EXTREMISTS from Austria

Top 5

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Austrian Extremists of all time. This list of famous Austrian Extremists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Amon Göth (1908 - 1946)

With an HPI of 65.69, Amon Göth is the most famous Austrian Extremist.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages on wikipedia.

Amon Leopold Göth (German: [ˈɡøːt] ; alternative spelling Goeth; 11 December 1908 – 13 September 1946) was an Austrian SS functionary and war criminal. He served as the commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp in Płaszów in German-occupied Poland for most of the camp's existence during World War II. Göth was tried after the war by the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland at Kraków and was found guilty of personally ordering the imprisonment, torture, and extermination of individuals and groups of people. He was also convicted of homicide, the first such conviction at a war crimes trial, for "personally killing, maiming and torturing a substantial, albeit unidentified number of people." Göth was executed by hanging not far from the former site of the Płaszów camp. The 1993 film Schindler's List, in which Göth is portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, depicts his running of the Płaszów concentration camp.

2. Hermine Braunsteiner (1919 - 1999)

With an HPI of 59.79, Hermine Braunsteiner is the 2nd most famous Austrian Extremist.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Hermine Braunsteiner Ryan (July 16, 1919 – April 19, 1999) was a Nazi Austrian SS Helferin and female camp guard at Ravensbrück and Majdanek concentration camps, and the first Nazi war criminal to be extradited from the United States to face trial in West Germany. Braunsteiner was known to prisoners of Majdanek concentration camp as the "Stomping Mare" and was said to have beaten prisoners to death, thrown children by their hair onto trucks that took them to be murdered in gas chambers, hanged young prisoners and stomped an old prisoner to death with her jackboots. Braunsteiner was convicted for her complicity and collaborating in murders of over 1,000 people during the Holocaust. She was sentenced to life imprisonment by the District Court of Düsseldorf on April 30, 1981. She was released on health grounds in 1996, and died three years later.

3. Jack Unterweger (1951 - 1994)

With an HPI of 57.69, Jack Unterweger is the 3rd most famous Austrian Extremist.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Johann "Jack" Unterweger (16 August 1950 – 29 June 1994) was an Austrian serial killer who committed murder in several countries – Austria, West Germany, Czechoslovakia, and the United States. Initially convicted in 1974 of a single murder, Unterweger began to write extensively while in prison. His work gained the attention of Austrian intellectuals, who interpreted it as evidence of his supposed rehabilitation. After significant lobbying, Unterweger was released on parole in 1990. Upon his release, he became a minor celebrity and worked as a playwright and journalist, but within months he resumed his killing spree. Unterweger hanged himself in prison after being convicted of nine more murders in June 1994.

4. Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley (1897 - 1945)

With an HPI of 55.65, Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley is the 4th most famous Austrian Extremist.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Anton von Padua Alfred Emil Hubert Georg Graf von Arco auf Valley (5 February 1897 – 29 June 1945), commonly known as Anton Arco-Valley, was a German far-right activist, Bavarian nationalist and nobleman. He assassinated socialist Bavarian prime minister Kurt Eisner, the first premier of the People's State of Bavaria, on 21 February 1919.

5. Jan-Carl Raspe (1944 - 1977)

With an HPI of 53.38, Jan-Carl Raspe is the 5th most famous Austrian Extremist.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Jan-Carl Raspe (24 July 1944 – 18 October 1977) was a member of the German militant group, the Red Army Faction (RAF).