Rudolf Kirchschläger

Rudolf Kirchschläger (born March 20, 1915, died March 30, 2000) was an Austrian diplomat, politician, judge and from 1974 to 1986 Austrian president.

Education and early life

Kirschläger was orphaned at the age of 11. He graduated from High School in Horn in 1935 with distinction and started to study law at the University of Vienna. However, after the Anschluss of Austria in 1938, he had to give up his studies. Without joining the NSDAP, which he refused to do, his scholarship was revoked and Kirchschläger could not finance his studies any more. Kirchschläger worked as a bank clerk in 1938 until he was drafted to service in the infantry of the Wehrmacht in the summer of 1939. Kirchschläger fought as a soldier from the very beginning of the war, first during the invasion of Poland, later on the Western Front and after 1941 against Russia on the Eastern Front (WWII).

Related Topics:
1935 - Law - University of Vienna - Anschluss - 1938 - NSDAP - Wehrmacht - 1939 - Poland - Western Front - 1941 - Eastern Front (WWII)

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In late 1940, in order to get out of the military and be assigned to a job in Austria, he used a two-month front-leave to prepare for the final exam (Staatsexamen) of his law studies. Working up to 20 hours a day, while keeping himself awake with large amounts of honey, he subsequently passed the exams and graduated to Dr. iuris. Nevertheless this accomplishment did not help him immediately as he was sent back to the Eastern Front where he was badly wounded by a Russian grenade in 1942, an injury from which he would never fully recover.

Related Topics:
1940 - Staatsexamen - 1942

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