Höttlland

By Keith Lowry

Why them?  Why there? What caused a nation of 'Dichter und Denker' to be transformed into one of 'Richter und Henker'. Höttlland attempts to answer those questions by examining the life and times of Wilhelm Georg Höttl, a former high- ranking member of the Austrian SS and SD. The trail begins in Vien

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keith Lowry
• Release date: Jun 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9783000515668

Keith Lowry

Retired freelance cameraman/field producer/ author

Book preview

CH. 1

BACKS UP.

If one is to believe the tomes of various chroniclers, the parcel of central Europe bordered by the eastern Alps and the plains of the Danube valley, has been inhabited since pre-historic times. From its earliest beginnings as a Celtic settlement, later enriched by the discovery of salt, the region has undergone a number of mutations in its long, slow advance towards modern civilization.The Romans, the Slavs, the Magyaren, and the Bavarians, are just a few of the groups, which at one time or another stood at the helm of this malleable land. The first discernible framework of what would eventually emerge as the country of Austria, began to take shape around the 10th century, when the territories of the Franken ruler, Charles the Great, and the more modestly named, Otto the 1st, were fused together to form the Ostmark. Over the next few centuries a hodgepodge of marriages, inheritances, alliances, and plagues, not to mention the European tradition of periodically annihilating one’s neighbours, continued to alter the Ostmark’s borders. In 1867, Kaiser Franz Joseph, the latest in a line of the Habsburg dynasty, firmly entrenched in the royal palace for almost 500 years, decided to establish the double monarchy by combining the territories of the Austrian Empire with the kingdom of Hungary. With the addition of numerous assorted crown lands, he formed what was to be one of the most advanced realms in Europe.

Although it may be unjust to characterize a country by the events of a single decade, it is nevertheless legitimate to ask what prompted a generation to abandon the rich and diverse cultural history of their predecessors, to regress to a behaviour more commonly associated with their primordial ancestors. Just how drastic a shift it was, becomes evident when comparing that decade to the communal integrity maintained within the empire in the mid -19th century, particularly in regards to the integration of the Jewish population. In 1849, the Jews of the Austro-Hungary were given the right to organize their own societies, followed by the granting of equal rights in 1867. As a result, Jewish immigration into Austria flourished over the next fifty years. Hoping to escape the poverty and pogroms of eastern Europe, a high percentage of the immigrants came from Galicia, now part of modern-day Poland with most settling in Vienna. By 1850 their number in the Austrian capital had reached 6000, approximately 2% of the population. Fifty years later, the city had attained the highest percentage of Jews of any German-speaking metropolis in Europe. As the Jewish culture steadily wove itself into the city’s milieu, the business acumen of these new bürger quickly became apparent. But in spite of the tremendous contribution they made to Vienna’s cultural and economic life, their presence was not welcomed by all. Many of their fellow citizens resented the accomplishments of the Jewish immigrants, and their growth in influence was soon paralleled by a corresponding rise in virulent anti-semitism. Finding a voice in the Deutsche Volksblatt (German People’s Paper) radical anti-semites began to rail against what they viewed as Jewish influence in the city, going so far as to propose punishment for sex relations between Jews and non-Jews. Despite the rise in anti-semitism, which by 1900, had earned Vienna the dubious distinction of being one of the most anti-Jewish cities in Europe, the Jewish population continued to increase. By 1910 it had risen to 175,138 (8.6%) in the city at large, reaching 17% in the suburb of Brigittenau. Fuelled by fears of an imminent war, the flow of Jewish immigrants surged even higher as thousands more fled from the eastern regions of Galicia and Bukovina.

As the annals of history reveal, the anti-semitism prevalent in Vienna at this time was not limited to Austria. The infamous phrase, the Jews are our misfortune, later to gain regular use in Nazi propaganda, emerged in the mid 19th century in statements from the Prussian historian, Heinrich von Treitsche. In 1905 the Gesellschaft for Rassenhygiene (Society for Racial Hygiene) was founded in Germany, and by 1930, boasted 16 county associations, with an additional 4 branches in Austria. Another instance of the underlying sentiments was evident in a paper delivered by a Prof. Dr. Max von Gruber in Dresden in 1911. Declaring that all peoples must carry an extraordinary high number of inferior, weak, sick and crippled with them, von Gruber’s remarks were seen as a thinly veiled attack against the Jews.

