cabin boy ''Cabin Boy'' is a 1994 American fantasy comedy film, directed by Adam Resnick and co-produced by Tim Burton, which starred comedian Chris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Resnick. Both Elliott and Resnick worked for '' Late Night with D ...

in the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...

in 1918–19 and later attended a gymnasium in

Villach Villach (; sl, Beljak; it, Villaco; fur, Vilac) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the p ...

. After graduation he briefly enrolled at a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

s school in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

before training to become a gardener like his father. For several years, Kutschera resided in

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a historical capital of ...

and

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. It is n ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Early Nazi career

Bundesarchiv Bild 192-111, KZ Mauthausen, Besuch Heinrich Himmler

Kutschera joined the

in December 1930 and the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe ...

'' (SS) in November 1931. The Nazi Party in Austria was banned in July 1933 by the

Austrofascist The Federal State of Austria ( de-AT, Bundesstaat Österreich; colloquially known as the , "Corporate State") was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the clerical fascist Fa ...

government 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 ...

. Despite the government ban, Kutschera remained a committed Party activist and was arrested several times by Austrian authorities for illegal pro-Nazi political activities. From 1933 he served as an ''SS- Truppführer'' in

, and he joined the ''

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the '' Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...

'' (SD) in 1934. In July 1935 he was appointed deputy commander of the 90th ''SS-Standarte'' based in

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

, serving in this capacity until March 1938. After 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 Germa ...

'' 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, Kutschera joined the

civil administration Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for example ...

of the newly-established '' Reichsgau Carinthia'' as an aide to ''

'' Hubert Klausner. After the 10 April 1938 election and referendum, Kutschera became a member of the '' Großdeutscher Reichstag'', maintaining this position until his death. On 24 May he was formally appointed Deputy ''Gauleiter'', essentially running the Gau during Klausner's frequent absences in Vienna in his capacity as deputy to ''

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Ger ...

Josef Bürckel Joseph Bürckel (30 March 1895 – 28 September 1944) was a German Nazi politician and a member of the German parliament (the Reichstag). He was an early member of the Nazi Party and was influential in the rise of the National Socialist movemen ...

. In February 1939, he was also appointed to the People's Court as a

lay judge A lay judge, sometimes called a lay assessor, is a person assisting a judge in a trial. Lay judges are used in some civil law jurisdictions. Lay judges are appointed volunteers and often require some legal instruction. However, they are not permane ...

and upon Klausner's sudden death on 12 February, Kutschera was elevated to the post of Acting ''Gauleiter'' for Carinthia.

World War II

Shortly after 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Kutschera was named the representative in Carinthia of Friedrich Rainer, the

Reich Defense Commissioner Reich Defense Commissioner (German: ''Reichsverteidigungskommissar'', RVK) was a governmental position created in Nazi Germany at the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939. Charged with overall defense of the territory of the German Reich, th ...

for

Wehrkreis The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military dis ...

(Military District) XVIII, who was headquartered in Salzburg. Kutschera volunteered for military service in March 1940 and was assigned to the 139th ''

Gebirgsjäger ''Gebirgsjäger'' () are the light infantry part of the alpine or mountain troops (''Gebirgstruppe'') of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The word '' Jäger'' (meaning "hunter" or "huntsman") is a characteristic term used for light infantr ...

'' (light infantry) regiment of the 3rd Mountain Division. He was transferred to the 6th Mountain Division and took part in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a singl ...

in May and June 1940. He was promoted to the rank of SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

'' in November 1940. During the German Balkan Campaign, on 14 April 1941 Kutschera was named Chief of Civil Administration for

Slovenian Carinthia Carinthia ( sl, Koroška ; german: Kärnten), also Slovene Carinthia or Slovenian Carinthia (''Slovenska Koroška''), is a traditional region in northern Slovenia. The term refers to the small southeasternmost area of the former Duchy of Carinthi ...

and

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jeseni ...

, which were administered as part of his Gau, and where he became infamous in the war against the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод� ...

for his fanaticism and extreme harshness. On 27 November 1941, Kutschera was dismissed as ''Gauleiter'' for reportedly plotting to absorb the neighboring

Reichsgau Salzburg The Reichsgau Salzburg was an administrative division of Nazi Germany in Salzburg, Austria. It existed between 1938 and 1945. History The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was originally established in a party conference on 22 May 1926, in order to im ...

into his jurisdiction. He was succeeded by his rival, Friedrich Rainer, the Gauleiter in Salzburg. In January 1942, Kutschera was seconded to the staff of ''

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 ...

Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski Erich Julius Eberhard von dem Bach-Zelewski (born Erich Julius Eberhard von Zelewski; 1 March 1899 – 8 March 1972) was a high-ranking SS commander of Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State" ...

, the Higher SS and police leader (HSSPF) for Central Russia (

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

), where he served as a representative of the Reich Commissariat for the Strengthening of German Nationhood (RKFDV). Soon after his arrival on the Eastern Front, Kutschera personally directed numerous anti-partisan and mass-killing operations in the occupied territories of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. In November 1942 he was given the rank of

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-s ...

der Polizei and on 5 May 1943 he was appointed SS and Police Leader (SSPF) for the Mogilev district.

