Rudolf Kanzler
| Rudolf Kanzler | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Rudolf Kanzler February 26, 1873 Wasserburg am Inn |
| Died |
February 26, 1956 (aged 83) Munich |
| Nationality | German |
| Known for | Freikorps leader |
| Political party | Centre Party |
| Religion | Roman Catholic Church |
Rudolf Kanzler (born 26 February 1873 in Wasserburg am Inn - died 26 February 1956 in Munich) was a German surveyor and politician who was involved in the organisation of Freikorps units after World War I.
A Roman Catholic, Kanzler was thus a member of the Centre Party and served this party in the Landtag of Bavaria as representative for Lichtenfels from 1905 to 1918.[1] Noted for his anti-communism he organised a Bürgerwehr or militia against the communists in Rosenheim in 1919.[1] This group grew into the Freikorps Chiemgau, for a time the largest single Freikorps in Germany, under the command of Kanzler who became known as the 'White General'.[1] Kanzler became an ally of the rightist militant Georg Escherich and soon led his own Organisation Kanzler or 'Orka' in imitaton of Escherich's Orgesch.[1] Like his ally he became close to Richard Steidle in Austria and helped him in the organisation of the Heimwehr.[1]
Kanzler stood down from his Freikorps roles in 1921 and later became a member of Carl Spruner von Mertz's Bayerischer Heimat- und Königsbund, a monarchist group that was outlawed in 1933 after the formation of the Nazi Party regime.[1] Indeed Kanzler had been an early leader of this group, which - beyond a nostalgically sentimental attachment to the House of Wittelsbach - had little function, before giving way to General von Krafft.[2] Kanzler had little in common with the Nazis and was jailed for treason during the Third Reich for attempting to promote monarchism and for co-operating with the Black Front of Otto Strasser.[1] Following his death, on his 83rd birthday, he was buried in his home town of Wasserburg am Inn.[1]
References
|