Theodor Cardinal Innitzer (born December 25, 1875 in Neugeschrei near Weipert , Northern Bohemia; died October 9, 1955 in Vienna) was Archbishop of Vienna and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church.

Early life

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.

CV

• 1898 - Entered the Seminary in Vienna
• 1902 - became a priest
• 1906 - received his Dr. theol. (Doctorate in Theology)
• 1908 to 1911 Privatdozent at the University of Vienna
• 1911 to 1932 Professor and (from 1913 Chair for New Testament Exegesis
• 1928 to 1929 Rector of the University of Vienna
• 1929 to 1930 Minister of Social Affairs in the third government of Chancellor Johann Schober
• 1932 Archbishop of Vienna
• 1933 Cardinal, Founded the Cathedral and Diocesis Museum of Vienna

Political activity and assessment

Innitzer remains a somewhat shady character of early 20th century Austrian history who did not much credit to the Church, most of all because of his involvement in politics. This assessment stems from his cooperation with the Austro-fascist dictatorship 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. On top of that, in 1938 Innitzer publicly endorsed the Anschluss of Austria to the Nazi Third Reich and went to meet Adolf Hitler personally when he came to Vienna on that occasion. This brought him a lot of criticism after the war (he was referred to as the "Heil Hitler Cardinal"), but did not induce the Nazis to pursue a course friendly to the Catholic Church.

Kardinal Innitzer Prize

The Archdiocesis of Vienna annually awards the Kardinal-Innitzer-Preis to scientists and scholars, which is named in honor of Innitzer.