Rudolf Prikryl

In the 1930s, he left his second wife and their two children and travelled to France, continuing on to Spain in 1938.

He fought in the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War against the Nationalists, and was injured.

At the end of the Second World War, he was back in Vienna, and was apparently recognised by a Soviet officer alongside whom he had fought in Spain.

This chance meeting resulted in him being made mayor, although the exact reasoning remains unclear.

His time as mayor saw no practical policy decisions, instead concentrating on bureaucratic tasks, chiefly giving out permissions of various kinds.