Walter Pfrimer

Walter Pfrimer ( born December 22, 1881 in Maribor, Duchy of Styria, Austria - Hungary, † May 31, 1968 in Jews castle ) was an Austrian lawyer and fraternity, as well as founding father and long -time head of the Styrian homeland security, the largest and most important segment of the Austrian Home Guard movement. In 1931 he initiated the Pfrimer coup, who wanted to bring the Home Guard in Austria to power.

Life

During his studies, he became in 1902 a member of the fraternity Ostmark Graz. In a strongly German national environment grew and politically socialized Pfrimer was a staunch German nationalist and outspoken opponent of social democracy. Political parties and the parliamentary system he refused strictly and went openly advocated an authoritarian political system and the connection of Austria to the German Reich.

Pfrimer founded in 1918 the German People's Council in Jews castle and led this organization in 1922 in the Styrian homeland security over. His political rise was mainly to do with his organizational skills, otherwise he was ill-suited as a leader:

" Walter Pfrimer had no charisma. Compared with other political leaders of his time, he was already advanced in years, also obese, physically unattractive, almost deaf and a poor speaker "

As the regional director of the Styrian homeland security Pfrimer was instrumental in the radical German nationalist anti-Semitic course within the Styrian homeland security and - by extension - the increasing domestic radicalization in Styria during the interwar period in charge. His position of power as federal leader of the Austrian Home Guard movement took Pfrimer in September 1931 to a coup against the government of Chancellor Karl Buresch, whose aim was, in Austria to bring a " Home Guard government" to power, the Austria's political system in the sense of Heimwehren fundamentally should have remodel. The failure of this coup d'etat, which is named after its author, Pfrimer coup that allowed the Austrian Home Guard movement back in a largely dysfunctional state and promoted within the Styrian homeland security those forces advocating political cooperation with the emerging Nazis. Pfrimer itself initially fled across the border to Marburg in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, but it turned after a court case in Austria and was acquitted in December 1931.

Although he was originally not a National Socialist, but Pfrimer had contributed significantly due to its ideological proximity to National Socialism and its political acting out to prepare the ground for the NSDAP political. Disappointed with the corporate state he was in 1933 member of the NSDAP. After the "Anschluss " (1938 ) Pfrimer was indeed elected to the Greater German Reichstag - a body which at that time had no political power over - but occurred otherwise little more to the public. After the Second World War he was imprisoned from 1945 to 1947. After that he worked as a lawyer again. He spent his life in Jews castle where he also died and was buried.