One of the more prominent figures engaged in rallying the simmering anti-Jewish feeling in Austria during this period, was a man by the name Georg Ritter von Schönerer. Born into a wealthy Viennese family on July 17th, 1842, Schönerer initially gained notoriety as a property owner turned politician, purportedly intent on improving life for the peasant class. Elected to the Austrian National Legislature in 1873, he quickly emerged as a Pan-Germanist, strongly in favour of Austria’s developing a closer association with the German Reich. Not content with the credentials of being anti-Socialist, anti-Liberal and anti Catholic, Schönerer further cemented his growing status by becoming an active supporter of the Los-von Rome Movement, a group which advocated cutting all ties with Rome. Despite the autocratic methods used in pursuing his various agendas, Schönerer had no trouble finding support within the Austrian populace. Buoyed by that momentum, in 1882, he and several like-minded colleagues founded the German National Movement, hoping to use the organization to promote that the western half of the Austro-Hungarian empire be united with the greater German Reich. Although part of the Reich until 1866, Austria had been excluded from the ‘new’ German Federation under Bismarck after being defeated by Prussia at the Battle of Königgratz, an indignation Schönerer and his followers hoped to reverse. In pursuit of that goal, he published what came to be known as the Linz Program, a party platform consisting of 11 major points, itemizing steps for reform and closer association with Germany. An astute politician, Schönerer made sure to initiate a number of social projects along with advancing his political agenda. The creation of a fire department, associations for farmers and other measures helped to improve conditions for people, and kept many supporters from examining the more distasteful elements of his platform. Deeply intertwined with the economic and political reforms outlined in the manifesto however, lay the conspicuous facet of Schönerer’s anti-Semitism. It was an element of his personality he never attempted to disguise, having warned his constituents in 1878, about the growing dangers of the Jewish plutocracy. Any doubts as to how fundamental Schönerer’s anti-semitism was to his overall beliefs, were removed with the addition of a 12th point to the Linz program in 1885. Under the slogan of Through Purity to Unity, Schönerer’s ‘Jewish Plank’ pronounced that in order to achieve the reforms listed in the movement’s platform, the removal of Jewish influence from all fields of public life is indispensable.

In spite of that position, and in many cases because of it, Schönerer’s views continued to receive widespread support as they seeped into various organizations within Austria. The same year his 12th point was unveiled, he was named an honorary member of the newly founded Vienna branch of the German Gymnastic Association (GGA). The origins of the Gymnastic Associations can be traced back to an early 19th century Prussian teacher by the name of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, who developed the associations as a mechanism to not only encourage sport, but also awaken patriotic feelings and incite rebellion against Napoleon. Much like the original, the GGA in Vienna promoted sporting activities and social events within the community. It harboured political ambitions as well, specifically in its support for the reunification of Austria with Germany. Despite its declared mandate of serving the public at large, no Jewish members were allowed to join the GGA. Schönerer’s burgeoning career was to suffer a temporary setback in 1888, when as a result of a violent demonstration against a newspaper he believed owned by Jews, he was briefly imprisoned by Austrian authorities. Banned from holding his parliamentary seat for five years and stripped of his official title, Schönerer returned to Parliament in 1897. His power had diminished somewhat during his absence, but with the level of support he still commanded, he was able to continue promulgating his views from that pulpit until 1907. Among the members of the Viennese citizenry strongly influenced by Schönerer’s convictions was a young man by the name of Adolf Hitler. It is widely believed Schönerer’s politics represented Hitler’s earliest if not initial exposure to how anti-semitism could be utilized to alter foreign policy. Hitler could also credit Schönerer for the infamous raised hand Heil greeting, which the latter had created for his own aggrandizement. Schönerer however, would not live to see his gesture expropriated, nor his avid follower’s own rise to power, passing away on August 14th,1921 in Rosenau, Lower Austria.

Although Schönerer’s personal influence may have waned over the years, there was no shortage of other politicians ready to strike a similar chord with the Austrian populace. One citizen to have expressed similar views, albeit in a more pragmatic manner than his counterpart, was a prominent Viennese lawyer by the name of Karl Lüger, later to become the Christian socialist mayor of the city. Whereas Schönerer’s anti-semitism had been lodged in a deep racial hatred of the Jews, Lüger’s views were based on the fact that many people in Austria had come to associate semitism with political corruption and oppressive capitalism. As a consequence of that variation, Lüger was able to attract a significant segment of the population, including members of Schönerer’s declining power base. Just how successful the two men were in their chosen spheres, is born out by the fact that in the years leading up to the First World War, both had been recognized as belonging to the leading political personalities in Austria.

