Hecht studied chemistry at the University of Vienna, and in 1928 was awarded a PhD.
[1] Even before the Anschluss, in 1933 Hecht was a member of the (at that time illegal) National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) or Nazi Party and Sturmabteilung or SA, from 1934, the Schutzstaffel or SS.
[1] In 1938, Hecht moved to the Analytical Department of the University of Vienna and achieved habilitation there in 1941.
From 1943 to 1950 he was Professor of Microchemistry and Geochemistry at the Graz University of Technology.
[1][2][3][4][5] In 1938, Hecht received the Fritz Pregl Prize for distinguished achievements in chemistry by the Austrian Academy of Sciences.