89 Standarte Tunic

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Certainly not.

As Friedrich-Berthold already pointed out, the 89th Standarte was named after Franz Holzweber, an Austrian SS member executed for his role in the Dollfuss assassination/failed Nazi coup of July 1934.

No additional/alternate honor titles existed for this unit and the nonsensical "Wood Weber" is simply a semi-translation of Holzweber's name into English.

[I do not know whether "Holz" = "wood" also has an additional meaning as "rage" in Austrian/Viennese dialect, but this is not relevant here anyway.]

I will forward you various books on the year 1934 in Austria in which this all is pretty evident. As one who has been an intermittent resident of Vienna since 1973, I have never encountered wood as rage in Vienna, a place where there is less rage than most places.

The two Vienna Allgem. SS Standarten had such titles, the other being Planetta, for one of the other men executed after the Elementar Ereignis Putsch in July 1934.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Also our German friend has the new book on the origins of the Wiener SS, which I have yet to buy. It is likely the definitive source, and is one of many fine books from Austrian scholars on all of this interesting and compelling history.

[HPL2008]

Also our German friend has the new book on the origins of the Wiener SS, which I have yet to buy. It is likely the definitive source, and is one of many fine books from Austrian scholars on all of this interesting and compelling history.

Sure enough, the title has some interesting information on the genesis of the 89th Standarte.

The majority of its initial personnel were former members of the Deutscher Soldatenbund [German Soldiers' League], whose Viennese leadership included both Franz Holzweber and Otto Planetta.

The organization's head Fridolin Glass had openly supported the National Socialist cause and agitated among Austrian Army members to refuse any orders to take action against the Nazis should the situation arise, ensuring them of the Party's support in the case of their discharge from service on political grounds.

These activities eventually resulted in the arrest of Glass, Holzweber, Planetta and one Leopold Stumwöhrer on 9 June 1933, the dishonorable discharge of 67 pro-Nazi Austrian Army servicemen and the disbandment of the Deutscher Soldatenbund.

The sacked men formed a so-called "Militärstandarte" which was loosely affiliated with and financed by the SA, which nonetheless mostly ignored this new organization.

In early 1934, Glass contacted the SS leadership, taking up negotiations for his men's admission into the SS, apparently on the suggestion of Gauleiter Frauenfeld.
Ending his connections to the SA, Glass was registered as an SS candidate on 1 March 1934 and made an SS-Mann on 18 March 1934.
Later in March 1934, Glass and Josef Fitzthum travelled to Munich to confer with Himmler on the raising of the new 89th SS-Standarte.

Following some infighting with the SA, Glass was commissioned as a Sturmführer on 28 March 1934 and assigned to be the first commander of the new Standarte, which was raised in early April 1934 from the former Militärstandarte members as well as transferred personnel from the older 11th Standarte, including Planetta who had already joined the SS at an earlier date.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Sure enough, the title has some interesting information on the genesis of the 89th Standarte.

The majority of its initial personnel were former members of the Deutscher Soldatenbund [German Soldiers' League], whose Viennese leadership included both Franz Holzweber and Otto Planetta.

The organization's head Fridolin Glass had openly supported the National Socialist cause and agitated among Austrian Army members to refuse any orders to take action against the Nazis should the situation arise, ensuring them of the Party's support in the case of their discharge from service on political grounds.

These activities eventually resulted in the arrest of Glass, Holzweber, Planetta and one Leopold Stumwöhrer on 9 June 1933, the dishonorable discharge of 67 pro-Nazi Austrian Army servicemen and the disbandment of the Deutscher Soldatenbund.

The sacked men formed a so-called "Militärstandarte" which was loosely affiliated with and financed by the SA, which nonetheless mostly ignored this new organization.

In early 1934, Glass contacted the SS leadership, taking up negotiations for his men's admission into the SS, apparently on the suggestion of Gauleiter Frauenfeld.
Ending his connections to the SA, Glass was registered as an SS candidate on 1 March 1934 and made an SS-Mann on 18 March 1934.
Later in March 1934, Glass and Josef Fitzthum travelled to Munich to confer with Himmler on the raising of the new 89th SS-Standarte.

Following some infighting with the SA, Glass was commissioned as a Sturmführer on 28 March 1934 and assigned to be the first commander of the new Standarte, which was raised in early April 1934 from the former Militärstandarte members as well as transferred personnel from the older 11th Standarte, including Planetta who had already joined the SS at an earlier date.

Thanks for the nice precis of the book. I am absent from my normal book buying in Vienna, but I have to make up for it. I will enclose some titles in English on the 1st Republic and this story.
All the best to you and happy reading. I had not know of the strong link with the army, but that is no surprise. Holzweber and Planetta, respectively.

[Larry C]

Hi Greimers,, great uniform and looking forward to seeing it myself. I share the same interest as you with the capitulation of Austria except my interest is within the Austrian SA gruppe "Osterreich" , who also did partake in the removal of Dollfuss,,, but nothing stands out more than the doings of Standarte 89! Very nice looking forward to your uniform. Best regards Larry

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Once more, here is the book in question, which sounds superb. (PS the Kinder between the legs of the SS men are in Berlin, of course....)