Karl Toman (2 January 1884 – 5 February 1950) was an Austrian politician and trade unionist. Toman hailed from a working-class family. He went on to become a metal industry worker. Toman joined the Social Democratic Labour Party of Austria in 1898. In the run-up to the First World War, Toman served as secretary of the Goldsmiths' Trade Union. He was taken as a prisoner of war in Russia, and went on to fight on the Soviet side in the Russian Civil War. Toman becoming a leading figure in the Communist Party of Austria. He served as general secretary of the party for a brief period in 1920. He belonged to the party leadership until 1924. Toman represented the Communist Party of Austria at the second (1920) and third congresses (1921) of the Communist International. He took part in the fifth c