Planetta, Otto |
| SOLDIER, PUTSCHIST (AUSTRIA) |
|
BORN 2 Aug 1899, Wischau, Moravia - DIED 31 Jul 1934, Wien: Zentralgefängnis CAUSE OF DEATH executed by hanging GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Dornbacher Friedhof, Alszeile 28 (Gruppe 13, Reihe 3, Nummer 33 (ashes)) |
|
Otto Planetta was trained as a retail salesman. In 1916 he voluntarily joined the Austrian army. After the fall of the empire he joined the Volkswehr (People's Militia) and later the Bundesheer (Federal Army). In 1930 he joined the Nazi party. With Fridolin Glass (1910-1943) and Franz Holzweber (1904-1934) he founded the 'Deutschen Soldatenbund zur Erfassung der Nationalsozialisten im österreichischen Bundesheer'. He participated in the formation of the SS Standarte 89. He was married without children. In 1934 he joined the July Putsch and on 25 July he fired one of the two shots that killed the Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss after the federal chancellery was stormed by men in military attire. The putsch failed and Planetta was arrested ogether with his accomplice Franz Holzweber. They were sentenced to death by a military court and they were hung by executioner Johann Lang on 31 July. His ashes were buried at Friedhof Dornbach. After the annexation of 1938 he received the status of 'hero of freedom from the Ostmark'. Many streets were named after him in Austria and Germany. The building at the Laxenburger Strasse 98 which he had lived from 1931 to 1934, was renamed to Otto-Planetta-Hof. After the war the names were changed. Related persons • is the murderer of Dollfuss, Engelbert |
| Images |
 The grave of Otto Planetta at Friedhof Dornbach in Vienna. Picture by Androom (27 Aug 2025) |
Sources • Bauer, Werner T., Wiener Friedhofsführer, Genaue Beschreibung sämtlicher Begräbnisstätten nebst einer Geschichte des Wiener Bestattungswesens, Falter Verlag, Wien, 1991 • Otto Planetta - Wikipedia (DE) • Planetta, Otto. | WW2 Gravestone |