As the twentieth century jostled its way towards the midway point of its second decade, one event outpaced the next in the upheaval that was pre-war Europe. As a result, the sanctuary many immigrants were seeking in Vienna became increasingly tenuous. Following the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Ferdinand, on June 28th, 1914, and the commencement of the First World War in September, the city was thrust into even deeper turbulence. In the midst of this Sturm und Drang (storm & stress) Wilhelm Georg Höttl was born on March 19th, 1915. The fourth and last child of Johann and Maria Höttl, Wilhelm’s birth took place at Esterhazygasse 1, in Vienna’s 6th district of Mariahilf. Höttl would later claim to have come from a family of limited means, but it isn’t entirely clear just how limited their economic situation actually was. The war was causing turmoil in what was already an unstable labour market, but as a trained, self-employed goldsmith, Johann Höttl had likely been more insulated than the average worker against the worsening conditions. Despite her youngest son’s later insinuations, statements from various family members, indicate that Maria Höttl, had little reason to complain about the standard in which her husband supported the family. In addition to being a good provider, the elder Höttl also participated in various community activities. One of the groups he chose to associate himself with was the local German Gymnastic Association, and by 1915, he already ranked as a longstanding member of the nationalist organization.

Höttl: 1999

My father was a follower of Schönerer. He had been in the German Gymnastic Association since he was a young man and had risen to various important positions within the organization. It was known as the German Gymnastic association although it was in Austria, and…they took the political stance of seeing themselves as a part of a greater Germany… He believed in the old Greater Germany, but without aligning himself with any party. He didn’t want to do that.

While the elder Höttl may have preferred to remain aloof from party affiliations, his principles did not deter him from becoming involved in other nationalist organizations such as the Los von Rom movement. What other articles of faith he may have shared with Schönerer remain speculative, but the fact he chose to remain a member of an organization that strongly endorsed Schönerer’s views is a fair indication of where his sympathies laid. In later years, Wilhelm would describe his upbringing as having been as expected for someone raised in a very nationalistic family. Presumably in alliance with those expectations, in 1921 the six year old,Pimpf (young boy) followed the route blazed by his older siblings, Hildegard, Gertrude, and Hans by enrolling in the GGA.

Höttl: 1999

The whole family was in the GGA, Mariahilf. We weren’t only connected to it through sports but also through friendship and community activities… it often ended up that one only travelled or associated with others within this circle. We built ourselves a sport field, and close to Neuburg by Vienna, a swimming beach. It was like that in associations. It was a group of people that belonged together in every sense of the word.

Although quick to reminisce about the camaraderie he experienced in GGA organized activities, Höttl was reluctant to draw attention to other crucial elements of the organization. Whatever discomfort he may have felt towards certain aspects of the GGA, did not deter him from remaining a member well into his twenties. During that time he continued to play an active role, often acting as a reporter for the association’s paper Der Turner, but with no samples of Höttl’s journalistic work surviving, it is difficult to determine to what degree the organization’s overt as well as subtle doctrines influenced him. Membership in groups like the GGA was quite common at the time and amongst the numerous Junge known to have joined the Mariahilf branch was a boy by the name of Wilhelm Waneck. Waneck’s family had also been deeply involved in GGA activities and it is likely the two boys spent a great deal of time together. In light of the fact both would become high-ranking SS officers in the same section of the Nazi intelligence service within two decades, one cannot help but ponder the impact their experiences in the GGA may have had on the young pair.

When it came to musing about more personal aspects of his early life, Höttl usually refrained from any discussion of his siblings, other than to say the family had been closely knit. He considered his own childhood to have been a relatively happy one, repeatedly making references to the fact in his younger years, many of his personal decisions were based on a reluctance to be away from the rest of the family. An example of that reluctance emerges from one of Höttl’s favourite anecdotes from this period of his life. It is also one of the most revealing. The story in question revolved around the world famous Vienna Boys Choir and the offer he purportedly received to join the illustrious group when he was eight or nine. While providing few details as to how it all came about, Höttl climaxed the story in his 1997 book, Einsatz für das Reich, by stating that despite having had the talent to fulfill the challenge, his desire to avoid spending extended periods away from his family caused him to reject this golden opportunity. What makes this narrative so poignant, is that it never happened.

Völker Höttl: (Wilhelm’s eldest son) 2001

Yeah, this is a typical example. He was never there. His parents and his sisters would have to have known about something like that… He was never there. We laughed about it, but he set it all up and it was in his book. You could say ‘that’s not true’, or his sisters would say, ‘Willi, you were never there. What is all this?’ And he just suppressed this somewhere.

CH. 2

NAZISM BY OSMOSIS.

With his entry into the federal school system at the elementary Volksschule (People’s School), located not far from his home in Mariahilf, the summer of 1921 marked the beginning of Höttl’s formal education. He would spend four uneventful years at that institution, before moving on to the secondary school (Realgymnasium) on Reinprechtdorfstrasse in the 5th district. Chosen for the opportunity it offered to study at University, it would be Höttl’s educational home for the next eight years. He showed little difficulty in mastering the more challenging Gymnasium curriculum, an alert student and one eager to express his opinion. Over time however, the latter trait became more and more tempered, replaced by a growing preference to remain in the background. Höttl had considered himself quite ambitious during his middle-school years, and later explained how that ambition had been constrained by the belief he did not possess the aptitudes needed to match it. But despite his comments about limited talent and a capacity for often coming in second, Höttl nevertheless maintained good marks throughout his terms. German, French and Geography were always amongst his favourite subjects and best grades, but it was History where his true passion lay.

