Franz Holzweber (20 November 1904 – 31 July 1934) was an

Austrian National Socialist 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 ...

who was an accomplice to the assassination of the

Chancellor of Austria The chancellor of Austria, officially the federal chancellor of the Republic of Austria (), is the head of government of the Austria, Republic of Austria. List of chancellors of Austria, Twenty-nine people have served as chancellor. The curre ...

Engelbert Dollfuß Engelbert Dollfuss (alternatively Dollfuß; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian politician and dictator who served as chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ascended t ...

, during the

July Putsch The July Putsch () was a failed coup d'état in Austria against the Fatherland Front government of Engelbert Dollfuss by Austrian Nazis from 25 to 30 July 1934. The Austrian Legion and Austrian '' Schutzstaffel'' soldiers with support from ...

in 1934.

Biography

Holzweber was a trained electrical engineer and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. He later married and had a child. At the time of the July Putsch, he lived in

Mauer, Vienna Mauer (German for ''"wall"''; Central Bavarian: ''Maua'') is a former village of Lower Austria that has been part of Vienna since 1938. Today's cadastral community belongs to the 23rd District of Vienna, called Liesing. In the west, Mauer borde ...

. Holzweber joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

(member number 300,248) on 8 October 1930. He served as a sergeant in the

Bundesheer The Austrian Armed Forces () are the combined military forces of Austria. The military consists of 16,000 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 1.0% of national GDP (including pensions) or €3.317 billion (202 ...

from 1931 to 1933, when he was discharged for his involvement in Nazism. With the codename "Captain Friedrich", Holzweber was a leader of the putschists during the raid on the Federal Chancellery on the day of the July Putsch on 25 July 1934. He, with Otto Planetta, was an accomplice to the murder of Chancellor Dollfuß. Holzweber was arrested after the coup's failure. On 31 July 1934, a military court found him guilty of high treason with Planetta, and sentenced both men to death. At his trial, Holzweber denied knowing that the coup would result in a small war.

"I was assured that there would be no bloodshed. I was told also that I should find Herr Rintelen at the Chancellery, that the new Government was already formed. Not meeting the leader of the operation at the Chancellery, I disclosed myself at once to Major Fey. I told him, here I stand, and I do not know what I should do. More or less spontaneously I took over the responsibility for our men because no one was there to take charge of the matter."

Holzweber and Planetta were hanged by the executioner Johann Lang in the Vienna Regional Court the same day. They were hanged only three hours after their convictions, the minimum wait time required before carrying out a death sentence in Austria. On the court's instructions, Holzweber was the first to be hanged. His last words were "We die for Germany. Heil Hitler." Their bodies were not handed over to their relatives but instead cremated in the

Simmering Simmering is a food preparation technique by which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept just below the boiling point of water (lower than ) and above poaching temperature (higher than ). To create a steady simmer, a liquid is brought to a boil, ...

crematorium. Holzweber's ashes were later buried in the Mauer cemetery.

Glorification in the Nazi State

After the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

on 12 March 1938, Holzweber was praised a national hero and martyr. Following the

, numerous streets in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

were named after him. A unit of SS Standard 89 was also named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holzweber Franz 1904 births 1934 deaths 20th-century Austrian military personnel Austrian assassins Austrian soldiers Assassins of heads of state Austrian Protestants Executed Austrian Nazis Executed Nazi assassins Nazis executed by Austria by hanging Nazis who participated in the July Putsch SS personnel People from Vienna People executed by armed forces People executed for treason against Austria