Theodor Innitzer (25 December 1875 – 9 October 1955) was Archbishop of Vienna and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
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Innitzer was born in Nové Zvolání, Vejprty, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary. He was the son of a factory worker and, after completing the minimum mandatory school, became an apprentice in a textile factory. The Dean of his home parish supported him, which allowed him to attend a gymnasium (1890–1892 Communal-Gymnasium, 1892–1898 Staatsgymnasium in Kadaň).
| Styles of Theodor Innitzer |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Vienna |
Innitzer's role in early 20th century Austrian history remains disputed, because of his involvement in politics. This assessment stems from his cooperation with the Austro-fascist government of Engelbert Dollfuß and Kurt Schuschnigg from 1934 to 1938, which based many of its economic and social policies on the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. He and the other Austrian bishops signed a declaration endorsing the Anschluss, set up by Gauleiter Josef Bürckel, and signed by Innitzer with “Heil Hitler!”. Without the bishops' consent the Nazi regime disseminated this statement throughout the German Reich. Pope Pius XI ordered Cardinal Innitzer to sign a clarification, which was then published in L'Osservatore Romano.
Vatican Radio had immediately broadcast a vehement denunciation of the German action, and Cardinal Pacelli ordered Innitzer to report to Rome. Before meeting with the pope, Innitzer met with Pacelli, who had been outraged by Innitzer's statement. He made it clear that Innitzer needed to retract; he was made to sign a new statement, issued on behalf of all the Austrian bishops, which provided: “The solemn declaration of the Austrian bishops... was clearly not intended to be an approval of something that was not and is not compatible with God's law”. The Vatican newspaper also reported that the bishops' earlier statement had been issued without the approval of Rome, with fairly neutral Pope Pius XI disagreeing totally with Innitzer.
In the subsequent months Germany cancelled the concordat in Austria and forbade Church institutions and Catholic newspapers. In April 1938, in honor of Hitler’s birthday, Cardinal Innitzer ordered that all Austrian churches fly the swastika flag, ring their bells, and pray for Hitler. In October 1938 thousands of Catholic youngsters followed an invitation given by Innitzer to gather in the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna for prayer and meditation. In his sermon Innitzer stated: There is just one Führer: Jesus Christ. The following day about 100 Nazis, among them many older members of the Hitler Youth, ravaged the archbishop's residence.
His ambiguous relationship with the Nazi regime brought him a lot of criticism after the war (he was referred to as the "Heil Hitler Cardinal"). During the war Innitzer was critical of the anti-Semitic and racist policies of the Nazis against the Viennese Jews and also the Catholic gypsies of the Austrian countryside.[citation needed]
He openly, though moderately, supported the war effort against the Soviet Union however. Years before, he campaigned against Soviet policies: based on data collected by undercover investigation and photos, the Cardinal by the end of 1933 made campaigns of awareness in the West about the massive deaths by hunger and even cases of cannibalism that were occurring in Ukraine and the North Caucasus at that time.[1]
Innitzer died in Vienna.
The Archdiocese of Vienna annually awards the Kardinal-Innitzer-Preis to scientists and scholars, which is named in honor of Innitzer.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Josef Resch |
Austrian Minister of Social Affairs 1929 – 1930 |
Succeeded by Richard Schmitz (acting) |
| Catholic Church titles | ||
| Preceded by Friedrich Gustav Piffl |
Archbishop of Vienna 1932 – 1955 |
Succeeded by Franz König |
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