Parallel to the highs and lows experienced as he moved through the school system, Höttl’s activities in the GGA continued to play an important role in his life. It was the lessons learned there that would serve to prepare him for entry into the next level of tutelage. Devised to win the hearts and minds of young German males, the Hitler Youth (HJ) had emerged from the cellar of a Munich beerhall in May of 1922. Borrowing many of the techniques already common to the GGA, the HJ also placed emphasis on fitness and military discipline, using the appeal of uniforms, knives and drums to attract a growing membership. Despite its meagre beginnings, the association underwent an explosive growth following Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 and by the middle of 1939 boasted over eight million members in Germany alone. Höttl’s own entry into the Austrian Hitler Youth occurred on October 10th, 1931. In contrast to his voiced enthusiasm about his days with the GGA, he was later noticeably reluctant to elaborate on the time spent in the Hitler Youth. At times when he did choose to speak about the association which gave him his first direct introduction to Nazi doctrine, Höttl was wont to imply his integration was nothing short of mandatory, something that everyone did. While that claim had an element of truth, membership in the Hitler Youth in Austria in the early 1930’s was not a legal obligation. It would become such in Germany in 1936, but at the time of Höttl’s admittance, it was simply viewed as a natural progression, a rite of passage for the vast majority of German-speaking youth. Höttl’s attempts to portray himself as a grudging participant in the Hitler Youth were further undermined by evidence of his having freely joined the NS Schulerbund, or (National Socialist Student Association), one month prior to the Hitler Youth. Such associations systematically introduced members to the teachings and musings of their nationalistic-leaning leaders, while simultaneously exposing them to the anti-semitism in their program platform. If Höttl was as opposed to the group’s ideologies as he later claimed, it is unlikely he would have expended the time, energy or discipline necessary to achieve the Ost Mark Medal, the Gold Hitler Youth award, and the silver NSDstB, awards of distinction he was known to have received. By the time of his departure from both associations in mid 1933, Höttl had been a member of some form of Nationalist organization since the age of six. Although his academic, social, and familial activities during those twelve years were not leagues apart from the experiences of thousands of other Austrians or Germans of the period, not all active members of the GGA, the Hitler Youth or the NSDStB, were about to take the fork in the road leading to full-blown Nazism.

CH. 3

A SHARED MADNESS.

During the period Höttl worked towards his high school diploma (Matura), a task accomplished in 1933, events elsewhere in the European theatre continued to add to the general uncertainty and instability in Austria. That turbulence was compounded by rising domestic chaos, as conservative and socialist factions of the political landscape battled it out for supremacy. Politically-oriented private armies established by competing groups increased the internal strife. Matters came to a head in 1931 when the nation was plunged into economic crisis by the collapse of the country’s largest bank. Parliamentary elections held in April 1932, resulted in a forty year old Christian Socialist economist from the town of Texing, being named Chancellor. Shortly after taking office, Engelbert Dollfuss began negotiations with the League of Nations, in hopes of acquiring a loan to help Austria out of its economic morass. The League agreed to lend the country £ 9 million, but in return demanded Austria refrain from any form of custom union with its neighbour Germany for a period of 20 years. Dollfuss’s acceptance of the pact angered both Nazi and Socialists alike. With Hitler’s ascension to power on January 30th, 1933, many Austrian Nazis felt emboldened to openly challenge Dollfuss’ policies. Facing growing opposition to his government from both sides of the political spectrum, in March 1933 Dollfuss took matters into his own hands, dissolving Parliament and suspending the Constitution. In a further attempt to consolidate his grip on power, he declared the Communist Party illegal in May, and one month later placed a similar ban on the NSDAP. (Nazi Party)

Encouraged by their counterparts in Germany, the banned Austrian Nazis continued to show their resistance to Dollfuss’s government throughout the summer and fall. Particularly fierce opposition was directed against Dollfuss’s attempts to form an alliance with Italy. Meeting with Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini in August, Dollfuss tried to solidify a pact that would guarantee Austria’s independence from German encroachment. In return for his pledges of support, Mussolini demanded that Dollfuss institute a Fascist regime in his own country. Shortly after his return to Austria, Dollfuss set about implementing the terms of the agreement, commencing with the formation of the Vaterländische Front. By the middle of September the new Party had already made significant inroads on the political scene. Hitler’s rise to power, along with the subsequent political manoeuvres by Dollfuss, produced profound and irreversible consequences for Austria, and the repercussions on individuals like Höttl cannot be underestimated. For someone who had spent years absorbing the various tenets of nationalistic associations, the increasingly volatile atmosphere in Vienna, fuelled by developments in Germany, helped to convince him and many others, the time for turning theory to practice was rapidly approaching.

