Dr. Franz Thomas

Franz Thomas was born in Freudenthal (Bruntál, formerly Austrian Silesia, now Czech Republic), the son of a road foreman. He attended elementary school in Würbesthal (Vrbno pod Pradedem) and then grammar school in Troppau (Opava), the then capital of Austrian Silesia. After graduating from high school in 1906, he began studying history and geography at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Graz, which he continued after two semesters at the University of Vienna (where he received his doctorate), where he joined the Nordgau Wien student association in 1907.

Franz Thomas, however, wanted to become a journalist. In 1912, he became editor of the weekly newspaper "Salzkammergut-Zeitung". This is considered a Catholic paper and is published by a "Salzkammergut Consortium". Franz Thomas later became its editor-in-chief as well as editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper "Neueste Post". Both newspapers are published in Gmunden, where he now settles. Eventually, he also became director of the associated Salzkammergut printing works.

Thanks to his journalistic work, Thomas also became involved in politics. He became a member of the Gmunden municipal council in 1918, deputy mayor in 1923 and the first Christian Social mayor on May 6, 1924. Despite the difficult economic times, he managed to implement a number of important municipal measures and set the tone for Gmunden as a tourist destination. He is not only involved in local politics. He also stood as a candidate for the Christian Social Party in the elections to the Upper Austrian state parliament in 1919 and was elected. He was a member of this parliament from 1919 to 1934.

His prominent position as a Christian Social politician made him the target of National Socialist terrorist attacks. Three attempts were made on his house (June 24, 1933, April 25, 1934, May 2, 1934) (bomb attack, stone bombing). In March 1938, Franz Thomas was removed as mayor of Gmunden and dismissed as editor-in-chief and print shop manager. After his admission to the "Reich Association of the German Press" is rejected, he is unemployed. It was not until September 1939 that he was able to take up work as an insurance agent in Vienna. He remained there throughout the war and only returned to Gmunden in June 1945.

Franz Thomas was reinstated as head of the printing department there. In October 1945, the "Salzkammergut-Zeitung" was published again under his editorship. Thomas "was a very good journalist, a proactive mayor and a member of the provincial parliament who often made appearances. Even political opponents attested to his tireless fulfillment of duty, honesty and justice" (Harry Slapnicka).