The Austria of the inter-war period is associated in Poland with another 'A' word - it is Anschluss, i.e. annexation to Germany. The embarrassing lack of knowledge this time somehow captures the essence of the matter, because no one wanted Austria after the First World War, not even the Austrians. After the break-up of the multinational monarchy of Austria-Hungary, ruled under different names for centuries by a single dynasty, the German-speaking subjects of the Habsburgs were left with a remnant - some 15 per cent of the former territory of the monarchy and a population of some 6.5 million, two million of whom lived in Vienna. The constituted state called itself the German Republic of Austria and declared its intention to join the also already republican Germany. The victorious powers in the First War at the Peace Conference in Saint-Germain - a follow-up to the Versailles Conference - explicitly stipulated that they would not agree to the Anschluss, so in 1919 and the adjective 'German' disappeared from the name of the state.

The powers also disagreed on the restoration of the monarchy and on the new state having a strong army with heavy weaponry. The independent existence of the state was questioned by numerous political circles at home and abroad. Italy needed Austria the most in Europe, as a buffer separating it from Germany, and France was the most opposed to a union with Germany.

The stranger was not a foreigner, but a neighbour

Karl Renner, the first chancellor of the republic, also did not have much faith in the state he had come to lead. He believed that the country would be dependent: "from Poland and Bohemia for coal, from Poland and Romania for oil, from Hungary for grain, from the southern Slavs for livestock, and from Italy for access to the sea".

None of the Austrian inhabitants after the First World War declared an Austrian national consciousness or identity. German-speaking Austrians considered themselves culturally German, and there could be no talk of patriotism or Austrian nationalism. The reigning Habsburgs, also in the nation-building 19th century, made sure that a national consciousness did not develop among their "faithful people" - the monarchy was to be bound together by loyalty to the dynasty, as in the Middle Ages.

Hungarians, Poles, Czechs, Serbs, Croats and other subjects of the Emperor and King from Vienna were subjects of other rulers before they came, in modern times, not quite voluntarily under the Habsburg sceptre. The Austrian Germans had been Habsburg subjects from time immemorial, back in the days of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, so they had no historical and national reference point like the other 'faithful peoples' of the monarchy.

Surveys done after the Second World War on the question of "when was Austria founded?" showed that the separate national and state consciousness of Austrians could be counted from 1932 at the earliest, when Engelbert Dollfuss became Chancellor. Many respondents indicated that only since 1945, and there were also those who indicated that only since 1955 - the end of the occupation of Austria by the Allies.

In Austrian historical literature, the following has been written about interwar Austria: a state that nobody wanted. But - whether it wanted it or not - a normal, i.e. turbulent, political life had to be conducted, as it was in those days.

The political scene in the Alpine republic was dominated by the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats. The left wing of the Social Democratic party, with the weakness of the Communist party, had a better chance of establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat as soon as possible, but with the Danube Marxists being independent from Moscow. The Nazis, once established, were initially weak and always dependent on help from the Third Reich. The Monarchists and the Greater German movement did not have a large electorate, but they were a tongue-in-cheek in the face of support for the main parties oscillating around 40 per cent for the entire two decades (until 1938).

As for Austria's political future, the Social Democrats put forward two ideas as early as 1919. The first, a loose federation of the former countries of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy - the Danube Federation. The second was a union with Germany. Quickly the political thought of the Social Democrats was dominated by the latter. Political and national separateness for Austria was thought of - and not immediately - only among the Christian Democrats.

This was not the only thing that divided Austria's mightiest political parties. The Christian Social Party and the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria were divided by everything. Social Democrats and Christian Democrats greeted each other differently, sent their children to different schools, lived elsewhere, ostentatiously did or did not go to church. Both parties had their paramilitaries. The Social Democrats Schutzbund estimated (rather overestimated) at 80,000 members, while the Christian Democrats could count on the Heimwehr formed by 40,000 members, but more loosely connected to the party than the Schutzbund was to its own. The Austrian army, according to the Peace Treaty of Saint-Germain, numbered 30,000 men.

