Friedrich Mandl
| Friedrich Mandl | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 9, 1900 Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | September 8, 1977 (aged 77) Vienna, Austria |
Friedrich ('Fritz') Mandl (9 February 1900 – 8 September 1977) was chairman of Hirtenberger Patronen-Fabrik, a leading Austrian armaments firm founded by his father, Alexander Mandl.
A prominent fascist, Mandl was attached to the Austrofascism and Italian varieties and an opponent of Nazism. In the 1930s he became close to Prince Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg, the commander of the Austrian nationalist militia ("Heimwehr"), which he furnished with weapons and ammunition.
Until 1940, Mandl tried to establish contact with Hermann Göring's office in order to supply Germany with iron.
Mandl was married several times. His wives included the following:
Helene Hella Mandl, Née Strauss, 1899, Vienna to whom he was married for six weeks
Hedy Lamarr, Née Kiesler, 1914, Vienna (see below)
Herta Mandl, Née Wrany, 1911, Steiermark (The LaVoz article suggests she was also known as Schneider, and was with him in Buenos Aires in 1938)
Gloria de Quaranta, Née Vinelli, 1922, Buenos Aires
Mandl's last marriage was to his secretary Monika Brücklmeier, daughter of Eduard Brücklmeier, an accessory executed for his involvement in the July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler.
From 1933 to 1937, Mandl was married to Austrian actress Hedwig "Hedy" Kiesler, who would later become known as Hedy Lamarr in Hollywood. Both Hedy Lamarr's parents were born Jewish, but her mother converted to Roman Catholicism and was a practicing Catholic. Hedy was brought up Catholic. It is understandable, considering the times that she lived in, that she kept her ethnicity a secret. The couple were rumored to have very intimate contacts with the very highest levels of the people controlling Germany. In her autobiography she indicates that she attended a convent school for girls. When she went to Hollywood her connections with very wealthy people were obviously helpful to her career. Her first "serious" film was Algiers for which she was highly acclaimed at the time. Mandl is rumoured to have attempted to bring a halt to her acting career in Germany and to purchase all copies of her infamous film Ecstasy (1933), in which she appeared nude.
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