Franz Burri
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Franz Burri | |
|---|---|
 Burri (right) during his trial (April 1948) | |
| Born | 26 October 1901 |
| Died | 24 July 1987 (aged 85) |
| Citizenship | Swiss, German |
| Known for | Nazi propagandist |
| Political party | Bund der Schweizer in Grossdeutschland, National Movement of Switzerland, Nationalsozialistischer Schweizerbund |
Franz Burri (26 October 1901 – 24 July 1987) was a Swiss political figure who, from his base in Germany, became the leading disseminator of Nazi propaganda in the country. The media labeled him the "Helvetic Goebbels".
Born in Lucerne to a half-German working-class family, Burri was a supporter of Nazi Germany from an early age and frequently visited the country during the 1930s.[1] He came to full-time activism in 1941 by forming his own Bund der Schweizer in Grossdeutschland (League of the Swiss in Greater Germany), calling for a very close relationship between his country and Nazi Germany.[1] Known for his crude language and his fondness for wearing the brown uniform of the Sturmabteilung, his hopes for a career in the SS were dashed when Reinhard Heydrich deemed him unsuitable.[1] Also involved in the larger National Movement of Switzerland, Burri quit this organisation after the rejection of his SS application in 1941 to set up his own Nationalsozialistischer Schweizerbund (NSSB),[1] although he moved to Germany full-time soon after this and ran a sister group, the Nationalsozialistische Bewegung in der Schweiz, from there. Both of the groups were funded directly by Germany.[1]
Burri operated in Austria until 1934, when he was deported for pro-Nazi activities. He returned to Switzerland, where he remained until 1938. He came back to Austria after the Anschluss.[2]