As Roman Kochnowski wrote in his book "State of States or Dictatorship of the Proletariat?": "In party propaganda, the image of the political opponent as an enemy worthy of the utmost contempt was carefully cultivated. A kind of internal xenophobia was spreading. The stranger, however, was not a foreigner (if he shared political sympathies, he could be regarded as an ally), but even a neighbour - if he belonged to a different political camp. The fear of the (politically) foreigner, often unfounded, became a very destructive obsession in Austria during the First Republic. Political struggle was less and less about rational arguments, but about oppressing or even annihilating (including physical liquidation) a political opponent. The activities of paramilitary organisations only increased the already existing political tension. From late autumn 1926 onwards, demonstrative marches by the Heimwehr and Schutzbund, torchlight evening assemblies, etc. were organised."

Politics spilled into the streets. Hundreds of killed

On 30 January 1927, 30 members of the veteran organisation FKV (Frontkämpfervereinigung) met at an inn in Schattendorf. 300 members of the local Schutzbund surrounded the tavern, challenges and stones were sprinkled. The FKV monarchists used hunting weapons stored in the attic. Two dead and several wounded on the side of the inn attackers fell.

The Social Democrats could not miss the opportunity and unleashed a press campaign denouncing the "criminals from Schattendorf" who were " on the hunt for workers". The three attic shooters were arrested and left-wing opinion was certain of convictions. The jury in Vienna, however, found that the defendants had not exceeded the limits of necessary defence; they had not fired with the intention of killing anyone, but of scaring off those besieging the premises.

The verdict was followed by riots in Vienna on 15 July 1927. The Social Democratic Schutzbund failed to control the crowd. A police station was burned down and a fire was set at the Palace of Justice, where the last-minute evacuation of officials saved them from a lynching. The police intervention resulted in 89 dead - including bystanders - and more than 1,000 injured.

After the 'Schattendorf incident' and especially after the Vienna riots triggered by the unsatisfactory verdict, politics spilled into the streets. Few weekends went by without Heimwehr and Schutzbund marches and counter-marches, brawls and minor shootings.

In parliament - the National Council - the situation was more stable. The Christian Democrats ruled, because the Social Democrats had no coalition ability with the smaller right-wing parties. With the Nazis, who appeared on the political scene at the end of the 1920s, nobody wanted to have anything to do. The Christian Social Party enjoyed the support of the Catholic Church, and the representative of the clergy, Monsignor Ignatz Seipel, was even a two-time chancellor.

The deep resentment between the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats and the militarisation of political life threatened civil war at any time. And no democratic politician - whether chancellor or president - had authority comparable to that enjoyed by Emperor Franz Joseph I.

On 12 May 1934, the Christian Democrat government of Engelbert Dollfuss, who took office on May 20, 1932, decided to disarm the Schutzbund, which was met with resistance. Casualties on both sides were high. The government side, supported by the Heimwehr, recorded 128 dead and 409 wounded, the Schutzbund 193 dead and over 300 wounded. In addition, 109 bystanders civilians in the fighting area lost their lives and 257 were wounded.

Engelbert Dollfuss remains a controversial figure in Austria to this day. He is said to have introduced Austrofascism - a term that sounds stigmatising, but which originated in the ranks of the right. He certainly changed the political system by introducing the State of States. The cooperation of the states was supposed to be an antidote to class struggle. Advisory bodies were created: Council of State, Federal Councils - Economic, Cultural and Council of Countries. Most members of these bodies were appointed. The only legislative body was the Bundestag, elected from the members of the said Councils. The right to initiate legislation belonged to the government, or more precisely to the Chancellor. The name of the state was changed to the Federal State of Austria; the two-headed black imperial eagle returned as the national emblem.

Millimetternich's "Austrofascism"

Engelbert Dollfuss broke with republicanism; the new constitution began with invocatio Dei. He took over the ministries of foreign affairs, security, military and agriculture. He established a new party, the Fatherland Front, and outlawed all others, including his native Christian Democrats. Dollfuss invoked the encyclicals of Popes Leo XIII and Pius XI: "Rerum Novarum" and (more) on "Quadragessimo Anno".