Within days of Dollfuss’s ban on the Party in June, Höttl had made the decision to become a supporting member of the Austrian SS, now an illegal organization. Although he would later claim a lengthy ailment prevented him from registering for immediate active service, it may have been the SS itself, that was hesitant to bring Höttl into the fold. The origin of that theory comes from a statement Höttl purportedly made as a sixteen year old member of the Hitler Youth. Referring to the SS as being a small group of raw-boned, simple-minded yokels, would not have been welcomed and although he may have made up for his indiscretion in the intervening two years, the SS may have simply placed him on probation while determining where his loyalties lay. With no firm record of his informal SS ties during this period, it is difficult to verify the extent of Höttl’s commitment. Evidence suggests it was closely linked to his planned studies at the University of Vienna. Another clue laid with how someone from a family of limited means acquired the funds to study. Höttl claimed it was through his own initiative that the costs were taken care of , but one source (Nazi Millionaires) insinuates his studies were financed by the SS, presumably in exchange for services rendered. What is beyond question is that in August 1933, Höttl registered for fall classes at the University of Vienna, announcing his intentions to obtain a Doctorate in Philosophy, in hopes of one day pursuing a career in teaching. It was an ambitious goal, preceded by the prospect of thirty exams over the next eight semesters. In spite of the heavy scholastic workload, which included his preferred majors of Geography, German and History, not long after classes commenced, Höttl managed to find the time to become involved with a group called the Austrian High School Society. Ostensibly established by the Federal government to win students with National Socialist leanings over to Catholic Christian ideas, the Society was widely viewed as a means of gaining support for an independent Christian government in Austria. For someone who just emerged from years of Nazi youth groups, and recently tied himself to the banned SS, joining the ranks of a government-sponsored organization with such an expressed mandate was to say the least a rather peculiar choice.

Höttl Oct. 1945

There was a disagreement among the National Socialists in Austria, between the mild movement and the radical movement. The Austrian High School Society, a Catholic group, also had a mild section and a radical section. The mild Catholic group wanted to join the mild National Socialist group. The members of the society were not actually party members, but they had the same ideas as the National Socialists,… We tried to reverse it, .... to get the members of the National Socialist Party, who were not allowed to demonstrate their ideas openly, to join the society. In that way, I tried to make the illegal Party legal.… (Int. # 7)

In spite of the attempt to portray himself as a ‘mild’ Nazi, eager to entice other mild National Socialists over to the Christian side, post-war evidence suggested that in addition to joining the Austrian Society, Höttl had begun to develop deep contacts with hardcore textbook Nazis within weeks of registering at University. Such manoeuvres seem to imply he had been asked to infiltrate the Society to observe and report its activities back to the SS. Similar grounds are thought to have been behind Höttl’s involvement with several other Catholic University groups. Determining which members were mild or radical, who could be trusted, and who were potential opponents would have been of considerable value to a Party with plans for the future.

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By the beginning of 1934, opposition to Chancellor Dollfuss’s policies had reached such intense levels, the Austrian leader felt compelled to issue a public appeal asking the general populace to fight against the Nazi terror he claimed was being encouraged and organized by elements in Munich. In February, events boiled over as National Socialists attempted to stage a coup in revenge for a series of government measures implemented against them. The uprising was brutally suppressed by government forces with Dollfuss going so far as to agree to the bombardment of Vienna‘s large socialist quarter in an attempt to quell the disturbance. Höttl later cited the failed coup as having been the catalyst behind his move to officially join the SS. Although that event may have played a role, it is more likely his decision was motivated by the improved status his reports on the Society had earned him, as well as recent changes in his own family’s fortune. Details remain scarce about the circumstances which forced Johann Höttl to abandon his goldsmith workshop in early 1934, but the younger Höttl considered his father’s loss of work as having been the product of the general economic conditions existing under Dollfuss, claiming that from that point on, the family had been forced to watch every penny. Whatever the true source of his motives, on March 1st,1934, two weeks shy of his nineteenth birthday, Höttl officially signed on with the SS and was assigned membership number 309510. In a reversal of what was considered standard procedure, he applied for entry into the National Socialist Party that same afternoon, receiving Party number 6309616 in the NSDAP’s Hayden sector of Vienna. Now an official member of both illegal Nazi organizations, Höttl soon began preliminary training in Stormtrooper group 5/II/II. While details of that training are sketchy, by his own admission he quickly became disappointed and disillusioned by the childish duties assigned to him, complaining that he was seeking something more fulfilling than delivering flyers and painting Hitler slogans on houses. His grievances did not go unheeded and not long after, Max Plobke, the leader of SS group 11, saw that the disgruntled recruit was transferred into the newly founded Sicherheitsdienst (SD) the intelligence arm of the SS headed by SS officer Josef Trittner. Höttl’s move to the Austrian SD was significant. Up to that time only a few hundred of the approximate 10,000 members of the SS in Germany, had been accepted into the German SD. In addition to the prestige of being selected for the intelligence service, Höttl’s transfer presented him with the opportunity of meeting and mingling with important figures in the exclusive Austrian SD community. But before he could take advantage of those encounters, he first had to contend with the reactions his recent decisions had unleashed within his own family.

