Austrian Civil War 1934

Discussion in 'Sub-forum: The build-Up - 1933-1940' started by Owen, May 19, 2014.

  1. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Whilst looking for something else I came across this photo on IWM website , which prompted me to do some digging & have just learnt about the Austrian Civil War of 1934 which I can honestly say I don't ever remember reading about before.(edit: just looked at Austrian guide book & it gets a paragraph-so I have read about it before)

    NYP 68057
    Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuds lies in state in Vienna following his assassination by Nazi agents in 1934.
    [​IMG]


    Here's a bit about him.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelbert_Dollfu%C3%9F

    Here's some info on the Austrian Civil War.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_Civil_War#The_conflict
     
    CL1 and Orwell1984 like this.
  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    ...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk5IfICliaE
     
  3. andy007

    andy007 Senior Member

    Thanks for sharing Owen, I had never heard about it before!
     
  4. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    Never heard it described as such.

    In my view it was the straight forward attempt to overthrow the Austrian government,led by Chancellor Dollfuss by the Austrian Nazis spurred on by the SS and create an Austrian National Socialist putsch.The failed putsch resulted in the assassination of Dollfuss,the execution of the leading conspirators and imprisonment of the remainder. Above all,an embarrassment to Himmler but a greater international embarrassment to Hitler who dispatched Von Papen to Vienna to smooth things over and gave orders for The Austrian Legion (exiled Austrian Nazis) to be disbanded.

    The newly elected German Nazi Party had a foreign policy towards Austria of Anschluss but the German foreign policy towards Austria fell under a number of various factions involved in determining the future status of Austria within The Third Reich...all were vying against each other for the greater influence.The factions were:

    Von Neurath's German Foreign Ministry
    Alfred Rosenberg's NSDAP's External Policy Office.
    Ribbentrop bureau, another Party organisation headed by Hitler's adviser,Ribbentrop
    NSDAP Foreign Organisation headed by a Gauleiter,Bohle
    Austrian Nazi Party in exile based in Munich and headed by Habicht who had already been named as Inspector for Austria by Hitler.

    The Austrian Nazi Party in exile in Munich had arose from a decision to ban the Austrian Nazi Party,in the summer of 1933, by Dollfuss. Dollfuss's security forces quickly put the Austrian Nazi Party to heel and a large number fled over the border into Bavaria where they were recruited by Himmler's SS and given training at the SS Barracks at Lechfield and designated The Austrian Legion.

    The putsch failed and the Austrian Anschluss would have to wait until 1938 when Hitler achieved his aim via a coerced ballot box.
     

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