Josef Fitzthum (14 September 1896 – 10 January 1945) was a high-ranking Austrian member of the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

'' (SS) and Special Representative of the ''

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest Uniforms and insignia of the Schut ...

'' in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A commander of the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

, he was killed in a car accident toward the end of the war.

Career

Born in 1896, Josef Fitzthum enlisted in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

in 1916 and was deployed to the Italian front. In January 1919 he was dismissed from the army, and from 1923 to 1933 he worked as a secretary at the Vienna School of Applied Arts. Fitzthum joined the Nazi Party in 1931 (membership number 363,169) and in 1932, the ''SS'' (membership number 41,936). In April 1932 he joined the ''XI SS Standard'' 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. ...

, which he led from September 1932 for six months. Fitzhum served time in prison for embezzlement and illegal Nazi activities. After his expatriation from

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, starting in March 1936, he was appointed a full-time SS-Standartenführer. In May 1936 he was posted to the SS ''Germania''. From October 1937 to March 1938, he was involved in ''

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

'' (SD) activities. Following 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 ...

'' he was appointed deputy chief of police in Vienna from 12 March 1938 to March 1940. In March 1938, he was involved in several high-profile meetings and public ceremonies with

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

Kurt Daluege Kurt Max Franz Daluege (15 September 1897 – 24 October 1946) was a German ''SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer'' and ''Generaloberst'' of the police, the highest ranking police officer, who served as chief of ''Ordnungspolizei'' (Order Police) of N ...

Karl Wolff Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff (13 May 1900 – 16 July 1984) was a senior German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) officer who served as Chief of Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS (Heinrich Himmler) and an SS liaison to Adolf Hitler during World War II. He ende ...

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

and

Ernst Kaltenbrunner Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 1903 – 16 October 1946) was an Austrian high-ranking SS official during the Nazi era, major perpetrator of the Holocaust and convicted war criminal. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a ...

reviewing Austrian police forces in Vienna. However, in 1940 he was removed from this post following accusations of corruption. At the April 1938 parliamentary election, he was elected as a deputy to the '' Reichstag'' from Ostmark and retained this seat until his death. In 1940, Fitzthum was transferred to the

and appointed as an infantry commander in the

SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV; or 'SS Death's Head Battalions') was a major branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary (SS) organisation. It was responsible for administering the Nazi concentration camps, concentration camps and extermination camps of Nazi Germany ...

. Between mid-April 1942 and May 1943, he was in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

as a commander for the establishment of the ''Aufstellung von Freiwilligen-Verbänden der Waffen-SS'' (voluntary associations of the Waffen-SS).

Appointment to Albania

From October 1943 to 1 January 1945 Fitzthum was appointed Special Representative of the ''

'' by Heinrich Himmler to act as his personal plenipotentiary in Albania. As a former Vienna police chief Fitzthum's main stated task was to rebuild the Albanian police force. However, he soon conceived the idea of raising an Albanian Legion as the Austrians had done here during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

but within the Waffen-SS. Consequently, from April to June 1944 Fitzthum organized the recruitment and training of the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian). Inside Albanian wartime politics, he was a vocal opponent of collaborating with the Zogist / Royalist faction. An experienced political infighter, Fitzthum rapidly monopolized both the Reich powers in Albania (usurping even those of the German Foreign Ministry) and the local Albanian political systems of administration. In August 1944 he was promoted to ''SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS'' and granted very broad powers. In September 1944, he directly appointed a three-man "control committee" for

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

including Prengë Previzi (an obscure collaborating politician), the formal head of the Albanian secret police under the Nazis, and General Gustav von Myrdacz (an Austrian military officer who had retired to Tirana after World War I). "Regular army officers decried Fitzthum's rash of arrests as well as the transporting of some 400 Albanian prisoners out of Albania, directly contravening existing agreements."Bernd Jürgen Fischer: Albania at War, 1939–1945. Purdue University Press, West Lafayette 1999, p. 226. By 2 October 1944, when the Germans decided to formally evacuate Albania, Fitzthum was perhaps the most powerful man in the entire country. During the withdrawal, Fitzthum helped Xhafer Deva set up, arm and equip a local administration and defence force in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. Upon returning to

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 ...

he was posted to the 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel as a commander from 3 to 10 January 1945, when Fitzthum was killed in a car accident in

Wiener Neudorf Wiener Neudorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neiduaf'') is an Austrian town in the eastern part of the Mödling district, south of Vösendorf and Maria Enzersdorf, west of Biedermannsdorf, and north of Guntramsdorf. History First settled in 4 ...

. He was buried in Vienna.

References

Bibliography

* Birn, Ruth Bettina (1986). ''Die Höheren SS- und Polizeiführer. Himmlers Vertreter im Reich und in den besetzten Gebieten''. Droste. * Bishop, Chris (2005). ''Hitler's Foreign SS Divisions''. or * Fischer, Bernd Jürgen (1999). ''Albania at War, 1939–1945''. Purdue University Press, West Lafayette. or * Klee, Ernst (2007). ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich''. Frankfurt am Main, S. Fischer (Aktualisierte 2. Auflage). * Malcolm, Noel (2000). ''Kosovo: A Short History''. New York University Press. New Update edition. * Neubacher, Hermann (1956). ''Sonderauftrag Sudost''. Musterschmidt. * Sarner, Harvey (1997). ''Rescue In Albania: One Hundred Percent Of Jews In Albania Rescued From Holocaust''. Brunswick Press, California.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzhum, Josef 1896 births 1945 deaths Austrian prisoners and detainees Austrian Waffen-SS personnel killed in action Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I German police chiefs Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945 Nazis convicted of crimes People from Gänserndorf District Prisoners and detainees of Austria Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class Road incident deaths in Austria SS-Gruppenführer Waffen-SS personnel