Josef Pfitzner
Encyclopedia
Josef Pfitzner was a politician of Nazi Germany
and a writer.
, Austrian Silesia
. He was a German historian
and politician
and was Professor at the German University of Prague. Early on, he was attracted to Nazism
and belonged to the branch of Austrian National Socialism
. He held the rank of Standartenführer
in the SA
. In 1939, he became the German deputy mayor
of Prague
and held this office until May 1945. Pfitzner was executed in Prague
after World War II
within three hours of being convicted for speaking in favour of the Nazis, taking part in Nazi organisations, and defrauding Prague city in financial deals with the Germans. He was hanged in public before up to 50,000 spectators.
was "the synthesis of the two great dynamic powers of the century, of the socialist
and national
idea". This specific brand of German socialism was perfected in the German borderlands of Austria
and especially in the Sudetenland
before it came to Germany.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and a writer.
Bio
Josef Pfitzner was born in Petrovice (Bruntál District)Petrovice (Bruntál District)
Petrovice is a village and municipality in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic.- Natives :* Josef Pfitzner - Sudeten German historian, writer and Nazi politician...
, Austrian Silesia
Austrian Silesia
Austrian Silesia , officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Empire, from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
. He was a German historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and was Professor at the German University of Prague. Early on, he was attracted to Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and belonged to the branch of Austrian National Socialism
Austrian National Socialism
Austrian National Socialism was a Pan-German movement that was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. The movement took a concrete form on November 15, 1903 when the German Worker's Party was established in Austria with its secretariat stationed in the town of Aussig...
. He held the rank of 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...
in the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
. In 1939, he became the German deputy mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and held this office until May 1945. Pfitzner was executed in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
after 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...
within three hours of being convicted for speaking in favour of the Nazis, taking part in Nazi organisations, and defrauding Prague city in financial deals with the Germans. He was hanged in public before up to 50,000 spectators.
Work
Pfitzner took a special interest in the Sudeten German past and published Volkstumsschutz und Nationale Bewegung. Josef Pfitzner wrote that the National Socialism of GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
was "the synthesis of the two great dynamic powers of the century, of the socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and national
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
idea". This specific brand of German socialism was perfected in the German borderlands of Austria
Cisleithania
Cisleithania was a name of the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in 1867 and dissolved in 1918. The name was used by politicians and bureaucrats, but it had no official status...
and especially in the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
before it came to Germany.
Writings of Pfitzner
- Das Sudentendeutschtum, (Cologne:Scharffstein, 1938).
- Volkstummsschutz und Nationale Bewegung (Ethnic Preservation and National Movement: 1938).