Branimir Altgayer
Encyclopedia
Branimir Altgayer was a German minority leader in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
and the Independent State of Croatia
, and an SS officer during World War II
.
, served as an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer. Altgayer grew up in various garrison towns (Pardubice
, Tschakathurn and Sarajevo
). In 1904 his family moved to Kutjevo
in Slavonia
, Croatia
, where he attended school. He then attended Croatian
schools in Osijek
and Zemun
, where he obtained his high school diploma.
He attended the Cavalry Cadet School in Moravia
between 1912 to 1915, and then fought during World War I
as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army
in Russia
, Romania
and Italy
. On 24 August 1915 he was appointed Leutnant (lieutenant) and on 17 August 1917 promoted to Oberleutnant (senior lieutenant).
Between 16 December 1918 and 28 January 1927 Altgayer served in the army of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, where he reached the rank of Captain First Class. After leaving the army he worked as a bookkeeper, bank clerk, representative and head of an agricultural cooperative. After 1937 he became involved in Volksdeutsche (ethnic German minority) communal politics.
Branimir Altgayer took a lead in the Schwäbisch-Deutschen Kulturbund Jugoslawiens (Swabian-German Cultural Association of Yugoslavia). In 1936 he founded in Osijek
the Kultur- und Wohlfahrtsvereinigung der Deutschen (KWVD / Cultural and Welfare Association of Germans). After the pro-Nazi takeover of the German minority political realm in 1939, he was appointed regional head of Slavonia
.
After the founding of the Ustaše
Independent State of Croatia
(NDH) Altgayer was not initially selected by the Nazis to lead the German minority in Croatia
. Rather power went to Josef Meier who followed guidance from the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle (VoMi) in Berlin
more closely. In fact Altgayer quickly "became a chronic source of trouble for VoMi. Because of his popularity with the Croatian authorities as well as his German constituents, Altgayer increasingly disregarded VoMi's instructions, especially when he believed that Reich demands conflicted with the best interests of his Volksdeutsche."
On 6 November 1941 Heinrich Himmler
appointed Altagayer an SS Hauptsturmführer
and on 9 November 1943 he was promoted to SS Sturmbannführer
. In 1942 Altgayer was selected as one of two representatives of the German minority in Sabor. In 1943 he was also made secretary to the Ustaše
Croatian government and responsible for the internal affairs of the German minority. Ante Pavelić
also appointed Altgayer as a Colonel
in the Croatian Army and was bestowed the title Knight (vitez). He served briefly in the German Eastern Front
.
Altgayer escaped to Austria
but was delivered by the British
occupying power with others, against an extradition request, from Wolfsberg
internment camp to Communist Yugoslavia. He was sentenced in the district court of Zagreb
on 21 January 1950 for "crimes against the people and state" sentenced to death. He filed a petition for mercy in vain and, officially at least, he was executed by firing squad on 15 May 1950. Some sources say the following year.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
and the Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
, and an SS officer during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Life
According to postwar interrogations Altgayer was born in Galicia, where his father, a native of OsijekOsijek
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...
, served as an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer. Altgayer grew up in various garrison towns (Pardubice
Pardubice
Pardubice is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the river Elbe, 65 miles east of Prague. Pardubice has an antique centre square and old town, with many restaurants that stay open until late in the evening. There is an old Tower and a recently renovated Castle...
, Tschakathurn and Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
). In 1904 his family moved to Kutjevo
Kutjevo
Kutjevo is a town in Slavonia, Croatia, located northeast of Požega. In the census of 2011, there were 6,168 people, 2,399 in the town itself. In the census of 2001, 96% of the population declared themselves Croats....
in Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, where he attended school. He then attended Croatian
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
schools in Osijek
Osijek
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...
and Zemun
Zemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
, where he obtained his high school diploma.
