DDr. Herbert von Hoffinger

Herbert von Hoffinger was born in Vienna, the son of a civil servant. After the early death of his father, the family moved to Graz in 1900, close to his great-uncle Field Marshal Lieutenant Rudolf von Hoffinger. He completed his schooling there and then aspired to a military career, which is why he attended the Theresian Military Academy near Wiener Neustadt. After completing his training, he joins the Imperial and Royal Uhlan Regiment "Kaiser. Ulan Regiment "Kaiser" No. 4 as a lieutenant. He took part in the First World War on the Eastern Front and was mustered out as a cavalry captain at the end of the war.

Back in Graz, Herbert von Hoffinger enrolled in law at the Karl-Franzens University and graduated in 1924. He worked as a legal advisor at the k. k. priv. Riunione Adriatica di Sicurtà (RAS) insurance company founded in Trieste in 1838 and was involved in the Graz chapter of the "Black and Yellow" Legitimists. In 1937, he founded the student fraternity Ferdinandea Graz.

Herbert von Hoffinger was taken into protective custody by the Gestapo as a Legitimist on September 1, 1939 and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp on September 10, 1939. In the concentration camp, he is supported by fellow communist prisoners. Due to a serious illness, he was released on October 10, 1940 and returned to Graz, where he lived to see the end of the war.