Fritz Fabritius

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Fritz Fabritius (27 March 1883 - 20 October 1957) was a Transylvanian-Saxon politician, ethnic group leader, and military officer. He served in numerous ethnic group roles embracing Nazism, including as Chairman of the National-Socialist Party of Romanian Germans from 1932 to 1934, the party it merged into called the German Party of Romania from 1935 to 1939, and as Chairman of the Association of German Minorities in Europe for a few months during 1939.

Born in Sibiu into a military family, he transferred to active military serving in 1903 serving in the Uhlan Regiment No. 7 Galicia until 1907, when he switched to the reserves after achieving the rank of Rittmaster. He joined the military again on the outbreak of World War I. He was sent on a trip to Germany after, whereupon he returned to Romania "full of enthusiasm" for then-unknown Adolf Hitler. Inspired by this, he founded the building society called Self-Help (Selbsthilfe) in 1922, which advocated for a home nation for Transylvanian Saxons, and of which heavily embraced many Nazi Party sentiments. Although the society closed within the year, Fabritius refounded it in 1927, where it group rapidly but due to the influence of youth organizations became more political. In 1932 it was transformed into the National Socialist Self-help Movement for Germans in Romania (NSDR), which was explicitly pro-Nazi. The organization was banned multiple times by Ion G. Duca, a fierce opponent of far-right extremism, but still continued.

In 1935, he was elected Chairman of the German Party of Romania as a moderate, opposing Alfred Bonfert and Waldemar Gust. However, a split occurred that year between the radicals Nazis, led by Bonfert and Gust, and the moderates Nazis, led by Fabritius and Otto Jickeli. This effectively paralyzed the party, as Romanian Germans were heavily divided. The dispute was finally resolved in October 1938 by Edith von Coler, Germany's Special Representative, who after talks established Fabritius as chairman and the radical group merged into the party. However, just a few months later in December 1938 King Carol II founded the Frontul Renașterii Naționale, which Fabritius's party joined and Fabritius was cast aside because he did not have good relations with the current regime and for having sought autonomy. In February 1939, however, Fabritius became Chairman of the Association of German Minorities in Europe. Within just a few months into this role, he started endorsing a German empire, and Armand Călinescu accused him of forming paramilitary units loyal to him and endorsing the expansion of Germany into Romania. Fabritius was recalled after nearly being charged with high treason to Germany, but he returned to Romania a few months later but resigned from his roles. This effectively ended his political career: although he was rehabilitated, he never sought political power again.