Richard Steidle
| Richard Steidle | |
|---|---|
Steidle (middle), 1930
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| Born |
Richard Steidle September 20, 1881 Merano, Tyrol, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | August 30, 1940 (aged 58) Buchenwald concentration camp |
| Cause of death | Shot |
| Citizenship | Austrian |
| Education | Doctor of jurisprudence |
| Alma mater | University of Innsbruck |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Known for | Leader of the Heimwehr in Tyrol |
| Home town | Innsbruck |
| Title | Heimwehr leader |
| Term | 1927-1930 |
| Successor | Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg |
| Political party | Christian Social Party |
Richard Steidle (20 September 1881 in Merano, South Tyrol – 30 August 1940 in Buchenwald concentration camp) was an Austrian lawyer and the leader of the paramilitary Heimwehr in Tyrol. He was a leading representative of the pro-independence tendency on the far right of Austrian politics and as such was opposed to the Nazi Party which supported the incorporation of Austria into a Großdeutschland.
Steidle was born in the Untermais district of Meran (Merano), South Tyrol, with his father having originally come from the Duchy of Württemberg. Steidle studied at the University of Innsbruck, completing his doctorate in jurisprudence. Unfit for military service when the First World War broke out in 1914 he instead became an assistant to a military court and after the war worked as a lawyer in Innsbruck.
Steidle was closely associated with the Tirolische Bauernbund, a peasants group affiliated to the Christian Social Party. As part of his involvement in this group he set up a militia in Innsbruck to oppose the activities of the Social Democrats, whom he saw as fomenting revolution in the city. Having already been made Landesrat of Tyrol in October, Steidle sought to consolidate the power of his militia group by forging links with leaders of similar rightist groups in south Germany such as Georg Escherich, Rudolf Kanzler and Franz Ritter von Epp. Steidle also built a career in politics alongside his militia activity and represented the Christian Social Party in the Tyrolean Landtag from 1919 to 1934 and also sat in the Bundesrat from 1922 to 1931, twice chairing the body.
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