Ernst Kirchweger

Ernst Kirchweger (January 12, 1898 – April 2, 1965 in Vienna) was the first person to die as a result of political conflict in Austria's Second Republic.

During the reigns of the Fatherland Front and National Socialist German Workers Party, he risked his life as an activist in illegal trade unions.

After Austria's liberation in 1945, having survived concentration camp, he continued to speak out against Fascism and National Socialism.

On March 31, 1965, a demonstration of students, former resistance fighters and unions against Taras Borodajkewycz, a university professor accused of having made antisemitic statements, took place in Vienna, while the student organisation of the Freedom Party of Austria organized a riot.

In 1990, the Wielandschule in Vienna-Favoriten, a building owned by the Communist Party, was seized by left-wing activists and named Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus.