The First Austrian Republic (german: Erste Österreichische Republik), officially the Republic of Austria, was created after the signing of the
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919—the settlement after the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
which ended the
Habsburg rump state
A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state, left with a reduced territory in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, or a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case ...
of
Republic of German-Austria
The Republic of German-Austria (german: Republik Deutschösterreich or ) was an unrecognised state that was created following World War I as an initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking and ethnic German population wi ...
—and ended with the establishment of the Austrofascist
Federal State of Austria
The Federal State of Austria ( de-AT, Bundesstaat Österreich; colloquially known as the , "Corporate State") was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the clerical fascist Fa ...
based upon a dictatorship of
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuß (alternatively: ''Dolfuss'', ; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ...
and the
Fatherland's Front
The Fatherland Front ( de-AT, Vaterländische Front, ''VF'') was the right-wing conservative, nationalist and corporatist ruling political organisation of the Federal State of Austria. It claimed to be a nonpartisan movement, and aimed to unite ...
in 1934. The
Republic's constitution was enacted on 1 October 1920 and amended on 7 December 1929. The republican period was increasingly marked by violent strife between those with
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
and
right-wing views, leading to the
July Revolt of 1927
The July Revolt of 1927 (also known as the Vienna Palace of Justice fire, german: Wiener Justizpalastbrand) was a major riot starting on 15 July 1927 in the Austrian capital, Vienna. The revolt was sparked by the acquittal of three nationali ...
and the
Austrian Civil War of 1934.
Foundation
![GermanAustriaMap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/GermanAustriaMap.png)
In September 1919, the rump state of
German-Austria– now effectively reduced to the Alpine and Danubian crownlands of the Austrian Empire – was given reduced borders by the
Treaty of Saint Germain
The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (french: Traité de Saint-Germain-en-Laye) was signed on 10 September 1919 by the victorious Allies of World War I on the one hand and by the Republic of German-Austria on the other. Like the Treaty of Tria ...
, which ceded German-populated regions in
Sudetenland to
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
,
German-populated South Tyrol to Italy and a portion of the Alpine provinces to the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
(''Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca'', or SHS, also known as Yugoslavia). Despite Austrian protests this treaty also forbade ''
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
'', or union of Austria with
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, without
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
consent. The Allies were not willing to allow a defeated Germany to expand its borders by absorbing what remained of Austria. With this route closed, German-Austria changed its official name to the Republic of Austria.
The new state managed to block two land claims by its neighbours. The first was the south-eastern part of
Carinthia, which was inhabited partly by
Slovenians
The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as th ...
. It was prevented from being taken over by the new SHS-state through a
Carinthian plebiscite
The Carinthian plebiscite (german: Kärntner Volksabstimmung, sl, Koroški plebiscit) was held on 10 October 1920 in the area in southern Carinthia predominantly settled by Carinthian Slovenes. It determined the final border between the Republi ...
on October 10, 1920, in which the majority of the population chose to remain with Austria. The second prevented land-claim was Hungary's claim to
Burgenland
Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...
, which, under the name "Western Hungary", had been part of the Hungarian kingdom since 907. It was inhabited mostly by a German-speaking population, but had also Croat- and Hungarian-speaking minorities. Through the Treaty of St. Germain it became part of the Austrian Republic in 1921. However, after a
plebiscite
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
which was disputed by Austria, the provincial capital city of
Sopron
Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő.
History
Ancient times-13th century
When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a ...
(German Ödenburg) remained in Hungary.
The Treaty of Saint Germain angered the German population in Austria who claimed that it violated the
Fourteen Points
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms ...
laid out by United States President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
during peace talks, specifically the right to "self-determination" of all nations. Many of them felt that with the loss of 60% of the territory of the prewar empire, Austria was no longer economically and politically viable as a separate state without union with Germany. Austria now found itself a small, landlocked country of about 6.5 million people.
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, with its population of almost 2 million, was left as an imperial capital without an empire to feed it. Only 17.8 percent of Austria's land was arable; the vast majority of arable land in the former Austrian half of the empire was now part of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.
Government and politics, 1920–1934
The new constitution created a bi-cameral legislature with the upper house – Bundesrat – formed by representatives from federal Lands and the lower house – Nationalrat, where deputies were elected in universal elections. The Federal President was elected for a four-year term in a full session of both houses, while the Chancellor was elected by the Nationalrat. As no political party ever gained a parliamentary majority, Austria was governed by coalitions of the conservative
Christian Social Party and the right-wing
Greater German People's Party
The Greater German People's Party (German ''Großdeutsche Volkspartei'', abbreviated GDVP) was a German nationalist and national liberal political party during the First Republic of Austria, established in 1920.
Foundation
After World War I and ...
or
Landbund
:''"Landbund" may also refer to the Agricultural League, a former political party of Germany.''
The Landbund ( en, Rural Federation) was an Austrian political party during the period of the First Republic (1918–1934).
History
The Landbund was f ...
which were more conservative than the first government of Social Democrat
Karl Renner
Karl Renner (14 December 1870 – 31 December 1950) was an Austrian politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republic" because he led the first government of German-A ...
of 1919–20, which had established a number of progressive socioeconomic and labour legislations.
After 1920, Austria's government was dominated by the anti-Anschluss
Christian Social Party which retained close ties to the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. The party's first Chancellor
Ignaz Seipel
Ignaz Seipel (19 July 1876 – 2 August 1932) was an Austrian prelate, Catholic theologian and politician of the Christian Social Party. He was its chairman from 1921 to 1930 and served as Austria's federal chancellor twice, from 1922 to 1924 ...
came to power in May 1922 and attempted to forge a political alliance between wealthy industrialists and the Roman Catholic Church.
After the
legislative elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
of October 17, 1920, the Social Democrats lost the parliamentary majority and remained in the opposition until 1934, when they were banned by Dollfuss. The Christian Socials won 85, Social Democrats 69, Greater Germany Party 20 and Peasants Union 8 seats.
Michael Hainisch was elected Federal President. After the
October 1923 elections Ignaz Seipel stayed in power and resigned in November 1924 when he was succeeded by
Rudolf Ramek
Rudolf Ramek (12 April 1881 – 24 July 1941) was an Austrian Christian Social politician, who served as Chancellor of Austria from 1924 to 1926.
Life
Ramek was born in Teschen in Austrian Silesia (present-day Cieszyn, Poland). A member ...
.
In December 1928 the Christian Social
Wilhelm Miklas
Wilhelm Miklas (15 October 187220 March 1956) was an Austrian politician who served as President of Austria from 1928 until the ''Anschluss'' to Nazi Germany in 1938.
Early life
Born as the son of a post official in Krems, in the Cisleithanian ...
was elected to the post of Federal President and on 7 December 1929 the Constitution was amended, reducing the rights of the Parliament, making the Federal President electable by a popular vote and giving him the right to appoint the federal government and to issue emergency laws.
After the
1930 legislative elections the Social Democrats emerged as the largest party with 72 seats, but Christian Social Chancellor
Otto Ender
Otto Ender (24 December 1875 – 25 June 1960) was an Austrian political figure. He served as the chancellor of Austria between 1930 and 1931.
Early life and education
Ender, the first son of Herman and Victoria Ender, was born in Altach, Vorarl ...
created a coalition government without them.
Left–right clashes
![RepublikanischerSchutzbundElPrimeroDeMayoDe1932](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/RepublikanischerSchutzbundElPrimeroDeMayoDe1932.jpg)
Despite the nation having a steady political party in power, the politics of the nation were fractious and violent, with both Social Democrat (''
Republikanischer Schutzbund
The Republikanischer Schutzbund (, ''Republican Protection League'') was an Austrian paramilitary organization established in 1923 by the Social Democratic Party (SDAPÖ) to secure power
in the face of rising political radicalization after World ...
'') and right-wing (''
Heimwehr
The Heimwehr (, ) or Heimatschutz (, ) was a nationalist, initially paramilitary group operating in Austria during the 1920s and 1930s that was similar in methods, organization, and ideology to the Freikorps in Germany. It was opposed to parliam ...
