Oberleutnant Othmar Alfred von Slawik

Othmar Alfred von Slawik was born in Zlozcow in Galicia, the son of an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army. The family soon moved to Vienna, where he attended elementary school. He later attended grammar school in Czernowitz. After graduating from high school in 1927, he enrolled at the University of World Trade in Vienna. In 1929, he finally joined the Ottonen student fraternity. In 1930, he transferred to the University of Fribourg, where he obtained his doctorate in 1938. He married in 1933 and had a daughter. The family moved to Zurich.

As a legitimist, Othmar Alfred von Slawik was a staunch opponent of National Socialism and supported the members of his student fraternity in becoming actively involved in the resistance. He and Willy Klein acted as couriers in the group around Karl Burian. His task is to pass on instructions from Otto von Habsburg to Karl Burian, and in the same way to deliver information to Otto von Habsburg. He also acted as a fundraiser and contact person for the Polish secret service. Zurich is the hub for the Polish secret service.

In 1939, he falls into the clutches of the Swiss police, who learn of his activities. In an inn, he expressed clear criticism of Germany at the time, and a regular at the table named Alfred Kohler reported Slawik's behavior to the police and the Office of the Attorney General. Othmar Alfred von Slawik is questioned by the police in Zurich on espionage charges, but nothing can be proven against him. After the interrogations, he is deported to Germany. However, his contacts with the Gruppe Burian remain undiscovered. In 1942, he joined the Wehrmacht under a false name (code name: Otto Spitzmüller), was stationed in the Lake Garda/Trieste area and passed on information to Western intelligence services.

At the end of the war, he was taken prisoner by the British and subsequently settled in Trieste and later in Turin. There he married a second time and became a sales representative. However, contact with Otto von Habsburg remained even after the end of the war. Othmar Alfred von Slawik died there in 1988.