Josef Fitzthum
Encyclopedia
Josef Fitzthum
Josef Fitzthum (September 14, 1896, Loimersdorf
, Lower Austria
— January 10, 1945, Wiener Neudorf
, was a senior SS Gruppenführer
, Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS und Polizei, politician, and Beauftragter des Reichsführer-SS Albanien (special representative of the Reichsführer SS in Albania
) during World War II
.
. Fitzhum undertook his education at the Austria
n Militärunterrealschule and the oberrealschule. From 1916 he served as a Leutnant (lieutenant) in the 3rd Regiment of the Tiroler Kaiserjäger of the Austro-Hungarian Army
and was the first junior officer to be awarded the Order of the Iron Crown
. In 1917 he was promoted to Oberleutnant (senior lieutenant) and was deployed to the war on the Italian front.
In mid-January 1919 he was dismissed from the much reduced Austrian army (Volkswehr) and from 1920 he worked in the civil service. From 1923 to 1933 he worked as a secretary at the Vienna School of Applied Arts.
In 1931 Fitzthum joined the NSDAP (Membership Number 363,169) and in 1932, the SS (Membership Number 41,936). In 1933 he was sentenced to two and a half years in political detention, from which he twice escaped. In April 1932 he joined the XI. SS Standard in Vienna
, which he led from September 1932 for six months. After his expatriation from Austria
, starting in March 1936, he was appointed a full-time SS Standartenführer
(colonel). In May 1936 he was posted to the SS Germania, and led the 58th SS regiment in Cologne
from the beginning of January 1937 until the end of September 1937.
Fitzthum was married in 1937 and had two children. In 1938 he became a member of the Berlin
Reichstag
.
From October 1937 to March 1938 he was involved in SD
activities. Following the Anschluss
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
, Kurt Daluege
, Karl Wolff
, Reinhard Heydrich
and Ernst Kaltenbrunner
reviewing Austria
n police forces in Vienna
. In 1940 he was removed from his post following accusations of corruption.
In 1940 Fitzthum was transferred to the Waffen SS and appointed as an infantry commander in the SS-Totenkopfverbände
. Between mid-April 1942 and May 1943 he was in the Netherlands
as a commander of the for the establishment of the Aufstellung von Freiwilligen-Verbänden der Waffen-SS (voluntary associations of the Waffen SS).
From October 1943 to 1 January 1945 SS Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS und Polizei Josef Fitzthum was appointed Politiker sowie Beauftragter des Reichsführer-SS Albanien by Heinrich Himmler
to act as his personal plenipotentary 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 some kind of Albanian Legion as the Austrians had done here during World War I
but within the Waffen SS. Consequently from April 1944 to June 1944 Fitzthum was involved in 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 Albania
n political systems of administration. In August 1944 he was promoted 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
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.".
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 Kosova.
Upon returning the Third Reich he was posted to the 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel
as a commander from 3 to 10 January 1945. On 10 January 1945 Fitzthum died in a car accident in Wiener Neudorf
. He was buried in Vienna
.
Josef Fitzthum (September 14, 1896, Loimersdorf
Engelhartstetten
Engelhartstetten is a town in the district of Gänserndorf in the Austrian state of Lower Austria....
, Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
— January 10, 1945, Wiener Neudorf
Wiener Neudorf
Wiener Neudorf 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 :...
, was a senior SS Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
, Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS und Polizei, politician, and Beauftragter des Reichsführer-SS Albanien (special representative of the Reichsführer SS in Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
) 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...
.
Biography
Josef Fitzthum was born in 1896 on the Austrian-Hungarian frontier, the son of Josef Fitzthum, an administrative official from western BohemiaBohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. Fitzhum undertook his education at the 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...
n Militärunterrealschule and the oberrealschule. From 1916 he served as a Leutnant (lieutenant) in the 3rd Regiment of the Tiroler Kaiserjäger of 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...
and was the first junior officer to be awarded the Order of the Iron Crown
Order of the Iron Crown
The Imperial Order of the Iron Crown was established June 5, 1805 by Napoleon Bonaparte . It took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombardy, a medieval jewel with an iron ring, forged from what was supposed to be a nail from the True Cross as a band on the inside. This crown also gave its...
. In 1917 he was promoted to Oberleutnant (senior lieutenant) and was deployed to the war on the Italian front.
In mid-January 1919 he was dismissed from the much reduced Austrian army (Volkswehr) and from 1920 he worked in the civil service. From 1923 to 1933 he worked as a secretary at the Vienna School of Applied Arts.
In 1931 Fitzthum joined the NSDAP (Membership Number 363,169) and in 1932, the SS (Membership Number 41,936). In 1933 he was sentenced to two and a half years in political detention, from which he twice escaped. In April 1932 he joined the XI. SS Standard in 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...
, which he led from September 1932 for six months. After his expatriation from 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...
, starting in March 1936, he was appointed a full-time SS Standartenführer
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
(colonel). In May 1936 he was posted to the SS Germania, and led the 58th SS regiment in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
from the beginning of January 1937 until the end of September 1937.
Fitzthum was married in 1937 and had two children. In 1938 he became a member of the 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...
Reichstag
Reichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
.
From October 1937 to March 1938 he was involved in SD
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
activities. Following the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
he was appointed Deputy Chief of police in 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...