'') political
paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
forces clashing with each other. The country was divided between the conservative countryside population and
Red Vienna
Red Vienna (German: ''Rotes Wien'') was the colloquial name for the capital of Austria between 1918 and 1934, when the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (SDAP) maintained almost unilateral political control over Vienna and, for a short ...
controlled by the Social Democrats.
In 1927, during a political clash in
Schattendorf
Schattendorf ( hr, Šundrof, hu, Somfalva) is a town in the district of Mattersburg in the Austrian state of Burgenland.
The Rosalia-Kogelberg nature preserve lies within the district.
History
This district was a part of the pre-Christian Ce ...
, an old man and a child were shot and killed by the Heimwehr. On 14 July 1927 the shooters were acquitted and left-wing supporters began a massive protest during which the Ministry of Justice building was burned. To restore order, the police and army shot and killed 89 people and injured 600. The huge protest is known as the
July Revolt of 1927
The July Revolt of 1927 (also known as the Vienna Palace of Justice fire, german: Wiener Justizpalastbrand) was a major riot starting on 15 July 1927 in the Austrian capital, Vienna. The revolt was sparked by the acquittal of three nationali ...
. Social Democrats called for a general strike which lasted four days.
After the 1927 events, the conservative elements became stronger and the violence in Austria continued to escalate until the early 1930s when
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuß (alternatively: ''Dolfuss'', ; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ...
became Chancellor.
Economy
![Felleishof](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Felleishof.jpg)
However the new state was difficult to control, as much of the former empire's important economic regions had been taken away with the foundation of new nation-states. The matter was further complicated by the fact that a number of these new nation-states were still dependent on Vienna's banks, but business was hampered by the newly erected borders and tariffs.
The landlocked Austria was barely able to support itself with food and lacked a developed industrial basis. In addition, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Italy had imposed a trade blockade and refused to sell food and coal to Austria, which eventually was saved by aid and support from the Western Allies. By 1922 one USA dollar was worth 19,000 kronen and half the population was unemployed.
In December 1921 the
Treaty of Lana
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...
between Austria and Czechoslovakia was signed in which Austria recognized the new state borders and relinquished claims to represent ethnic Germans living on the territory of the newly created Czechoslovakia. In return Czechoslovakia provided a loan of 500 million Kronen to Austria.
In 1922, in an effort to deal with post-war inflation, Chancellor
Ignaz Seipel
Ignaz Seipel (19 July 1876 – 2 August 1932) was an Austrian prelate, Catholic theologian and politician of the Christian Social Party. He was its chairman from 1921 to 1930 and served as Austria's federal chancellor twice, from 1922 to 1924 ...
asked for foreign loans and introduced austerity policies. In October 1922 Britain, France, Italy and Czechoslovakia provided a loan of 650 million gold kronen after Seipel promised not to attempt Anschluss with Germany for the next 20 years and allowed the League of Nations to control Austria's economy. During the next two years the state budget was stabilized and international supervision over finances ended in March 1926. Austria's central bank
Oesterreichische Nationalbank
The Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) is the central bank of Austria and, as such, an integral part of both the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Eurozone. It started operations on , replacing the Austro-Hungarian Bank of which ...
was re-established in 1923, a sales tax was introduced in 1923, and the
Austrian Schilling
The schilling (German language, German: ''Schilling'') was the currency of Austria from 1925 to 1938 and from 1945 to 1999, and the circulating currency until 2002. The euro was introduced at a fixed parity of €1 = 13.7603 schilling to repl ...
replaced the Krone in December 1924.
The Great Depression hit Austria hard and in May 1931 the largest bank in Austria,
Creditanstalt
The Creditanstalt (sometimes Credit-Anstalt, abbreviated as CA), full original name k. k. priv. Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe (), was a major Austrian bank, founded in 1855 in Vienna.
From its founding until 1931, th ...
Bank collapsed.
To improve its economy, Austria wanted to conclude a customs union with Germany, but in 1931 this was denied by France and the countries of the
Little Entente
The Little Entente was an alliance formed in 1920 and 1921 by Czechoslovakia, Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (since 1929 Yugoslavia) with the purpose of common defense against Hungarian revanchism and the prospect of a Hab ...
