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Died 8 April 1945, Vienna, Austria | ||
Mem rias gnu anton karl biedermann
Karl Biedermann (born 11 August 1890 in Miskolc, Austria-Hungary; died 8 April 1945 in Vienna) was commander of the Austrian Heimwehr, Major of Wehrmacht and a member of German resistance to Nazism.
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Life
After visiting the cadet corps in Traiskirchen, Karl Biedermann served from 1910 in the Common Army. In World War I he served as an officer. He was released from Bundesheer (1. Republic) in 1920 with the rank of captain. His civil profession was official of the "Österreichische Postsparkasse" (Austrian post savings bank). In February 1934 Biedermann was commander of a company of the "Freiwilligen Schutzkorps", consisting of units of Heimwehr and helping troops of the Bundesheer. In this function he participated during Austrian Civil War at the conquest of Vienna Karl-Marx-Hof.
After the Anschluss to Nazi Germany in March 1938, Biedermann joined the Wehrmacht. 1940 he was promoted to major. During World War II he participated in the Battle of France, the Balkan Campaign and the Eastern front.
Biedermann joined the resistance group of Austrian Wehrmacht people led by Major Carl Szokoll within military districtII. In spring 1945, this group planned "Operation Radetzky", to support Red Army in the liberation of Vienna and to prevent bigger destructions, to avoid the blowup of bridges.
However, "Operation Radetzky", planned for 6 April 1945, was discovered. Biedermann was arrested the night from 5 to 6 April 1945 and brought to a Drumhead court-martial and sentenced to death. On 8 April 1945 Biedermann was hanged together with two other resistance fighters, captain Alfred Huth and Rudolf Raschke in public at Floridsdorfer Spitz in Vienna. The chef of "Sicheitspolizei and SD" Rudolf Mildner took the personaly command at the hanging place.
Biedermann was buried 2 August 1945 in Vienna on Hietzingen cemetery in a honorable grave (group 66, row 19, number 5). In the same grave were buried also Alfred Huth and Rudolf Raschke.
In the year 1995 in Wien-Floridsdorf the Karl-Biedermann-Gasse was named after him (Karl-Biedermann-Alley).