Adolf Franz Hecht

Born:	08-08-1876
Faculty:	Medical School | Medical University Vienna
Category:	Expelled teacher

Adolf Franz HECHT (born on August 8th, 1876 in Vienna, died on December 19th 1938 in Vienna) was lecturer ('Dozent') and extraordinary professor for pediatrics at the Medical School of the University of Vienna.

He had graduated high school - Franz-Joseph-Gymnasium - in Vienna, studied medicine at the University of Vienna and earned his doctoral degree on May 19th, 1899, then became assistant at the pediatric-clinic in Heidelberg/Germany and at the "Allgemeinen Poliklinik" in Vienna. He earned his "venia legendi" for pediatrics in 1915 and became a lecturer ("Privatdozent") at the university-clinic for pediatrics at the medical school of the University of Vienna, was head of the heartexaminationstation there, since 1932 with the title "ausserordentlicher Universitaetsprofessor".
He was a member of the Viennese "Gesellschaft der Aerzte" and of the Viennese "Gesellschaft für innere Medizin und Kinderheilkunde". He published numerous scientific articles on biology of milk, über nutrition disorder, circulation deseases and heart deseases of children.

He was persecuted in times of Nazism as a Jew lost his position and was thrown out of the university on April 22nd, 1938. Also his daughter, Annemarie HECHT, was forced to terminate her studies in psychology at the philosophical school in the third year of her studies and was no more allowed to enter the university. His younger brother, Otto HECHT (1886-1969, he formally withdrew from Judaism in 1903 before starting his studies at the University of Vienna) survived. He became a lawyer, could flee to London/Great Britain in 1938, returned already in August 1946 to Vienna and worked as a lawyer until his retirement in 1963in Vienna. His second younger brother, the lawyer Dr. Robert HECHT (1881-1938) was arrested on March 12th, 1938 and deported to the concentration camp Dachau where he died on May 9, 1938. Robert Hecht was a top ranking official in times of Austrofascism (he formally withdrew from Judaism in 1900 before starting his studies at the University of Vienna), department head ("Sektionschef") in the Ministry of War, advisor and confidant of longtime war minister Carl Vaugoin, since 1932 also advisor of Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss und was involved in the formulation of the Austrofascist Constitution of 1934 and other important laws of the authoritarian regime. From 1936 on he was head of the state-run bank, postal and communication office "Postsparkassenamt". Adolf Franz Hecht himself committed suicide on December 19th, 1938 in Vienna. His wife Margarethe Hecht, née Eisert, and his children Hans and Annemarie were able to emigrate. The obituary ("Partezettel") from end of 1938 names "Vienna - Buenos Aires - Shanghai" as places to live for the family.

Lit.: Archive of the University of Vienna, S304.458; MERINSKY 1980, 90-91; TRAGL 2007, 646f.; UB MedUni Wien/van Swieten Blog; geni.com; Peter Huemer, Sektionschef Robert Hecht und die Zerstörung der Demokratie in Österreich. Wien 1975.

Herbert Posch