In 'Quadragessimo Anno', Pius XI sought to adapt the medieval, state-based socio-economic order to the present day. This new system would put an end to chaotic free trade and class struggle. All labour contradictions would be resolved within the corporation. Corporatism was to lead to a new, conflict-free society. The state was to play a regulatory role (and not a 'night watchman' as with the liberals), it would step in where dispute resolution within the corporation proved impossible.

Similar approaches were attempted in Spain after Francisco Franco's victory and in Antonio Salazar's Portugal, and to a lesser extent in Benito Mussolini's Italy. The aforementioned dictators were distanced from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Mussolini even hostile until then, Dollfuss Naziphobic, because keeping the Third Reich as far away from Austria as possible was a guarantee of its independence.

The power-growing Germany underestimated Dollfuss. From the Third Reich came the nickname Millimetternich referring both to the politician's height - 153 centimetres - and to his great ambitions.

Under Dollfuss, Austria already had its own SA and SS on the streets, which exacerbated the situation and called for decisive action. Engelbert Dollfuss - as has already been said - changed the state system and concentrated dictatorial power in his hand, but this happened in a surprising way. The Chancellor did not have to rely on obvious lawlessness in the abolition of parliament.

On 4 March 1933, a two-handed vote - to use today's terms - took place in the National Council. Members wrote 'yes' or 'no' and 'abstained' on signed sheets of paper. When the ballot box was emptied and the votes counted - the subject of the vote is irrelevant - it emerged that one Social Democrat had cast and signed two ballots. This could have been a mistake, but the traditional balance between the two main parties and the right-wing orientation of the minority could also have caused the Social Democrat to feel nervousness underpinned by despair.

It is hard to imagine a more naive deception, but a resumption of the vote was necessary. The speaker from the Christian Democrats and the deputy speakers from the Social Democrats and the All-German party resigned because the MPs in these positions were not allowed to vote.

After the resignation, they were able to, but there was no one to run the session and order a resumption. Chancellor Dollfuss accepted the gift of fate by recognising that the parliament had dissolved itself - the not-so-assertive president did not protest - and henceforth the building of the State of the States did not require the approval of the National Council.

SIGN UP TO OUR PAGE In October 1933, the Nazi Rudolf Dertil fired two missed shots at Chancellor Dollfuss, which could be seen as a foreshadowing of later events.

On 25 July 1934, a detachment of 150 Austrian SS men dressed in Bundesheer (Austrian army) and police uniforms forced their way - or rather entered, as they knew the password for security - into the Chancellor's Office. Shortly after entering the office, SS man Otto Planetta shot the Chancellor in the neck and shoulder. The attackers did not allow Dollfuss medical assistance or a priest, conditioning him to relinquish his office. The Chancellor is reported to have said: " I will not give up Austria to those who do not want it" and bled to death within two hours.

Despite the surprise, the response of the government forces was decisive. The Chancellor's Office and the radio stations of Radio Vienna were recaptured, Otto Planetta was hanged and other death sentences were passed. The fighting, however, lasted several days and resulted in enormous losses - some 250 dead. Benito Mussolini immediately pulled several divisions up to the Brenner Pass, which bordered Austria, a sign to the Austrian Nazis, but also to Hitler, that he would not allow a coup.

The Nazi putsch had been prepared and coordinated from Berlin, but in the face of failure, Hitler - then still a pragmatist - decided that this was not the moment and recoiled and even denounced it. When the right moment came, in March 1938, the Anschluss was supported by 99% of Austrians without a single shot being fired. These are results from the Goebbels press, but researchers admit that in reality it may have been only slightly less.

After the Second World War, the victorious powers - just as after the First - would not allow a Europe with a combined Austria and Germany, and Pan-Germanic yearnings also left the Austrians themselves. They served not only in the Wehrmacht, but also in the SS and the Gestapo. Not only was Hitler an Austrian, but also Eichman and Kaltenbrunner.... More comfortable than pangermanism was the position of Hitler's first victim.

– Krzysztof Zwoliński

TVP WEEKLY. Editorial team and jornalists

– Translated by Tomasz Krzyżanowski