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Austrian Civil War
The Austrian Civil War (German: Österreichischer Bürgerkrieg) of 12–15 February 1934, also known as the February Uprising (Februaraufstand) or the February Fights (Februarkämpfe), was a series of clashes in the First Austrian Republic between the forces of the authoritarian right-wing government of Engelbert Dollfuss and the Republican Protection League (Republikanischer Schutzbund), the banned paramilitary arm of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. The fighting started when League members fired on the Austrian police who were attempting to enter the Social Democrats' party headquarters in Linz to search for weapons. It spread from there to Vienna and other industrial centres in eastern and central Austria. The superior numbers and firepower of the Austrian police and Federal Army quickly put an end to the uprising. The overall death toll is estimated at 350.
The socialists' defeat led to arrests, executions and the banning of the Social Democratic Party. In May 1934, Austria's democratic constitution was replaced by the authoritarian constitution of the Federal State of Austria, with the Fatherland Front as the only legal party.
After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in October 1918, the Republic of Austria formed as a parliamentary democracy. Two major factions dominated politics in the new country: socialists (politically represented by the Social Democratic Workers' Party) and conservatives (represented by the Christian Social Party). The socialists had their strongholds in the working-class districts of the cities, while the conservatives built on support from the rural population and most of the upper class. The conservatives also maintained close ties to the Catholic Church.
In the late 1920s the polarised political situation in Austria was exacerbated by paramilitary units such as the Home Guard (Heimwehr) on the right and the Republican Protection League (Republikanischer Schutzbund) of the Social Democrats (SDAPÖ) on the left. By the start of the civil war the Heimwehr were openly fascist and opposed democracy, while the Republican Protection League saw itself as a protector of the Austrian Republic holding the Austromarxist position on the dictatorship of the proletariat that was pro-democracy as part of the Social Democrats' party program. The still small Austrian Nazi Party had its SA and SS, which were also organized as paramilitary units.
Political antagonisms in Austria escalated in 1927 when members of the right-wing Front Fighters' Union (Frontkämpfervereinigung) in Schattendorf (Burgenland) shot and killed two people, including a child, during a demonstration by the Republic Protection League. In the trial of the Schattendorf case, the jury acquitted the alleged perpetrators. On 15 July 1927, the day after the verdict, the SDAPÖ's leadership was not able to control the demonstrations of an outraged crowd. During the July Revolt, the Vienna Palace of Justice was stormed and set on fire. After police guardrooms were also attacked, the police president, Johannes Schober, gave orders to disperse the demonstrators with armed force. People who were trying to flee as well as some who were not involved in the demonstration were caught in the police fire. The result was 89 dead, including four policemen, and 1,000 wounded.
The problems facing the First Republic worsened in the following years. The Great Depression resulted in high unemployment, and after Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, Nazi sympathisers who wanted unification of Austria with Germany threatened the Austrian state from within.
On 4 March 1933, Engelbert Dollfuss, the Christian Social chancellor, suspended the Austrian Parliament. In a close vote on railway workers' wages in the National Council, each of the three presidents of parliament tactically resigned from their positions to cast a ballot, which left nobody to preside over the meeting. Even though the bylaws could have resolved the situation, Dollfuss used the opportunity to declare that Parliament had ceased to function and then blocked all attempts to reconvene it. Police forces barricaded the parliament building to prevent members from entering. The SDAPÖ thus lost its primary platform for political action. The Christian Socialists, facing pressure and violence not only from the left but also from Nazis infiltrating from Germany, were able to rule by decree on the basis of a 1917 emergency law. They began to suspend civil liberties and imprison members of the Social Democratic Party.
In the wake of armed conflicts, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) was banned on 26 May 1933, as was the SDAPÖ's Republican Protection League on the 31st.
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Austrian Civil War AI simulator
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Austrian Civil War
The Austrian Civil War (German: Österreichischer Bürgerkrieg) of 12–15 February 1934, also known as the February Uprising (Februaraufstand) or the February Fights (Februarkämpfe), was a series of clashes in the First Austrian Republic between the forces of the authoritarian right-wing government of Engelbert Dollfuss and the Republican Protection League (Republikanischer Schutzbund), the banned paramilitary arm of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. The fighting started when League members fired on the Austrian police who were attempting to enter the Social Democrats' party headquarters in Linz to search for weapons. It spread from there to Vienna and other industrial centres in eastern and central Austria. The superior numbers and firepower of the Austrian police and Federal Army quickly put an end to the uprising. The overall death toll is estimated at 350.
The socialists' defeat led to arrests, executions and the banning of the Social Democratic Party. In May 1934, Austria's democratic constitution was replaced by the authoritarian constitution of the Federal State of Austria, with the Fatherland Front as the only legal party.
After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in October 1918, the Republic of Austria formed as a parliamentary democracy. Two major factions dominated politics in the new country: socialists (politically represented by the Social Democratic Workers' Party) and conservatives (represented by the Christian Social Party). The socialists had their strongholds in the working-class districts of the cities, while the conservatives built on support from the rural population and most of the upper class. The conservatives also maintained close ties to the Catholic Church.
In the late 1920s the polarised political situation in Austria was exacerbated by paramilitary units such as the Home Guard (Heimwehr) on the right and the Republican Protection League (Republikanischer Schutzbund) of the Social Democrats (SDAPÖ) on the left. By the start of the civil war the Heimwehr were openly fascist and opposed democracy, while the Republican Protection League saw itself as a protector of the Austrian Republic holding the Austromarxist position on the dictatorship of the proletariat that was pro-democracy as part of the Social Democrats' party program. The still small Austrian Nazi Party had its SA and SS, which were also organized as paramilitary units.
Political antagonisms in Austria escalated in 1927 when members of the right-wing Front Fighters' Union (Frontkämpfervereinigung) in Schattendorf (Burgenland) shot and killed two people, including a child, during a demonstration by the Republic Protection League. In the trial of the Schattendorf case, the jury acquitted the alleged perpetrators. On 15 July 1927, the day after the verdict, the SDAPÖ's leadership was not able to control the demonstrations of an outraged crowd. During the July Revolt, the Vienna Palace of Justice was stormed and set on fire. After police guardrooms were also attacked, the police president, Johannes Schober, gave orders to disperse the demonstrators with armed force. People who were trying to flee as well as some who were not involved in the demonstration were caught in the police fire. The result was 89 dead, including four policemen, and 1,000 wounded.
The problems facing the First Republic worsened in the following years. The Great Depression resulted in high unemployment, and after Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, Nazi sympathisers who wanted unification of Austria with Germany threatened the Austrian state from within.
On 4 March 1933, Engelbert Dollfuss, the Christian Social chancellor, suspended the Austrian Parliament. In a close vote on railway workers' wages in the National Council, each of the three presidents of parliament tactically resigned from their positions to cast a ballot, which left nobody to preside over the meeting. Even though the bylaws could have resolved the situation, Dollfuss used the opportunity to declare that Parliament had ceased to function and then blocked all attempts to reconvene it. Police forces barricaded the parliament building to prevent members from entering. The SDAPÖ thus lost its primary platform for political action. The Christian Socialists, facing pressure and violence not only from the left but also from Nazis infiltrating from Germany, were able to rule by decree on the basis of a 1917 emergency law. They began to suspend civil liberties and imprison members of the Social Democratic Party.
In the wake of armed conflicts, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) was banned on 26 May 1933, as was the SDAPÖ's Republican Protection League on the 31st.