Timeline
96-500: The Federal State of Austria ( Austrian German : Bundesstaat Österreich ; colloquially known as the " Ständestaat ") was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the conservative , nationalist , corporatist and clerical fascist Fatherland Front . The Ständestaat concept, derived from the notion of Stände (" estates " or " corporations "),
192-535: A World War I-era emergency law that empowered the government to issue emergency decrees if it deemed such decrees necessary to protect the economy. In effect, Dollfuss seized dictatorial powers. His fellow CS party member, President Wilhelm Miklas did not take any action to restore democracy. Dollfuss then banned Communist Party on 26 May 1933, the Social Democratic Republikanischer Schutzbund paramilitary organization on 30 May and
288-462: A dominant role as an integrative element of the movement. After Schober's resignation on 25 September 1930, the new Christian Socialist Chancellor Carl Vaugoin offered the Heimwehr a share in his minority cabinet. Although the national leadership of the Heimwehr at first rejected the offer, it was forced to agree under pressure from provincial functionaries. On 1 October 1930, Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg,
384-594: A group from the right-wing Front Fighters Association of German Austria ( Frontkämpfer ), leaving two dead and five wounded. When the men who had been accused of the deaths were acquitted by a jury, protestors in what came to be known as the July Revolt of 1927 burned the Vienna Palace of Justice. More than 80 demonstrators died in the subsequent clashes with the police, leading the Social Democrats to speak of it as
480-690: A meeting with Wehrmacht commanders. Under the mediation of the German ambassador Franz von Papen , Schuschnigg on 12 February 1938 traveled to Hitler's Berghof residence in Berchtesgaden , only to be confronted with an ultimatum to readmit the Nazi Party and to appoint Seyss-Inquart and Glaise-Horstenau ministers of the Austrian cabinet. Schuschnigg, impressed by the presence of OKW chief General Wilhelm Keitel , gave in and on 16 February Seyss-Inquart became head of
576-520: A member of the European Union , 23 food-related terms were listed in its accession agreement as having the same legal status as the equivalent terms used in Germany, for example, the words for "potato", "tomato", and "Brussels sprouts". (Examples in " Vocabulary ") Austrian German is the only variety of a pluricentric language recognized under international law or EU primary law. In Austria , as in
672-560: A private association, it was "not concerned with military matters". The Heimatwehr was thus not a party organization but an independent, politically right-wing paramilitary unit. It saw its political enemy in the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria , or SDAP (the name that was used by the Social Democratic Party of Austria before 1945). The Heimwehr was involved early on in border disputes with troops from
768-528: A reality in 1933, the Heimwehr continued to cause unrest. On 30 January 1934 they staged large-scale armed marches in numerous towns in Tyrol and made demands for the establishment of an authoritarian provincial committee with the participation of Heimwehr members. The Heimwehr also participated in the February Uprising of 12–15 February 1934 that pitted government forces against the Social Democrats and ended with
864-510: A significant setback for the movement, which until then had seen itself moving in a steadily upward arc. The Heimwehr's failure in the constitutional dispute and the onset of the world economic crisis in Austria in the early 1930s ushered in a period of stagnation and increasing drifting apart within the Heimwehr movement. Its national leader Richard Steidle hoped to overcome the problems in May 1930 with
960-431: A very traditional form of the language, probably derived from medieval deeds and documents, and has a very complex structure and vocabulary generally reserved for such documents. For most speakers (even native speakers), this form of the language is generally difficult to understand, as it contains many highly specialised terms for diplomatic, internal, official, and military matters. There are no regional variations because
1056-453: Is offered in Markhardt, Heidemarie: Wörterbuch der österreichischen Rechts-, Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungsterminologie (Peter Lang, 2006). Because of German's pluricentric nature, German dialects in Austria should not be confused with the variety of Standard Austrian German spoken by most Austrians, which is distinct from that of Germany or Switzerland . In the field of German dialectology,
