David Frankfurter
Jewish-Croatian assassin of Nazi leader Wilhelm Gustloff
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Key Takeaways
- David Frankfurter (Hebrew: דוד פרנקפורטר ; 9 July 1909 – 19 July 1982) was a Croatian Jew known for assassinating Wilhelm Gustloff, the founder and leader of the Swiss branch of the Nazi Party, in February 1936 in Davos, Switzerland.
- " Frankfurter was sentenced to 18 years in prison for murder.
- As he left prison, sympathetic crowds cheered him as a hero.
- His father was a rabbi in Daruvar and later the chief rabbi in Vinkovci, where the Frankfurter family relocated in 1914.
- His doctors feared he would not live a normal lifespan.
David Frankfurter (Hebrew: דוד פרנקפורטר; 9 July 1909 – 19 July 1982) was a Croatian Jew known for assassinating Wilhelm Gustloff, the founder and leader of the Swiss branch of the Nazi Party, in February 1936 in Davos, Switzerland. He surrendered and confessed, telling the police that "I fired the shots because I am a Jew."
Frankfurter was sentenced to 18 years in prison for murder. Shortly after V-E Day, he was granted a parliamentary pardon and released. As he left prison, sympathetic crowds cheered him as a hero.
Background, family and education
Frankfurter was born in Daruvar, Croatia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later part of Yugoslavia for years), to a Jewish family: father Mavro and mother Rebekka (née Figel) Frankfurter. His father was a rabbi in Daruvar and later the chief rabbi in Vinkovci, where the Frankfurter family relocated in 1914. Frankfurter was a sickly child and suffered an incurable periostitis for which he underwent seven operations between the ages of six and twenty-three. His doctors feared he would not live a normal lifespan. He graduated from elementary and later secondary school, in 1929, with high marks.
After completing his basic education, he began studying medicine. His father sent him to Germany to study dentistry, first in Leipzig and then in 1931 in Frankfurt, the town of his ancestors.
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