Josef Schleich (1902 – 7 February 1949) was an Austrian who smuggled Jews across the border to Yugoslavia during the time of National Socialism.

Life and career

Schleich was born in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

. He was a poultry farm owner, and, until Germany's annexation of Austria in 1938 (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 also smuggled flints and saccharin to Yugoslavia. After the Anschluss Schleich expanded his business. Jews were no longer welcome by other countries, having no assets after paying high taxes. Schleich taught farming and issued certifications of this training to Jews to help them emigrate. Too many certificates were issued, and Schleich lost his credit and customers. Schleich then became a smuggler. Many Jews were able to cross the border with his help. He pretended to be a travel guide to transport people to Yugoslavia. He charged 670 German Reichsmark per person and his business flourished. Before the start of the Balkans campaign his activity was tolerated by the Nazi authorities, but on 12 March 1941 Schleich and his colleagues were arrested and his business was ended. He was sentenced to ten months in prison and afterwards drafted to the "

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 ...

" (armed forces of Germany). In 1945 he returned to

. Some Jews who did not cross the border with his help they accused him of taking advantage of the Jews' assets. The lawsuit was ended due to lack of evidence. Schleich died on 7 February 1949 from cirrhosis of the liver. Schleich's work remained controversial in Austria. He had earned money, which was illegal, but he saved hundreds of lives. In 2002 the Braunau Contemporary History Days had a discussion on this topic.

Literature

* Hannelore Fröhlich, Spurensuche. Mit einem Nachwort von Walter Brunner. Steirische Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1999. * Hannelore Fröhlich, Judenretter - Abenteurer - Lebemann: Josef Schleich. Spurensuche einer Tochter. LIT Verlag Dr. W. Hopf, Berlin 2007. .

References

External links

Das Reisebüro des Josef Schleich
(PDF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schleich, Josef 1902 births 1949 deaths Austrian farmers 20th-century farmers People from Graz Smugglers