.
Austrofascism
![Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00805, Wien, Februarkämpfe, Bundesheer 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00805%2C_Wien%2C_Februark%C3%A4mpfe%2C_Bundesheer_3.jpg)
Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss of the Christian Social Party took power in Austria on 20 May 1932, and moved the party and Austria towards dictatorship, centralization and
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
, in part because fascist Italy was its strongest international ally against Germany. In March 1933, Dollfuss
suspended the parliament, which gave him the opportunity to establish an authoritarian government without a parliament. In May 1933 he created the
Fatherland Front (german: Vaterländische Front). While outwardly fascist, it was mostly Catholic and influenced by the papal encyclical
Quadragesimo anno of 1931 which refuted liberalism and socialism in favour of
corporatism
Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...
.
The government was in competition with the growing
Austrian Nazi party
Austrian Nazism or Austrian National Socialism was a pan-German
Pan-Germanism (german: Pangermanismus or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify all the ...
, which wanted Austria to join Germany. Dollfuss's
Austrofascism
The Fatherland Front ( de-AT, Vaterländische Front, ''VF'') was the right-wing conservative, nationalist and corporatist ruling political organisation of the Federal State of Austria. It claimed to be a nonpartisan
Nonpartisanism is a lack ...
tied Austrian identity to the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as an argument against a union of Austria with predominantly
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Germany.
Political violence escalated into the
Austrian Civil War of February 1934, between Nazis, Social Democrats and government forces. On 1 May 1934, Dollfuss created a
one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
, to be led by the Fatherland Front, with the proclamation of the authoritarian "May Constitution". The name of the country was changed from the "Republic of Austria" to the "
Federal State of Austria
The Federal State of Austria ( de-AT, Bundesstaat Österreich; colloquially known as the , "Corporate State") was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the clerical fascist Fa ...
". The flag, coat of arms and anthem were changed, too.
Federalism and the controlling powers of the
Federal Council were curtailed, while elections for the
National Council were abolished, its members nominated by four non-elective,
corporatist
Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...
-styled councils – the State Council (''Staatsrat''), Federal Culture Council (''Bundeskulturrat''), Federal Economic Council (''Bundeswirtschaftsrat'') and the States' Council (''Länderrat''), supposedly providing their best opinions on respective areas. In practice all legislation and appointments were exercised from above by the Federal Chancellor's and President's decree.
The state took complete control of employer–employee relations, known as Ständestaat, and began to crack down on pro-Nazi and pro–German-unification sympathizers. The Nazis responded by assassinating Engelbert Dollfuss during the
July Putsch
The July Putsch was a failed coup attempt against the Austrofascist regime by Austrian Nazis from 25 to 30 July 1934.
Just a few months after the Austrian Civil War, Austrian Nazis and German SS soldiers attacked the Chancellery in Vienna in ...
of 25 July 1934
(see
''Maiverfassung'' 1934).
This assassination by the Austrian Nazis infuriated Austria's neighbour,
Fascist Italy under dictator
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
. Fascist Italy had good relations with Austria under Dollfuss and Mussolini suspected German involvement and promised the Austrofascist regime military support if Germany were to invade, as the Nazis had claims on Italian-administered Tyrol. Italy's support helped save Austria from potential annexation in 1934.
The successor to Dollfuss,
Kurt Schuschnigg
Kurt Alois Josef Johann von Schuschnigg (; 14 December 1897 – 18 November 1977) was an Austrian Fatherland Front politician who was the Chancellor of the Federal State of Austria from the 1934 assassination of his predecessor Engelbert Dollf ...
, maintained the ban on Nazi activities, but also banned Austria's national paramilitary force, the ''
Heimwehr
The Heimwehr (, ) or Heimatschutz (, ) was a nationalist, initially paramilitary group operating in Austria during the 1920s and 1930s that was similar in methods, organization, and ideology to the Freikorps in Germany. It was opposed to parliam ...
'' in 1936.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austria, Republic of, (1919-1934)
1919 establishments in Austria
1934 disestablishments in Austria
States and territories established in 1919
Dissolution of Austria-Hungary
Former republics
Former countries of the interwar period