Early Life and Nazi Affiliations
Stangl was born on 26 March 1908 in Altmünster, located in the Salzkammergut region of Austria. The son of a nightwatchman, his relationship with his natural father was emotionally distressing. He was so deeply frightened of him that Stangl developed a hatred for his Habsburg Dragoons uniform. Stangl claimed that his father died of malnutrition in 1916. To help support his family Franz learned to play the zither and earned money giving zither lessons. Stangl completed his public schooling in 1923.
In his teens he secured an apprenticeship as a weaver, qualifying as a master weaver in 1927. Concerned that this trade offered few opportunities for advancement – and having observed the poor health of his co-workers – Stangl sought a new career. He moved to Innsbruck in 1930 and applied for an appointment in the Austrian federal police. Stangl later suggested that he liked the security and cleanliness that the police uniforms represented to him. He was accepted in early 1931 and trained for two years at the federal police academy in Linz.
Stangl became a member of the NSDAP in 1931, which was illegal for an Austrian police officer at the time. He later denied that he had been a Nazi in 1931, claiming that he enrolled as member of the party only to avoid arrest after the Germans had seized power in the Anschluss of Austria into Nazi Germany in May 1938. Records suggest that Stangl contributed to a Nazi aid fund at the time; but he said that he was misled as to the purpose of the fund. It was later discovered that Stangl had Nazi Party number 6,370,447 and SS number 296,569.
Stangl rose in the ranks of the German/Austrian police force. Promotion brought pressure on him to renounce his faith in the Catholic Church. The militarisation of the civilian police force saw new recruits loyal to the Nazi party advance, while former civilian leaders were mistreated or arrested. Ambitious for advancement, Stangl decided to continue his education by taking practical courses which furthered his police expertise.
In 1935, Stangl was accepted into the Kriminalpolizei as detective in the Austrian town of Wels. After Austria's Anschluss Stangl was assigned to the Schutzpolizei (which was taken over by the Gestapo) in Linz, where he was posted to the Jewish Bureau (German: Judenreferat). Stangl joined the SS in May 1938. He would ultimately reach the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer (Captain).
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