Karl Schröckenfuchs
| Born: |
01-11-1903 |
| Faculty: |
Philosophical School |
| Category: |
Deprivation of academic degree |
Karl SCHROECKENFUCHS, born on January 11
th, 1903 in Teplitz-Schoenau, Bohemia/Austria-Hungary [Teplice/Czech Republic], as Karl CHLOUBA - son of the locksmith Karl and Aloisia Chlouba (née Schmatz). He became an orphan at the age of 9, but with the support of priests he was able to attend grammar school in Maria Schein and in Horn, where he graduated in November 1922 and then began to study history and geography at the University of Vienna. Besides his academic studies he worked as a proofreader for the Christian conservative daily newspaper "Reichspost" to finance his studies.
In 1924, at the age of 21, he was adopted by the childless widow Juliane Schroeckenfuchs from Teufenbach/Styria and now received the surname Schroeckenfuchs.
On July 22
nd, 1927, he had gained the degree of "Dr. phil." in history from the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Vienna (dissertation: "
Causes and Reasons for the South German Coin Crisis in Austria in the 15th Century') and also passed the teacher's license examination for geography and history as major subjects, and for German and Latin as minor subjects. In 1930 he came to the
Gymnasium in Waidhofen/Ybbs in Lower Austria as a history teacher and to the
Konvikt there as an educator. Schroeckenfuchs was very active in various Christian social and Austrofascist organizations such as "
Heimatschutz", "
Heimwehr", "
Vaterlaendische Front" and in the strongly anti-Semitic "
Ostmaerkische Sturmscharen" (provincial staff leader ["Landesstabsfuehrer"]) and is also appointed municipal representative of Waidhofen/Ybbs and enforces the appointment of Kurt Schuschnigg and "
Heimwehr" leader Ernst Ruediger Starhemberg as honorary citizens of Waidhofen/Ybbs. In 1933 he had married Caecilia Pschenitschnigg with whom he had a total of three children in 1934, 1936 and 1947. In 1936 he moved to the grammar school in Leoben/Styria as a teacher.
On March 12
th, 1938, he was arrested there as an Austrofascist for his persecution of National Socialists and sentenced in 1939 for grievous bodily harm, against which he appealed. During the pre-trial detention for the appeal verdict and a further trial for extortion, he allegedly expressed dissent in front of fellow prisoners and regretted the failure of the Munich assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, for which he was additionally sentenced by the Regional Court of St. Poelten to eight years' hard labor.
As a consequence, on May 8
th, 1941, the University of Vienna revoked his academic degree for so-called political reasons.
Karl Schroeckenfuchs spent his imprisonment in the penal institutions of Leoben, St. Poelten and Garsten and was transferred to the notorious "
Strafdivision 999" in 1943 and drafted for demining service and "
partisan fighting" in Greece, where he was taken prisoner of war in England in 1945, from which he did not return to Austria until the end of 1946.
In 1947 he returned to the
Bundesrealgymnasium Leoben as a teacher - and in 1948 also as principal - and was politically active for the
OEVP and the
OEAAB, being appointed "
Hofrat" and also becoming
OEVP vice mayor of Leoben in 1948. He was a member of the
MKV-fraternity
Waldmark Horn, and the
CV-fraternity
Nordgau Wien.
He died on September 10
th, 1965 in Leoben/Styria.
Only 62 years after the deprivation and very long after the end of National Socialism, the doctorate was solemnly regranted to him on April 10
th, 2003 - the deprivation was posthumously declared "
void from the beginning".
It took 62 years since the deprivation – and a very long time since the end of National Socialism – until the regranting of the doctorate took finally place on April 10
th, 2003 posthumously in a solemn ceremony.
Lit.: Archive of the University of Vienna/graduation registry ("Promotionsprotokoll") PHIL 1922-1931 Nr. 1398, final examination protocol ("Rigorosenprotokoll ") PHIL 9692, rectorate GZ 1309 ex 1939/40, GZ 24 ex 1941/42, GZ 140 ex 2002/03; POSCH/STADLER 2005; POSCH 2009, 473f.; Gerhart HARTMANN, Karl Schroeckenfuchs, in: OeCV-BioLex; Heinz SCHROECKENFUCHS, Familienchronik II, 2012.
Herbert Posch
