Oskar Helmer (1887-1963) was an Austrian printer and social-democrat party politician. He served as the Minister of the Interior from 1945.
Oskar Helmer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 16 November 1887 |
| Died | 1963 (aged 75–76) |
| Occupation(s) | Printer, politician |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party of Austria |
| Awards | Nansen Refugee Award |
He won the Nansen Refugee Award in 1959.
Early life and education
editHelmer was born on 16 November 1887 in Oberwaltersdorf in Lower Austria.[1]
After he finished his school education, he studied printing in Wiener Neustadt, while also trying to sign apprentices up to the Austrian social-democratic youth movement.[1] His political activities put him in contact with the Social Democratic Party of Austria which he joined in 1903[2] and became the Wiener Neustadt constituency secretary.[1]
Career
editAfter his education, Helmer worked as a newspaper printer.[3] He became the editor of Gleichheit and Wiener Volkstribüne in 1910.[4]
He became the youngest ever social-democrat politician to be elected to the Lower Austria state parliament on 15 May 1919.[1] After Vienna separated from Lower Austria he worked as the head of the social-democratic provincial government constituencies and the parliamentary faction.[1] In 1927 he was promoted to the provincial capital representative.[1]
Helmer was a member of and the deputy party chair of the Socialist Party.[5] He was arrested by Nazis in 1934, and from 1935 to 1945 worked in the insurance industry.[4]
In 1945, he became the Ministry of the Interior of Austria, he played a major role in the denazification process, including reforming the police force.[6][1]
In 1959, he became president of Austria's Länderbank.[4] He won the Nansen Refugee Award the same year.[7]
Selected publications
editDeath and legacy
edit
Helmer died in 1963.[8] The Oskar Helmer Hof, a social housing complex was named after him in 1970.[2][9]
A commemorative postage stamp honouring him was released on November 13, 1987.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "100th Birthday of Oskar Helmer". www.aeiou.at. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
- ^ a b "Wiener Wohnen - Gemeindewohnungen". wiener-wohnen.at (in German). Retrieved 2022-09-04.
- ^ Kitchen, M. (2015). The Coming of Austrian Fascism. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Helmer, Oskar". www.aeiou.at. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
- ^ Kreisky, B., Lewis, J., Rathkolb, O. (2000). The Struggle for a Democratic Austria: Bruno Kreisky on Peace and Social Justice. United Kingdom: Berghahn Books.
- ^ Knight, R. (2017). Slavs in Post-Nazi Austria: Carinthian Slovenes and the Politics of Assimilation, 1945-1960. India: Bloomsbury Publishing. p45
- ^ "Austrian Receives Refugee Medal". The New York Times. 14 October 1959. ProQuest 114886714.
- ^ Memorial plaque, Oskar Helmer-Hof, Meriangasse 5, 1210 Wien
- ^ "Oskar-Helmer-Hof". www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at (in German (formal address)). Retrieved 2022-09-04.