17 Facts About Franz Kutschera

Franz Kutschera was an Austrian Nazi politician and government official.

Franz Kutschera held numerous political and administrative offices with the Nazi Party and the Schutzstaffel both before and after the Anschluss of Austria in 1938.

In 1943, Kutschera was appointed the SS and Police Leader in German-occupied Warsaw.

Franz Kutschera was born in Oberwaltersdorf, Lower Austria on 22 February 1904 and was the son of a professional gardener and minor civil servant.

Franz Kutschera joined the Austrian Nazi Party in December 1930 and the Schutzstaffel in November 1931.

In February 1939, he was appointed to the People's Court as a lay judge and upon Klausner's sudden death on 12 February, Franz Kutschera was elevated to the post of Acting Gauleiter for Carinthia.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Franz Kutschera was named the representative in Carinthia of Friedrich Rainer, the Reich Defense Commissioner for Wehrkreis XVIII, who was headquartered in Salzburg.

Franz Kutschera volunteered for military service with the Wehrmacht in March 1940 and was assigned to the 139th Gebirgsjager regiment of the 3rd Mountain Division.

Franz Kutschera was later transferred to the 6th Mountain Division and took part in the Battle of France, serving in the Vosges during May and June 1940.

Franz Kutschera was promoted to the rank of SS-Brigadefuhrer in November 1940.

On 27 November 1941, Franz Kutschera was dismissed as Gauleiter for reportedly plotting to absorb the neighboring Reichsgau Salzburg into his jurisdiction.

Franz Kutschera was succeeded by his rival, Friedrich Rainer, the Gauleiter in Salzburg.

In January 1942, Franz Kutschera was seconded to the staff of Obergruppenfuhrer Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, the Higher SS and police leader for Central Russia, where he served as a representative of the Reich Commissariat for the Strengthening of German Nationhood.

On 25 September 1943, Franz Kutschera took office as SS and Police Leader for the Warsaw district of the General Government in occupied Poland.

Franz Kutschera's exact whereabouts while in Warsaw was a closely guarded secret within the Reich Security Main Office but were discovered in December 1943 by Aleksander Kunicki, chief of intelligence for the Agat unit of Kedyw.

Franz Kutschera was charged with crimes against the Polish nation, in particular, the routine mass murder of Polish civilians in Warsaw.

Franz Kutschera was succeeded as SS and Police leader by SS-Oberfuhrer Paul Otto Geibel in March 1944.