Theodor Innitzer (25 December 1875 – 9 October 1955) was Archbishop of Vienna and a cardinal in the Latin Rite branch of the 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 the young Theodor, 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 Catholic Church. He and the other Austrian Catholic 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. Upon hearing of this act, Pope Pius XI ordered Cardinal Innitzer to sign a clarification, which was then published in L'Osservatore Romano.
Vatican Radio had recently broadcast a vehement denunciation of the Nazi action, and Cardinal Pacelli (soon to become Pope Pius XII) ordered Innitzer to report to the Vatican. Before meeting with the Pius XI, Innitzer met with Pacelli, who had been outraged by Innitzer's statement. He made it clear that Innitzer needed to retract and 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 the Holy See, with the fairly neutral Pope Pius XI disagreeing totally with Innitzer.
In the subsequent months Germany had cancelled the concordat between itself and the Holy See and prohibited Church institutions and Catholic newspapers. In April 1938, in honour of Hitler’s birthday, Cardinal Innitzer had ordered that all Austrian churches fly the swastika flag, ring bells, and pray for Hitler. In October 1938 thousands of Catholic youngsters followed an invitation made 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, ransacked the archbishop's residence.
Innitzer's ambiguous relationship with the Nazi regime brought him a lot of criticism after World War II (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 towards the Austrian Jews and also the Catholic gypsies of the Austrian countryside.
He openly, though moderately, supported the war effort against the Soviet Union, however. Years before, he had campaigned against Soviet policies. In 1933, based on data collected by undercover investigation and photographs, Innitzer sought to raise awareness in the West of the many deaths by hunger and even cases of cannibalism that were occurring in Ukraine and the North Caucasus at that time.[1]
Theodor, Cardinal Innitzer died in Vienna, Austria on 9 October, 1955.
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 |