He attended the Cavalry Cadet School in Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
between 1912 to 1915, and then fought during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. On 24 August 1915 he was appointed Leutnant (lieutenant) and on 17 August 1917 promoted to Oberleutnant (senior lieutenant).
Between 16 December 1918 and 28 January 1927 Altgayer served in the army of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, where he reached the rank of Captain First Class. After leaving the army he worked as a bookkeeper, bank clerk, representative and head of an agricultural cooperative. After 1937 he became involved in Volksdeutsche (ethnic German minority) communal politics.
Branimir Altgayer took a lead in the Schwäbisch-Deutschen Kulturbund Jugoslawiens (Swabian-German Cultural Association of Yugoslavia). In 1936 he founded in Osijek
Osijek
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...
the Kultur- und Wohlfahrtsvereinigung der Deutschen (KWVD / Cultural and Welfare Association of Germans). After the pro-Nazi takeover of the German minority political realm in 1939, he was appointed regional head of Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
.
After the founding of the Ustaše
Ustaše
The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement was a Croatian fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Nazism, and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span to the River Drina and to the border...
Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
(NDH) Altgayer was not initially selected by the Nazis to lead the German minority in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. Rather power went to Josef Meier who followed guidance from the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle (VoMi) in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
more closely. In fact Altgayer quickly "became a chronic source of trouble for VoMi. Because of his popularity with the Croatian authorities as well as his German constituents, Altgayer increasingly disregarded VoMi's instructions, especially when he believed that Reich demands conflicted with the best interests of his Volksdeutsche."
On 6 November 1941 Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
appointed Altagayer an SS Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
and on 9 November 1943 he was promoted to SS Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
. In 1942 Altgayer was selected as one of two representatives of the German minority in Sabor. In 1943 he was also made secretary to the Ustaše
Ustaše
The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement was a Croatian fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Nazism, and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span to the River Drina and to the border...
Croatian government and responsible for the internal affairs of the German minority. Ante Pavelić
Ante Pavelic
Ante Pavelić was a Croatian fascist leader, revolutionary, and politician. He ruled as Poglavnik or head, of the Independent State of Croatia , a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia...
also appointed Altgayer as a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the Croatian Army and was bestowed the title Knight (vitez). He served briefly in the German Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
.
Postwar
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Altgayer escaped to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
but was delivered by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
occupying power with others, against an extradition request, from Wolfsberg
Wolfsberg
Places named Wolfsberg include:*Wolfsberg, Carinthia, a district capital in Carinthia, Austria*Wolfsberg , a district of Carinthia, Austria*Wolfsberg im Schwarzautal, a municipality in Styria, Austria...
internment camp to Communist Yugoslavia. He was sentenced in the district court of Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
on 21 January 1950 for "crimes against the people and state" sentenced to death. He filed a petition for mercy in vain and, officially at least, he was executed by firing squad on 15 May 1950. Some sources say the following year.
Literature
- Vladimir Geiger, Saslušanje Branimira Altgayera vođe Njemacke narodne skupine u Nezavisnoj Državi Hrvatskoj u Upravi državne bezbjednosti za Narodnu Republiku Hrvatsku 1949. godine [Die Vernehmung von Branimir Altgayer, dem Führer der Deutschen Volksgruppe im NDH im Staatssicherheitsdienst der Volksrepublik Kroatien 1949]. Časopis za suvremenu povijest, (Zagreb, 1999) 31, Pages. 575-638.
- Mads Ole Balling, Von Reval bis Bukarest - Statistisch-Biographisches Handbuch der Parlamentarier der deutschen Minderheiten in Ostmittel und Südosteuropa 1919-1945, Band 2, 2. Auflage. (Kopenhagen 1991), ISBN 87-983829-5-0, Pages. 687-688.
- Anton Scherer, Suevia-Pannonica, (Graz 2009)
- Valdis O. Lumans, Himmler's Auxiliaries, The Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle and the German Minorities of Europe, 1939-1945 (1993)