in his earliest years as a Nazi and became a loyal follower of the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 from then on. Proksch launched the Nazis in Upper Austria

Upper Austria

Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...

, where he would serve as Gauleiter

Gauleiter

A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...

, and founded both the party newspaper Volksstimme and the NSP-Verlag publishing house. He also served on Linz City Council for the party from 1923 to 1932.

Proksch was appointed deputy Landesleiter in 1928 and then held the full leader's post between 1931 and 1933, although real power rested with Hitler's German appointee Theodor Habicht

Theodor Habicht

Theodor Habicht was a leading political figure in Nazi Germany. He played a leading role in the Austrian movement.-Early years:...

. However Proksch did have strong influence over finances and he was credited with eliminating the 30,000 schillings of debt that the party found itself in. He fled to Germany on 24 June 1933 following the banning of the Nazi Party in Austria but returned in time to take part in the coup attempt that resulted in the killing of Engelbert Dollfuss

Engelbert Dollfuss

Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government...

 in 1934. Returning to Germany, he was elected to the Reichstag

Reichstag (German Empire)

The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....

 in 1936.

Given Proksch's position as a Hitler loyalist his profile was raised following the Anschluss

Anschluss

The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....

, in keeping with the other leaders of that tendency. Appointed to the Sturmabteilung

Sturmabteilung

The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...

 as a Gruppenführer

Gruppenführer

Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...

 he was promoted to Obergruppenführer

Obergruppenführer

Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...

 in 1943. In 1940 he was also made a Reichstreuhänder der Arbeit and served as president of the labour office for Vienna and Lower and Upper Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

.