Höttl: 1999

My father had warned me again and again. It was common in our family that everyone could express their own ideas… although he was a supporter of the Union until the end, and believed that Austria should be a part of Germany,… he had always warned me and said, ‘Don’t bind yourself too much to these people. Hitler will be a disaster for Germany.’ That was his constant warning to me.

If true, Höttl provided no explanation as to why he chose toi ignore the admonitions. In spite of his nationalist leanings, the father appears to have been the sole family member to voice doubts about the wisdom of coupling one’s future to the German Führer.

Höttl: 1999.

We even persuaded our elderly mother,… she also joined the Party. I can remember when the collection officer came on the 1st of the month, to collect the membership dues… and even after the banning of the NSDAP in Austria, my family remained with the Party and paid their membership dues illegally.

Whatever mixed signals were emanating from his family, Höttl’s decision to place his lot with the Nazis was his, and his alone. Speaking to post-war interrogators in 1945, his reasons for limiting discussion on the impulses that provoked his determination were obvious. Fifty years later however, he was still prone to dredging up fragments of the rhetoric absorbed during his youth.

Höttl: 1999

At that time it was the solution for us, that Austria become a part of Germany permanently, and the NSDAP seemed the most suitable to achieve that… but the Party was never so important for me. I had viewed the SS as the future oriented vehicle.

Question: In what sense?

Höttl: 1999

The re-establishment of German sovereignty. I was an avid follower of Germany’s, and naturally for me the SS was an expression of the most radical organization. It was clear that the SS as such would be the first to achieve something, and that in effect, was so.

Question: Why did you join the SS having known of their anti-Semitic stance?

Höttl: 1999

This is hard to explain. Our family was in the German Gymnastic Association, and this association had a paragraph in its statutes that stated that no Jews were allowed to join. So it also aligned itself with an anti-Semitic position… so it was natural… This is difficult for someone who isn’t Austrian to understand. In Vienna at this time there were around 300,000 Jews amidst 2 million residents. A strong portion. Around here, in Salzburg or Linz the Jews were a small minority. That’s why the anti-semitism was so strong in Vienna.

Question: Why was it so strong ? Were the people envious of the Jews?

Höttl:1999

The Jews had a strong economic influence. They were very competent in economic matters, or are, and naturally they took advantage of their position and showed repeatedly that without them, nothing would function in Vienna. I must say especially in Vienna… That was an essential point, and that created a lot of anti-semitism. ‘Can’t we manage this ourselves, or do we need the Jews?’…The Viennese had an inferiority complex of sorts… ‘they are doing everything and we aren’t getting any further ahead’… it was a sort of complex.

Question: Did you also think that?

Höttl: 1999

More or less.…It’s easier to realize afterwards than when you are in the middle of it all… Like I said, I knew so many of them. I was in the Real gymnasium in Vienna, and many of my fellow Jewish students were from well-placed families, one can say, and also there came a certain envy (jealousy) complex. ‘How come they can do this business? Can’t we do it ourselves?’.

Question: Were you yourself, anti-semitic?

Höttl: 1999

In a certain way,… you know this is something difficult to explain. I had been in a school where there had been a lot of Jews. In the apartment house where I lived with my parents, two-thirds of the residents were Jews and we all got along well. I never took the position against every Jew. It was something personal… a personal decision,… I know him, he’s a reasonable man and in so far as this radical anti-semitism that the Party,.... the NSDAP stood for is concerned, I never approved of that,… never. One has to picture… in 1938 was the Union and there were still Jewish neighbours living in the house where I lived. I had been to school with them for 8 years, we were friends… why should that stop all of a sudden? I never understood that.

Missing from Höttl’s admissions at the time were any signs of regret. His remarks also revealed an inability or unwillingness to contemplate that other solutions may have existed to the complex he and some of his fellow Viennese apparently suffered. Why for example, did the concept of rising to the challenge through fair competition rather than elimination, not occur to them? Despite Höttl’s attempts to clarify ‘how things were’, his disclosures were another confirmation that anti semitism is simply the creed of resentful and unsuccessful people, and the philosophy of philistines.

