Guido Schmidt (15 January 1901 – 5 December 1957) was an Austrian diplomat and politician, who served as

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

from 1936 to 1938.

Life

Born in

Bludenz Bludenz (; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ''Bludaz'') is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg with around 15,000 inhabitants. It is the administrative seat of the Bludenz District, which encompasses about half of Vorarlberg's territ ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

, Schmidt attended the

Stella Matutina The Stella Matutina (Morning Star) was an initiatory magical order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional occult teachings of the earlier Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Originally, the outer order of the Stella Matutina was known ...

Jesuit school in Feldkirch, where he met with the later Austrian Chancellor

Kurt Schuschnigg Kurt Alois Josef Johann von Schuschnigg (; 14 December 1897 – 18 November 1977) was an Austrian politician who was the Chancellor of Austria, Chancellor of the Federal State of Austria from the 1934 assassination of his predecessor Engelbert D ...

. He studied law at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, receiving his doctorate in 1924 and the next year he joined the Austrian diplomatic service. From 1927 he served in the office of President

Wilhelm Miklas Wilhelm Miklas (15 October 187220 March 1956) was an Austrian politician who served as the president of Austria from 1928 until the ''Anschluss'' to Nazi Germany in 1938. Early life Born as the son of a post official in Krems, in the Cisleith ...

, promoted to the rank of a vice-director in 1928. Schmidt was a member of the Christian Social Party and in 1933 joined the

Fatherland's Front The Fatherland Front (, VF) was the right-wing conservative, authoritarian, nationalist, corporatist, fascist and Catholic ruling political organisation of the Federal State of Austria. It claimed to be a nonpartisan movement, and aimed to uni ...

under Chancellor

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

. He played an important part in the conclusion of the 1936 "

July Agreement The ''Juliabkommen'' ("July Agreement") was an agreement—officially, a gentleman's agreement—between the Federal State of Austria and Nazi Germany signed on 11 July 1936. The agreement was not initially published. It was negotiated by the Ge ...

" of the government of Dollfuss' successor Kurt Schuschnigg with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and in turn was appointed State Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He and Interior Minister

Edmund Glaise-Horstenau Edmund Hugo Guilelmus Glaise von Horstenau (also known as Edmund Glaise-Horstenau; 27 February 1882 – 20 July 1946) was an Austrian Nazi politician who became the last vice-chancellor of Austria, appointed by Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg under ...

served as the main contact men to the German

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

government. On 12 February 1938 Schuschnigg under pressure from Hitler elevated Schmidt to the rank of a Federal Minister, a post he held until 11 March 1938, when the chancellor was forced to resign only hours before the invasion of

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

troops and the Austrian ''

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 ...

'' to Nazi Germany. Schmidt played a vital role in the preceding demission of Chief of Staff

Alfred Jansa Feldmarschalleutnant Alfred Johann Theophil Jansa von Tannenau, (16 July 1884 – 20 December 1963) was an Austrian Army Officer. An opponent of Germany and the Anschluss, Jansa was a strong advocate of resisting German annexation by force a ...

, nevertheless he did not join the Nazi government of

Arthur Seyss-Inquart Arthur Seyss-Inquart (; ; 22 July 1892 16 October 1946) was an Austrian Nazi politician who served as Chancellor of Austria in 1938 for two days before the ''Anschluss''. His positions in Nazi Germany included deputy governor to Hans Frank in t ...

, whereafter he retired from politics. By the intercession of

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

he became an executive director of the '' Reichswerke'' industrial conglomerate at

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

on 1 July 1938. In 1945, Schmidt was temporarily imprisoned by the Allied occupation forces because of his pro-Nazi attitude and accused of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

, but was acquitted in 1947. From 1956 he continued his career as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

Semperit Semperit AG Holding is a manufacturer of industrial polymer and plastic products based in Vienna, Austria. From the middle 20th century, it produced bicycle tires for the Austrian road bicycle sold by Sears & Roebuck, including the classic white ...

company. Schmidt died in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

at the age of 56. He was the father of the Austrian businessman

Guido Schmidt-Chiari Guido Schmidt-Chiari (13 September 1932 – 21 August 2016) was an Austrian banker. He was the CEO of the Austrian bank Creditanstalt. Schmidt-Chiari was born in Vienna, Austria, the eldest child of Guido Schmidt. He married Countess Stephanie Str ...

Works

* ''Der Hochverratsprozess gegen Dr. Guido Schmidt''; Österreichische Staatsdruckerei; Vienna, 1947

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Guido 1901 births 1957 deaths People from Bludenz 20th-century Austrian diplomats Austrian prisoners and detainees Ministers of foreign affairs of Austria Austrian Roman Catholics Fatherland Front politicians Prisoners and detainees of Austria People acquitted of treason

Life

Works

See also

References

External links