Franz Langoth

Franz Langoth (20 August 1877 – 17 April 1953) was an Austrian nationalist politician who later became a leading figure in the country's Nazi movement. He was a judge on the People's Court, an SS-Brigadeführer and the mayor of Linz. Though interned by the Allies at the end of the Second World War, he faced no charges in denazification proceedings.

Nationalist politics A native of Linz, Langoth was the son of a miller and a flour merchant and qualified as a teacher in 1896. He began his political career as a nationalist member of the Landtag of Upper Austria in 1909. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War and subsequently with the Landsturm as a Leutnant. Although the Nazi Party was banned in Austria after the attempted July Putsch of 1934, Kurt Schuschnigg allowed Langoth's group to be active due to his high standing. Langoth, along with Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Anton Reinthaller, even met with Schuschnigg in 1935 in an attempt to get the ban on the Nazis lifted in return for a guarantee of co-operation with the regime. At the 10 April 1938 parliamentary election, he was elected to the Reichstag as a deputy from Ostmark and retained this seat until the fall of the Nazi regime. Langoth became head of the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt for Austria and the upper Danube area. He also served as a judge in the Volksgerichtshof where he passed 41 death sentences. He also obtained the rank of SS-Brigadeführer. Towards the end of the Second World War he also served as Mayor of Linz and, as the Allies advanced, Langoth sought out the Austrian resistance and negotiated with them the transfer of Linz to their administration.

Post-war activities Langoth was arrested by the United States forces and interned at Glasenbach until 1947, although he surprisingly faced no charges under the denazification process and was amnestied by the Austrian government in 1950. He became an advisor to the founders of the Federation of Independents and was an honorary member of the party. His 1951 autobiography Kampf um Österreich was characterised by its continuing support for Nazism.

Literature Die Gemeindevertretung der Stadt Linz vom Jahre 1848 bis zur Gegenwart. Geschichte – Biographien. Druck- und Verlags-Anstalt Gutenberg, Linz 1968, p. 189 f. Graf, Wolfgang: Österreichische SS-Generäle. Himmlers verlässliche Vasallen. Hermagoras-Verlag, Klagenfurt u. a. 2012. Georg Grüll: Das Linzer Bürgermeisterbuch. Städtische Sammlungen der Stadt Linz, Linz 1953. Schuster, Walter: Deutschnational, nationalsozialistisch, entnazifiziert. Franz Langoth, eine NS-Laufbahn. Archiv der Stadt Linz, Linz 1999.