In contrast to Höttl’s readiness to explain his reasons for joining the Nazi juggernaut, a distinct candidness was apparent, albeit a calculated one, whenever attention was focused on his activities at University. Forced to refute interrogator’s allegations most of his time had been spent spying on fellow-classmates and professors, Höttl offered the somewhat porous defence that it would have been impossible to have juggled such responsibilities and still achieve the above average academic results he consistently produced. Years later, an unlikely source exposed a crack in that crafted depiction.

Völker Höttl: 2001

What I know about that, I know from my mother… I know more or less that he didn’t concentrate at all on his studies during this time. It’s no secret, that she often would write his papers because he was concentrating so much on the other things. On the Party, on everything that that entailed, and ultimately on his career plans. That was the most important thing for him. He never spoke in any great detail about these matters. He more or less kept this period of his life closed to inspection… for whatever reasons.

Höttl: 1941

From the very beginning I was interested in intelligence work… pure intelligence work, secret service work… to know what the opponent is doing or wants to do... to uncover that and report it to the leadership. Although I was still only a student at this time, I especially tried to cultivate people who would be able to report on things.

Despite the general admission of having engaged in spying activities for the SD while at university, in post-war interviews Höttl continued to stress his actions were never applied directly to fellow students or teachers. His limited success in establishing that distinction, was evidenced in Völker Höttl’s assertion that his father’s spying had not spilled over into the classroom.

Völker Höttl: 2001

He was often not at the university… and when he was there he concerned himself with other things rather than his studies… But that,... (spying on fellow students).... wouldn’t fit to him. He was someone who always wanted to be at the top. That he would occupy his time with such minor things would surprise me. It doesn’t fit to him… Of course I can imagine it the other way around. If he had been asked, ‘who can be considered for the NSDAP?’, and did his research on that… to see who could be picked out. That I can see, right away. ‘Where do you have good people that we can use?’… that I can see for sure.

CH. 4

CONSEQUENCES OF A FAILED COUP.

As political and economic tensions mounted throughout Austria, there was no shortage of events and personages to observe and report on within and beyond University walls. Part of the friction between differing factions of the populace was the fact many Austrians continued to believe in some form of Pan-Germanism, in spite of their country’s having been officially forbidden to maintain strong ties to Germany. In a move to counter such sentiments and remain independent of its menacing neighbour, in April 1934, Chancellor Dollfuss announced his decision to proclaim a one party state. With the introduction of a new constitution the following month, many Nazis were convinced their goal of once again being part of the German Republic was slipping out of their grasp. In response, over the next few weeks they unleashed a campaign of terror, sabotage and murder across the country, designed to further de-stabilize an already precarious situation. Matters peaked on July 25th, when a detachment of Nazi Storm troopers intent on overthrowing the government, descended on the Chancellory building in central Vienna. No evidence exists Höttl was directly involved in this action, but the idea he did not know about it beforehand seems highly improbable. In post-war testimony, he would deny any direct collusion with the conspirators, admitting only to having heard rumours the National Socialists were plotting a violent overthrow. With time, his memory of the events surrounding July 25th improved. Writing in his first memoir, in 1950, Höttl revealed that troops attacking the Chancellory that day, had been organized by Fridolin Glass, the man reputed to have started the SS in Austria. Claiming Glass did not take part in the actual attack, Höttl went on to identify other participants, such as Joseph Leopold, leader of the Nazi Party in Austria, SS Sergeant Felix Landau, Dr. Rudolph Weydenhammer, and Dr. Otto Wächtler. Another perpetrator to surface in Höttl’s account was Wilhelm Waneck, his old GGA colleague, who was described as having been the military leader of the attempted putsch. According to Höttl’s recollections, the coup’s original plan had called for troops to storm a sitting cabinet meeting to demand Dollfuss resign as Chancellor and be replaced by Dr. Anton Rinteln, then State leader of Obersteiermark. Simultaneous to that assault, other troops were to arrest the Federal President, Wilhelm Miklas at his summer residence. Perhaps due in part to the absence of Glass, as well as the coup’s instigator, Theo Habicht, an NSDAP provincial inspector deported to Germany after the Nazi ban, things did not go exactly to plan. Amidst the ensuing chaos Dollfuss was shot, the gun reportedly fired by a man named Otto Planetta. Although the wound or wounds were not fatal, Dollfuss’s attackers’ refused to provide medical assistance, resulting in the Chancellor’s bleeding to death four hours later. In the interim, panicked plotters attempted to stabilize their position by calling for extra assistance, but neither the Austrian Storm Troopers nor the SS chose to respond to the putschists’ pleas. Already in a weakened state, plotters then received word that Mussolini had dispatched troops to the Austrian borders as a warning for Hitler not to intervene in the attempted coup. Later that same afternoon, the coup collapsed, as forces loyal to government leader, Kurt Schuschnigg re-took the building and arrested the conspirators. With the plot in ruins, participants behind the scenes bolted for cover, with many managing to flee across the border to sanctuary in Germany, despite the fact Hitler had officially sanctioned the arrest of all those known to have been involved. Those not quite so agile were captured, with a number reportedly arbitrarily shot by Austrian authorities. According to post-war testimony supplied by his adjutant Julius Schaub, Hitler had been fully aware of the planned putsch from the start, secretly agreeing to recognize Rinteln’s government should it succeed. Once its failure was evident, Hitler had backtracked, issuing the mock arrest order and dispatching Franz von Papen as envoy to Vienna to keep an eye on developments. As deflating as the failed coup was to those huddled beneath the Nazi banner, the debacle clearly demonstrated the inherent dangers of openly challenging a ruling government. With Kurt von Schuschnigg succeeding the murdered Dollfuss as Chancellor, pressure to investigate those suspected of being associated with the assassination increased dramatically. In the ensuing general crack-down, many more of the heretofore prominent Austrian Nazis were forced to slip underground or flee the country. In total, some 45,000 Austrian Nazis would leave their homeland, with the majority opting for the protected confines of the neighbouring Reich.