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 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...
, Kurt Daluege
Kurt Daluege
Kurt Daluege was a German Nazi SS-Oberstgruppenführer and Generaloberst der Polizei as chief of the Ordnungspolizei and ruled the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia as Deputy Protector after Reinhard Heydrich's assassination.-Early life and career:Kurt Daluege, a son of a Prussian state official,...
, Karl Wolff
Karl Wolff
Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Schutzstaffel , ultimately holding the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS. He became Chief of Personal Staff to the Reichsführer and SS Liaison Officer to Hitler until his replacement in 1943...
, Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
and Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the...
reviewing 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...
n police forces in 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...
. In 1940 he was removed from his post following accusations of corruption.
In 1940 Fitzthum was transferred to the Waffen SS and appointed as an infantry commander in the SS-Totenkopfverbände
SS-Totenkopfverbände
SS-Totenkopfverbände , meaning "Death's-Head Units", was the SS organization responsible for administering the Nazi concentration camps for the Third Reich....
. Between mid-April 1942 and May 1943 he was in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
as a commander of the for the establishment of the Aufstellung von Freiwilligen-Verbänden der Waffen-SS (voluntary associations of the Waffen SS).
From October 1943 to 1 January 1945 SS Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS und Polizei Josef Fitzthum was appointed Politiker sowie Beauftragter des Reichsführer-SS Albanien by 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...
to act as his personal plenipotentary in Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. As a former 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...
police chief Fitzthum's main stated task was to rebuild the Albanian police force. However he soon conceived the idea of raising some kind of Albanian Legion as the Austrians had done here 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...
but within the Waffen SS. Consequently from April 1944 to June 1944 Fitzthum was involved in the recruitment and training of the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian)
21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian)
The 21st Division of the SS Skanderbeg was a Mountain division of the SS set up by Heinrich Himmler in March 1944, officially under the title of the 21. Waffen-Gebirgs Division der SS Skanderbeg...
.
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
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
(usurping even those of the German Foreign Ministry) and the local Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n political systems of administration. In August 1944 he was promoted 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
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
including Prengë Previzi (an obscure collaborating politician), the formal head of the Albanian secret police under the Nazis, and General Gustav von Myrdacz
Gustav von Myrdacz
Gustav von Myrdacz was an Austrian noble who was instrumental in organising the Royal Albanian Army from the early 1920s to 1945.-Life:...
(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.".
By 2 October 1944, when the Germans decided to formally evacuate Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Fitzthum was perhaps the most powerful man in the entire country. During the withdrawal Fitzthum helped Xhafer Deva
Xhafer Deva
Xhafer Ibrahim Deva was a World War II government Minister of Albania during the period between October 1943 and June 1944. was a leading political figure in Axis-occupied Kosovo during World War II-Early life:Xhafer Deva was born in 1904 in Kosovska Mitrovica, in the Kosovo Province of the...
set up, arm and equip a local administration and defence force in Kosova.
Upon returning the Third Reich he was posted to the 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel
18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel
The 18th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Horst Wessel was formed in 1944 around a cadre from the 1 SS Infantry Brigade and included mainly Hungarian ethnic Germans or Volksdeutsche .It was used for anti-partisan duties until it was sent to the Eastern...
as a commander from 3 to 10 January 1945. On 10 January 1945 Fitzthum died in a car accident in Wiener Neudorf
Wiener Neudorf
Wiener Neudorf 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 :...
. He was buried in 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...
.
SS career
- November 1932 - SS SturmbannführerSturmbannführerSturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
- November 1933 - SS ObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
- March 1936 - SS StandartenführerStandartenführerStandartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
- March 1938 - SS OberführerOberführerOberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
- April 1940 - SS HauptsturmführerHauptsturmführerHauptsturmführer 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...
der Reserve (Waffen-SS) - January 1941 - SS SturmbannführerSturmbannführerSturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
der Reserve (Waffen-SS) - April 1942 - SS ObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
der Reserve (Waffen-SS) - November 1942 - SS StandartenführerStandartenführerStandartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
der Reserve (Waffen-SS) - October 1943 - SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS und Polizei
- August 1944 - SS GruppenführerGruppenführerGruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS
Awards
- Verwundetenabzeichen (Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
) in Black (1918). - Blutorden (Blood OrderBlood OrderThe Blood Order , officially known as the Decoration of 9 November 1923 , was one of the most prestigious decorations in the Nazi Party...
). - Landesorden
- Eisernes Kreuz Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
Second Class (8 October 1941) - Eisernes Kreuz Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
First Class (7 January 1942) - Kriegsverdienstkreuz (War Merit CrossWar Merit CrossThe War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
) Second Class with swords (1939) - Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen (Infantry Assault BadgeInfantry Assault BadgeThe Infantry Assault Badge was a German war badge awarded to Waffen SS and Wehrmacht Heer soldiers during WWII. This decoration was instituted on December 20th 1939 by the Oberstbefehlshaber des Heeres, Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch...
) - Ehrendegen des RFSS
- Totenkopfring der SS ("SS Honour RingSS-EhrenringThe SS-Ehrenring , unofficially called Totenkopfring , was an award of Heinrich Himmler's Schutzstaffel . It was not a state decoration, but rather a personal gift bestowed by Himmler...
").