Discovery

Announcement of death of 100 of Polish hostages shot by Nazi-German authority in Poland 1941

On 25 September 1943, Kutschera took office as SS and Police Leader for the

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

district of the

General Government The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...

in occupied Poland. Once in power in Warsaw, he increased the number of roundups (łapanka) of Polish citizens and the number of hostage executions. Every day lists were hung in public announcing the names of the next Poles to be executed in the event of any attack on a German soldier or police officer. These notices were always signed anonymously by the "Commander of the SS and Police at Warsaw District". Kutschera's exact whereabouts while in Warsaw was a closely guarded secret within the

Reich Security Main Office The Reich Security Main Office (german: Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and '' Reichsführer-SS'', the head of the Naz ...

but was discovered in December 1943 by Aleksander Kunicki (Rayski), chief of intelligence for the Agat (Anti-Gestapo) unit of

. In the course of his routine surveillance 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 orga ...

offices on Aleje Szucha, Rayski noticed an

Opel Admiral The Opel Admiral is a luxury car made by the German car manufacturer Opel from 1937 until 1939 and again from 1964 until 1977. Admiral (1937–1939) The first Admiral was introduced early in 1937 at the Berlin Motor Show, although production ...

limousine entering the driveway of the nearby Warsaw SS headquarters. The SS officer who emerged from the car wore the clearly identifiable rank and insignia of a ''Brigadeführer''. Intrigued, Rayski began to secretly monitor the mysterious SS man's arrivals and departures from SS headquarters and filed a report with his superiors. An investigation by Kedyw in January 1944 confirmed that the man being observed by Rayski was Franz Kutschera.

Assassination

Following his discovery by Rayski, Kutschera was tried ''in absentia'' by a secret

Special Court An extraordinary court, or special court, is a type of court that is established outside of ordinary judiciary, composed of irregularly selected judges or applies irregular procedure for judgment. Since extraordinary court can be abused to infri ...

of the

Polish Underground State The Polish Underground State ( pl, Polskie Państwo Podziemne, also known as the Polish Secret State) was a single political and military entity formed by the union of resistance organizations in occupied Poland that were loyal to the Gover ...

. He was charged with crimes against the Polish nation, in particular, the routine mass murder of Polish civilians in Warsaw. Kutschera was convicted and sentenced to death. In

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

the leadership of the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

concurred with the decision of the Special Court and approved Kutschera's death sentence. The execution order was soon drafted and relayed to the commander of

, Brigadier General Emil August Fieldorf (Nil), whose organization had been given the tasks of planning and performing the assassination. The execution was carried out by the combat-sabotage unit of

(the predecessor of

Battalion Parasol Battalion Parasol (Polish: ) was a Scouting battalion of the Armia Krajowa, the primary Polish resistance movement in World War II. It consisted primarily of members of the Gray Ranks. The battalion distinguished itself in numerous undergroun ...

). The assassination team consisted of 12 individual operatives, mostly members of the

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...

and guiding

Gray Ranks "Gray Ranks" ( pl, Szare Szeregi) was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association (') during World War II. The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation in ...

. It was planned to carry out the execution in front of the Warsaw SS Headquarters at 23

Ujazdów Avenue Ujazdów may refer to the following places in Poland: *Ujazdów, Warsaw, a neighbourhood in Śródmieście, Warsaw ** Ujazdów Avenue in Warsaw ** Ujazdów Castle in Warsaw ** Ujazdów Park in Warsaw *Ujazdów, Włodawa County in Lublin Voivodeshi ...

. On the morning of 1 February 1944 three Kedyw gunmen: (Lot), who was armed with a German

MP 40 The MP 40 (''Maschinenpistole 40'') is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War II. Designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with in ...

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

; (Kruszynka), carrying a British

Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cos ...

; and (Miś), armed with a

Luger pistol The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger or Luger P08 is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 ...

, ambushed Kutschera as his limousine approached SS Headquarters and opened fire directly into the car. Both Kutschera and his driver were shot multiple times and killed. A gun battle then erupted between the members of the assassination team and the responding German troops in which four Poles and two Germans were killed. Franz Kutschera funeral Warsaw 1944

Kutschera's funeral ceremony was held by the Nazis at Brühl palace and his body was later transported to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

aboard a special train. On 2 February 1944, the German authorities in Warsaw staged a public execution of 300 Polish civilian hostages as a reprisal for the assassination. The Germans also imposed a crushing 100 million złoty

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

on the Polish residents of

and Warsaw County. Kutschera was succeeded as SS and Police leader by SS-''

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically a NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographic ...

Paul Otto Geibel Paul Otto Geibel (10 June 1898 – 12 November 1966) was a German SS-''Brigadeführer'' and ''Generalmajor'' of police who served as the last SS and Police Leader (SSPF) "Warsaw" during the Second World War. He was involved in suppressing the Wa ...

in March 1944.

Posthumous wife and son

On 4 February 1944, in Deutsches Haus in Warsaw, Kutschera's pregnant Norwegian girlfriend, Jane Lilian Gjertsdatter Steen, daughter of Gjert Henrik Gjertsen Steen and Magna (or Magda) Anette Hansdatter ( Gjengstø) Steen. posthumously married Kutschera in accordance with pagan rituals. Jane Kutschera (later Rognskog) died in Norway in 1994. Her son, Sepp Kutschera, became an Alpinist, who was the first to climb Koh-e Keshni Khan in the Hindukush mountains, in 1963. He died in 2014.

References

Sources

* Dunin-Wąsowicz, Marek (1957) "Zamach na Kutscherę", Warszawa * Mazower, Mark (2008) Hitler's Empire, Penguin Press, * * Stachniewicz, Piotr (1982) "AKCJA "KUTSCHERA", Książka i Wiedza, Warszawa

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kutschera, Franz 1904 births 1944 deaths People executed by the Polish Underground State People from Baden District, Austria Gauleiters SS and Police Leaders Nazis assassinated by Polish resistance Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Holocaust perpetrators in Russia Holocaust perpetrators in Poland Holocaust perpetrators in Yugoslavia Deaths by firearm in Poland Austrian Nazis Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany Assassinated Nazis SS-Brigadeführer Judges in the Nazi Party Nazi Party politicians Child soldiers in World War I