Having assessed the dangers of his own position, Höttl took the discretionary step of increasing emphasis on his studies, hoping to deflect any possible scrutiny. Had he come under any suspicion, his ties to Dr. Trimmel, head of the Student Society, and its historical section chief, Prof. Dr. Hantsch, both of whom had just been appointed special trustees to Chancellor Schuschnigg, would have likely provided the necessary protection. Careful not to arouse the attention of the authorities still trolling for errant Nazis, Höttl continued to discreetly observe and report to his superiors. Even his ability to develop additional contacts within the reduced Party membership does not seem to have been seriously hampered. In the altered environment, it didn’t take Höttl long to realize that as a member of the fledgling intelligence sector whose cover was still intact, he stood to benefit from the personnel changes sure to come as a result of the forced exodus of so many colleagues. Circumstances in 1934 dictated such visions be placed in abeyance, but Höttl was prepared to bide his time, consoled by the knowledge the looming opportunities for advancement were not about to disappear.

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The first noticeable signs Höttl’s roster of duties was about to undergo imminent change surfaced in the spring of 1935. Informed his field of operations was being extended beyond the confines of Vienna, Höttl was told he was now expected to travel the length and breadth of the country establishing contacts, recruiting trustworthy informants, preparing intelligence reports and communicating back to his superiors. How he intended to perform these new duties under the nose of suspicious authorities, and still complete the scholastic assignments that maintained his cover, was a problem with a solution.

Höttl: 1999

Dr. von Srbik was for me, absolutely thee historian. I was a close student of Srbik and also knew his family well. I believe I was influenced mostly by him. He was also from this Greater Germany side. Srbik had always taken the position that Austria was a part of Germany and he was a supporter of the union with Germany. This was shown by his major work ‘German Unity’ which basically reflected his position. He was an extremely fine man and a brilliant historian.

The mentor Höttl spoke so glowingly of, happened to be an ardent supporter of the Nazi platform. Born in Vienna on November 10th, 1878, the son of an Austrian civil servant and German mother, Heinrich Ritter von Srbik was raised in a Catholic household. After attending school at the Theresian Academy, he graduated from the University of Vienna with a Dr. of Philosophy in 1902. Following a five year stint as an assistant at the Austrian Institute for History, he returned to the University of Vienna in 1907 to take up a position as lecturer. Five years later, Srbik accepted a transfer to the University of Graz, where he received a full professorship in 1917. He remained in Graz until 1922, at which time his alma mater in Vienna requested he return to take over as Prof. of General History. With the exception of a brief sojourn into politics between 1929 and 1930, when he reportedly served as Minister of Education, the married father of three spent most of that turbulent decade teaching. It was at this point of his career Srbik began to focus an increasing amount of time on writing. One treatise that struck a particularly strong chord with Höttl was Austria: Legacy & Mission within German Area, published in 1936, the same year Srbik was elected a member of the Academy of Scientists in Berlin. That Höttl and Srbik were drawn to one another was not surprising. For someone like Höttl, receiving the acknowledgement and attention of a respected historian would have been especially gratifying. Although it is unlikely he divulged the nature of all his Nazi activities to Srbik, he did probably share enough for the Professor to recognize that developing closer ties to an active member of the SD represented a prime opportunity to support the concept he had written about for years. Other evidence seems to indicate the pair had gone beyond the normal parameters of a Professor/student relationship. An example of that was visible in the timing of