Alfred Loritz

Alfred Loritz (born 24 April 1902 in Munich – died 14 April 1979 in Vienna) was a German lawyer and politician who briefly rose to prominence in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.

Early life Loritz was admitted to the bar in Munich in 1929.

Loritz joined the German Economic Party, a splinter group mainly active in Bavaria, and became chair of the party's affiliate in Munich in 1931. However, he was expelled from the party in 1932.

The Catholic Loritz was a right-wing opponent of the Nazi regime. In early 1939, he made contact with a group of Bavarian monarchists in an ultimately-abortive attempt to foment discontent. He claimed to have organized a failed plot on 8 November 1939 to kill Adolf Hitler with a bomb in the Bürgerbräukeller. Loritz spent most of the war in exile in Switzerland.

Political career The American occupation zone authorities gave Loritz permission to form a political party, the Economic Reconstruction Party (WAV), in December 1945. Loritz gained a reputation as a demagogic speaker. In the Bundestag, the party quickly fell apart, with four deputies breaking away in October 1950 to link up with the Centre Party. He was not a candidate in the 1953 election.

Disappearance and death Loritz attempted to revive his political career in Bremen and formed the German Reconstruction Party in 1955. However, he was accused for forging signatures for his party. He was put on trial for five months in 1959 at a cost of 150,000 marks and over 200 witnesses were called. He was found guilty and sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison.

Loritz fled to Austria and appealed his conviction. The Federal Court of Justice annulled his trial, but Loritz refused to return for a new trial unless he was given safe passage by Bavaria and Bremen. This condition was refused so he remained in Austria. He was arrested in Salzburg on 25 December 1961, while trying to board a train to Switzerland. West Germany attempted to extradite him from Austria, but Austria refused stating that the charges against Loritz were political. He remained in Austria and died in a Vienna hospital in 1979.