Maria Emhart

Maria Emhart (born Maria Raps: 27 May 1901 – 9 October 1981) was an Austrian resistance activist who survived the Hitler years and, in 1953, became a national politician (SPÖ).

Life

Provenance and early years Maria Emhart was born in Pyhra, a small town on the edge of Sankt Pölten and a short distance to the west of Vienna. She was the first-born of her parents' five children. Johann Raps, her father was a railwayman. He drank. Maria Kreutzer her mother, aged just 17 at the time of Maria's birth, was a farm worker. By 1917 poor working conditions in the local factories were combining with wild rumours about a workers' state in Russia and of strikes in Berlin and Vienna to feeding into political radicalisation. Neither of Maria's parents had ever found much time for politics: she nevertheless became one of many who turned to trades union activism in the aftermath of the First World War. Details of her activity are, unsurprisingly, not known in much detail. She would herself later describe her role as the "Landesleiterin" ("regional head") of the "Lower Austria Revolutionary Socialists", as the temporary replacement for Rosa Jochmann. Anna, her sister-in-law, was arrested at the same time, but quickly released for lack of evidence. Maria was held in pre-trial detention, during which she underwent weeks if intense questioning and sleep deprivation. She was refused a change of clothes. Under intense mental and physical pressure, she experienced a deterioration in her health and another resurgence of her Tuberculosis. As a further device, the security services arrested Karl Emhart soon after capturing his wife, and ensured that she was made aware of the development. Several of the accused subsequently emerged as leading national politicians: these included Bruno Kreisky, Franz Jonas, Otto Probst and Anton Proksch. Among the accused, Maria Emhart emerged as the most eloquent and passionate. Weeks of interrogation had completely failed to break her spirit, even if they had been destructive of her physical well-being. She told the court, "yes, I am an enthusiastic socialist" and went on to explain why, in terms of "the poverty, misery and deprivations, as well as the humiliations, that one can expect to experience if one comes into the world on the bottom rungs of the social system.... as an individual one is powerless", but as a member of a powerful trades union or a working-class political party you could work with others to try and banish the ancient evils of "poverty, exploitation, injustice, and war".

Under National Socialism In the event she was released after just over a year in July 1936, in the context of that month's mass-amnesty.

In 1943 reports were received by the authorities that Maria Emhart had been listening to foreign radio stations. This had been illegal for some years, and the prohibition had been enforced with increasing urgency since the tide of the war had been reversed during the previous summer. A visit to the Emharts' home by the security services followed, but the matter was not further pursued. There were other heart stopping moments, but there is no mention in sources of Maria Emhart having been re-arrested after 1936, despite her previous high political profile.

National politics In 1950 Karl Emhart, who was probably significantly older than his wife, retired from the railways and, according to at least one source, took charge of running the couples' home. This left Maria Emhart with more time for politics.

By 1964 Karl Emhart was very seriously ill. Maria Emhart resigned from parliament in 1965