Post-WWI Austria


Constituting the First Republic

The end of World War I not only marked an end to the hitherto deadliest war in history of mankind, the once most powerful Austro-Hungarian monarchy, which ruled over great parts of Europe for hundreds of years, also ceased to exist. Shrunk to a mere fraction of its erstwhile dimensions, Austria soon opted for the establishment of the Republic of Deutsch-Oesterreich (“German-Austria”).
 
Widespread political consenus between the three parties of the parliament, the German Nationals, the Social Democrats and the Christian Socialists, eased the new republic’s way into existence. However, new Austria’s countless problems (starvation, reparation, social unrest, unsafe borders) caused the politicians to declare it as a part of the democratic Weimar Republic of Germany at the same time.

The outcome of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, held to agree on reparation settlement between the fighting countries of the First World War, was extremely disappointing for Austria. Besides painful territory losses to Italy, any union with Germany was henceforth forbidden, so the new state’s name had to be changed from German Austria to Republic of Austria, nowadays referred to the First Republic. Austria’s first constitution was established by Hans Kelsen in 1920. Parts of this constitution are still in use today.

The Rise of the Fascists

The expenses of the voracious war machinery of WWI, inflation as well as huge reparation payments quickly drove new Austria’s economy to the brink of bankruptcy. A huge loan provided by the League of Nations, the predecessor of the UN, thwarted this threat.

Increasing political cleavage between the two reigning parties, the Social Democrats and the Christian Socialists, led to proliferation of several paramilitary organizations corresponding to the two ideological positions. Daily mass demonstrations, partly disintegrated by deadly police force, as well as a general strike deeply disrupted the coalition to the point of mutual animosity.

After the parliamentary elections of April 1932, former Minister of Agriculture Engelbert Dollfuss, took over as head of the Cabinet. He formed his government with the help of two right wing parties from the agrarian classes. By a majority of just one vote in Parliament, a resolution was adopted to take another loan from the League of Nations . This failed to produce any immediate consequences since the unemployment figures of 600,000 were too high.

The Break with Democracy

Given this scenario, it is hardly surprising that similar to other European countries, corporatist social systems and authoritarian forms of government were discussed and became implanted in the minds of the people as a remedy. A minor impasse in parliamentary procedure, which in less critical times would have passed by unnoticed, provided Dollfuss the cause for dismissing the whole Parliament as an institution.

For this purpose, the government resorted to the Kriegswirtschaftliches Ermächtigungsgesetz (“War Economy Empowering Act”), a relic of WWI, issuing numerous ordinances and finally accusing the parliament of having "dissolved itself." The actual breach of the constitution, however, came with the liquidation of the Constitutional Court. In 1933 Dollfuss abolished all existing political parties in order to unite the conservative forces in Austria. A relatively small incident in Linz finally triggered civil war between the now forbidden Social Democrats and the Fascists.

Nationalist Reach for Power

The rift caused by this civil war divided the political camps for decades. Through its unnecessarily brutal treatment of a clearly weaker opponent, the Austrian government suffered an enormous loss of prestige abroad. Just a few months later the Cabinet decreed the establishment of a new authoritarian constitution. Despite rigorous measures taken against the growing threat of National Socialism, the Nazis attempted a coup d'état on July 25, 1934, in the course of which Engelbert Dollfuss was murdered.

Following the National Socialists' unsuccessful coup, President of the Republic Wilhelm Miklas asked the former Minister of Justice, Christian Socialist Kurt Schuschnigg, to form a government. Whatever Schuschnigg tried to fight off the vastly-expanding Nazis, a number of factors - like Italy allying with Nazi Germany, England’s policy of appeasement and a fiercely aggressive Hitler – finally hauled the Nazis up into the Cabinet. Schuschnigg's last desperate attempt to ward off Germany’s strategy of annexing Austria was to announce a plebiscite, which, however, only served to accelerate German aggression.