Theodor Habicht

Vocation

German Nazi political figure who played a leading role in the Austrian movement. Under orders from Adolf Hitler he was sent to Austria in 1931 as Landesinspekteur to oversee the reorganization of the Austrian Nazi Party, and before long he was the effective leader of the group, despite official control resting with Alfred Proksch. Under Habicht the Nazis experienced growth, mostly at the expense of the Heimwehr, many of whose members switched over to Nazism. Initially Engelbert Dollfuß attempted a conciliation, notably offering Habicht two Nazi cabinet seats, before trying to get Italy to exert pressure on Hitler to restrain Habicht's anti-government activities. Habicht was deported in 1933 after the Austrian government finally decided to ban the Nazi Party outright. In response Habicht set up a leadership-in-exile in Munich which directed a campaign of terror against the Dollfuß regime which culminated in a failed coup attempt in the murder of Dollfuß in July 1934 under the command of Austrian SS leader Fridolin Glass. An unpopular figure with many of the Austrians, he was excluded from the country after this failure as Hitler placed the blame on Habicht, who had been responsible for determining the details of the coup attempt. He died on 31 January 1944, aged 45, in Nevel. Link to Wikipedia biography