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#17331066407221152-452: Is the variety of Standard German written and spoken in Austria and South Tyrol . It has the highest sociolinguistic prestige locally, as it is the variation used in the media and for other formal situations. In less formal situations, Austrians use Bavarian and Alemannic dialects , which are traditionally spoken but rarely written in Austria. It has been standardized with the publishing of
1248-521: Is used in Austria, as in Germany but not in Switzerland. Distinctions in vocabulary persist, for example, in culinary terms, for which communication with Germans is frequently difficult, and administrative and legal language because of Austria's exclusion from the development of a German nation-state in the late 19th century and its manifold particular traditions. A comprehensive collection of Austrian-German legal, administrative and economic terms
1344-670: Is very rarely used in Austria, especially in the spoken language , with the exception of some modal verbs ( ich sollte , ich wollte ). There are many official terms that differ in Austrian German from their usage in most parts of Germany . Words used in Austria are Jänner (January) rather than Januar , Feber (seldom, February) along with Februar , heuer (this year) along with dieses Jahr , Stiege (stairs) along with Treppen , Rauchfang (chimney) instead of Schornstein , many administrative, legal and political terms, and many food terms, including
1440-668: The Frontmiliz , an amalgamation of militia units that in 1937 became part of Austria's armed forces. After the end of World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire , local residents' militias and self-defense associations formed mainly from demobilized soldiers sprang up across Austria. Their purpose initially was to protect the local population from dangers such as those posed by soldiers trying to make their way to their home countries who, driven by hunger and largely without leadership, sometimes looted and assaulted
1536-416: The Österreichisches Wörterbuch in 1951. Austrian German has its beginning in the mid-18th century, when Empress Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II introduced compulsory schooling in 1774, and several reforms of administration in their multilingual Habsburg Empire . At the time, the written standard was Oberdeutsche Schreibsprache ( Upper German written language), which was highly influenced by
1632-523: The Allied occupation of Austria . In the 1890s, the founding members of the conservative-clerical Christian Social Party (CS) like Karl von Vogelsang and the Vienna mayor Karl Lueger had already developed anti- liberal views, though primarily from an economic perspective considering the pauperization of the proletariat and the lower middle class. Strongly referring to the doctrine of Catholic social teaching ,
1728-814: The Anschluss with an implausible 99,73% of votes. Hundreds of thousands of "undesirable" Austrians – 18% of the population – were removed from the voter lists due to being Jewish or members of the Social Democratic party, which opposed the Nazis, and were therefore unable to vote. Notes Further reading Austrian German language Austrian German ( German : Österreichisches Deutsch ), Austrian Standard German ( ASG ), Standard Austrian German ( Österreichisches Standarddeutsch ), Austrian High German ( Österreichisches Hochdeutsch ), or simply just Austrian ( Österreichisch ),
1824-521: The Bavarian and Alemannic dialects of Austria. Another option was to create a new standard based on the Southern German dialects, as proposed by the linguist Johann Siegmund Popowitsch . Instead they decided for pragmatic reasons to adopt the already-standardized chancellery language of Saxony ( Sächsische Kanzleisprache or Meißner Kanzleideutsch ), which was based on the administrative language of
1920-553: The German-speaking parts of Switzerland and in southern Germany , verbs that express a state tend to use sein as the auxiliary verb in the perfect , as well as verbs of movement. Verbs which fall into this category include sitzen (to sit), liegen (to lie) and, in parts of Styria and Carinthia , schlafen (to sleep). Therefore, the perfect of these verbs would be ich bin gesessen , ich bin gelegen and ich bin geschlafen , respectively. In Germany,
2016-682: The Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . When it turned its opposition primarily against Austromarxism , from which it wished to protect the middle class, the Social Democrats in response formed the Republikanischer Schutzbund ('Republican Protection League') in 1923 as a defensive counterweight to the Heimwehr. The Heimwehr registered significant gains after the SDAP published its militant Linz Program in November 1926. Because it used
