Friedrich Theiss

Friedrich Theiss was born in Vienna as the legitimate son of postal clerk Friedrich Theiss and Helena, née Sündermann. The devout Catholic family sent their son to the Schulbrüder elementary school in Langgasse in Vienna's 23rd district and then to the Seipel-Gymnasium [today's BRG Rosasgasse] in Vienna's 12th district. He joined the Marian Congregation as a pupil and later the Catholic Youth, of which he subsequently became youth leader at Seipel-Gymnasium.

Shortly after the occupation of Austria by the Third Reich on 12 March 1938, he graduated and enrolled in law at the University of Vienna. Friedrich Theiss was a strict opponent of National Socialism and could not come to terms with Austria's downfall. Soon after the invasion, he founded the Austrian Front [also known as Theiss Group or Austrian Movement], a group that sought the separation of occupied Austria from the German Reich. This organization recruits members and even founds its own women's group, which is led by Josefa Breuer. Monthly membership fees are collected, excursions and training courses are organized and pro-Austrian publications are produced.

When the anti-aircraft gunner Leopold Buliczek, who is also a member of the Austrian Front, is caught trying to escape to Hungary, he reveals the existence of the Austrian Front group around Friedrich Theiss after interrogation by the Gestapo.

On February 7, 1940, Friedrich Theiss and the other members of the Austrian Front were arrested by the Gestapo after a house search. He is taken to the detention center in Rossauerlände (also known as Elisabethpromenade). On August 17, 1940, he is released from custody as he is suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).

After his health improves, Friedrich Theiss is drafted into the Wehrmacht, sent to the Russian front and then transferred to Brno. On November 27, 1941, he was arrested again in Brno, as he was put on trial before the special court together with other members of the Austrian Front on December 17, 1941. He was charged with offenses under the law against the formation of new parties and sentenced to two years in prison. He is released from prison on January 24, 1942, as he is once again drafted into the 134 Infantry Regiment in Brno.

After his pulmonary tuberculosis becomes acute again, Friedrich Theiss disarms on December 15, 1943. His health is severely affected and gradually deteriorates.