Helmut Zilk
Encyclopedia
Helmut Zilk was an Austria
n journalist and politician in the Austrian Social Democratic Party
.
, the 10th district of Vienna
as a son of the Bohemia-born newspaper worker.
Zilk was Mayor of Vienna from 1984 to 1994. In December 1993 he was severely injured when he opened a letter bomb which had been sent to his home in Innere Stadt
by Franz Fuchs
.
Zilk died on October 24, 2008 of heart failure, after arriving home sick from a vacation in Portugal. He was married to Austrian musical star, Dagmar Koller
.
accused Helmut Zilk of having collaborated with Czechoslovak secret police
(StB) during the 1960s. He denied the accusations. Based on this and also on information from the StB archives, Zilk was denied of a planned Czech medal of honor and the affair was widely covered by Czech and Austrian media. In 1998 Czech presidential office cleared Zilk and president Havel
did apologize to him in person.
In 2009, the StB documents on Zilk were made public. These documents record 58 meetings between Zilk and secret police agents during 1965-68. Zilk had provided information about the political situation in Austria and assessment of individual Austrian politicians; for this he was paid in money and goods like Bohemian crystal glass. After the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia (August 1968) Ladislav Bittman, one of the agents in contact with Zilk, defected to the West and leaked information about him. Some Czech media (as well as the old StB documents) speculated that the continued political and journalistic career of Zilk, in spite of being uncovered, was due to some other agency (CIA is suggested) recruiting and supporting him.
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...
n journalist and politician in the Austrian Social Democratic Party
SPO
- Technology :SPO: Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Cloud Computing, Office 365. See Microsoft Online Services-Economics:* Secondary Public Offering, an equity capital market instrument...
.
Biography
Helmut Zilk was born in FavoritenFavoriten
Favoriten, the 10th district of Vienna, Austria , is located south of the central districts. It is south of Innere Stadt, Wieden and Margareten...
, the 10th district of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
as a son of the Bohemia-born newspaper worker.
Zilk was Mayor of Vienna from 1984 to 1994. In December 1993 he was severely injured when he opened a letter bomb which had been sent to his home in Innere Stadt
Innere Stadt
The Innere Stadt is the 1st municipal District of Vienna . The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Innere Stadt was congruent with the city of Vienna...
by Franz Fuchs
Franz Fuchs
Franz Fuchs was a xenophobic Austrian terrorist. Between 1993 and 1997 he killed four people and injured 15, some of them seriously, using three improvised explosive devices and five waves of 25 mailbombs in total.Fuchs' mailbomb campaigns and his personality features are according to criminal...
.
Zilk died on October 24, 2008 of heart failure, after arriving home sick from a vacation in Portugal. He was married to Austrian musical star, Dagmar Koller
Dagmar Koller
Dagmar Koller is an Austrian actress and singer.Born in Klagenfurt, she is recognized as the leading German language musical star of her time. She married Austrian journalist and politician, Helmut Zilk, in 1978, and became the first lady of Vienna while he served as mayor...
.
Czechoslovak secret police collaborator
In October 1998, the newspaper Süddeutsche ZeitungSüddeutsche Zeitung
The Süddeutsche Zeitung , published in Munich, is the largest German national subscription daily newspaper.-Profile:The title literally translates as "South German Newspaper". It is read throughout Germany by 1.1 million readers daily and boasts a relatively high circulation abroad...
accused Helmut Zilk of having collaborated with Czechoslovak secret police
State Security (Czechoslovakia)
In former Czechoslovakia, State Security or StB / ŠtB, was a plainclothes secret police force from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990...
(StB) during the 1960s. He denied the accusations. Based on this and also on information from the StB archives, Zilk was denied of a planned Czech medal of honor and the affair was widely covered by Czech and Austrian media. In 1998 Czech presidential office cleared Zilk and president Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
did apologize to him in person.
In 2009, the StB documents on Zilk were made public. These documents record 58 meetings between Zilk and secret police agents during 1965-68. Zilk had provided information about the political situation in Austria and assessment of individual Austrian politicians; for this he was paid in money and goods like Bohemian crystal glass. After the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia (August 1968) Ladislav Bittman, one of the agents in contact with Zilk, defected to the West and leaked information about him. Some Czech media (as well as the old StB documents) speculated that the continued political and journalistic career of Zilk, in spite of being uncovered, was due to some other agency (CIA is suggested) recruiting and supporting him.