Oberstleutnant Johann (Hans) Freiherr von Waldstätten

Johann, called 'Hans', Baron von Waldstätten was born in Agram [today: Zagreb in Croatia] as the legitimate son of the then colonel of the general staff, Georg Freiherr von Waldstätten and his wife Mary, née Holmes. His father was chief of staff of the general command there, then brigadier general and major general in Esseg [today: Osijek in Croatia] from 1882 to 1884, brigadier general in Theresienstadt in Bohemia [today: Terezín in the Czech Republic], then as a major general and field marshal lieutenant from 1887 to 1891 as a divisional officer in Sibiu in Transylvania [today: Sibiu in Romania], and finally from 1891 to 1896 as fortress commander of Krakow. He retired on March 1, 1896 with the title and character of Feldzeugmeister (converted to General of the Infantry in 1908). From then on, he lived in Vienna and died in Vienna on October 24, 1918 (his widow died there in 1926).

Johann had three brothers, namely Alfred (1872-1952), kuk Major General, titular Field Marshal Lieutenant and (as Knight of the Order Pour le Merite) titular German General of the Infantry; Egon (1875-1951), kuk Colonel and (as Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa) titular German Major General, and Emil (1885-1969), Dr. Jur,

Johann Freiherr von Waldstätten spent his childhood and youth in his parents' household and initially enjoyed private schooling, then attended the upper school at the Staats-Realschule in Vienna I up to and including the 7th grade (school year 1898/99), and then from September 1899 the Technical Military Academy in Vienna, from which he graduated on 18 August 1902 as a lieutenant.

Johann Freiherr von Waldstätten married Helene 'Lily' (1883-1955), the daughter of Wilhelm Ritter von Boeckmann, then captain of a ship of the line and later retired rear admiral, and his wife Maria, née Hoffmann, in Vienna on March 3, 1907. The Waldstätten couple had three children: Eleonora (1908-1909), Elinor 'Didi' (1910-1938) and Herbert (1913-1977). The marriage ends in divorce in 1917.

In 1908, the independent Riding Artillery Division  No. 2 (RAD) is formed in Vienna, of which he is now a member. Promoted to first lieutenant on May 1, 1909, he was transferred to RAD No. 5 in Komorn [today: Komárno in Slovakia] at the beginning of 1914, where he was promoted to captain on May 1, 1914.

During the First World War, Johann Freiherr von Waldstätten was initially a battery commander on the Russian front. From June 1916, he served as an artillery officer in staff duties and from November 1916 until the end of the war in occupied Romania. Promoted to major on November 1, 1918, he was still in liquidation service after the end of the war and retired on December 1, 1920. On 3 April 1922, he was awarded the title of lieutenant colonel.

In the 1920s, Johann Freiherr von Waldstätten worked as an employee for several employers, from January 1930 as secretary of the Central Chancellery of Austria's legitimist organizations in Vienna, and from 1 January 1938 as head of this Central Chancellery.

On 12 March 1938, the devout Catholic and patriotic Austrian witnessed the demise of free and independent Austria with the invasion of the German Wehrmacht. Due to his legitimist attitude and his opposition to National Socialism, he was arrested by the Gestapo on March 19, 1938 and held in the police detention center in Rossauerlände in Vienna until May 2, 1938. He was then held in the Regional Court for Criminal Matters I in Vienna until July 2, 1938. After his release from prison, he had to report all travel movements to the Gestapo, but was not drafted into the Wehrmacht.

From November 1941, he worked as a technical draughtsman. In Vienna, Johann Freiherr von Waldstätten witnesses the liberation of Austria and the re-establishment of the Republic. He continued to work as a technical draughtsman after the liberation.

Johann Freiherr von Waldstätten retired in 1958. He died in Vienna at the age of 92 and is buried in the family grave at Hietzing Cemetery.