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#17331066407222112-437: The "July Massacre" of workers. When they engaged in transportation strikes, the Heimwehr stepped in to break them, especially in areas outside Vienna. In the years from 1927 to 1930, the Heimwehr movement experienced a period of rapid growth and became a significant part in the increasingly radicalized domestic political situation . It aspired to be more than what Richard Steidle called a watchdog let off its leash when needed by
2208-764: The Anschluss bill into law. Two days later in his speech on the Heldenplatz in Vienna, Hitler proclaimed the "accession of my homeland to the German Reich" . A highly dubious referendum – organized and implemented by Josef Bürckel , the Nazi Gauleiter of the Pfalz and the Saarland , who was appointed by Hitler to be in charge of the election – was held on 10 April, ratifying
2304-814: The Austrian branch of the Nazi Party on 19 June. On 20 May 1933 he had established the Fatherland's Front as a unity party of "an autonomous, Christian, German, corporative Federal State of Austria". On 12 February 1934 the government's attempts to enforce the ban of the Schutzbund at the Hotel Schiff in Linz sparked the Austrian Civil War . The revolt was suppressed with support by the Bundesheer and right-wing Heimwehr troops under Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg , and ended with
2400-607: The Austrofascist Federal State of Austria (1934–1938), the Heimwehr performed police and security duties as part of the Schutzkorps . During the February uprising and the failed National Socialist July Putsch , they not only took on reconnaissance, guard and security tasks but also independently carried out smaller combat missions, thus relieving other groups such as the gendarmerie and the federal army that were fighting on
2496-799: The CS agitated against the Austrian labour movement led by the Social Democratic Party of Austria . During the Great Depression in the First Austrian Republic of the early 1930s, the CS on the basis of the Quadragesimo anno encyclical issued by Pope Pius XI in 1931 pursued the idea of overcoming the ongoing class struggle by the implementation of a corporative form of government modelled on Italian fascism and Portugal's Estado Novo . The CS politician Engelbert Dollfuss, appointed Chancellor of Austria in 1932, on 4 March 1933 saw an opportunity in
2592-630: The Catholic Church was given a prominent voice in a variety of issues. The state de-secularized schools in education, requiring religious education to complete the Matura graduation exams. According to this ideology, Austrians were "better Germans ". In keeping with the regime's Catholicism, the regime elevated the non-communist and non-capitalist teachings of Papal Encyclicals, most prominently Quadragesimo anno of Pope Pius XI . Despite its nominal embrace of corporatism and shunning of liberal capitalism,
2688-678: The Christian Socialists votes and thus played into the hands of the Social Democrats, who won the largest number of votes. The new federal government was nevertheless built by the Christian Socialist Otto Ender as a coalition of middle-class parties. Members of the Heimatblock took their seats in the National Council on the opposition bench, on the far right and in Heimwehr uniform. The election results further weakened
2784-500: The Fatherland Front so that Emil Fey could be part of the new Dollfuss II government as Vice-Chancellor. Entry of the Heimwehr into the Fatherland Front was agreed on, but a corresponding accord was never signed by Ernst Starhemberg. The resistance within the movement, which did not want to give up its position as an independent political force, was too great. Even when the corporatist state under Chancellor Dollfuss began to become
2880-463: The Fatherland's Front, he had no chance to prevail against the " axis " of Berlin and Rome proclaimed by Mussolini on 1 November 1936. One of the reasons for the failure of the putsch was Italian intervention: Mussolini assembled an army corps of four divisions on the Austrian border and threatened Hitler with a war with Italy in the event of a German invasion of Austria as originally planned, should
2976-493: The Federal State could be considered genuinely fascist is debatable. Although it was authoritarian and used fascist-like symbols, it never achieved broad support among Austrians. Its most prominent policy was an embrace of Catholicism, and its economic and social policies bear only a passing resemblance to those of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany and more of a resemblance to Portugal under Salazar. John Gunther wrote in 1940 that
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3072-543: The Federal State pursued a fiscal conservative monetary policy. Vienna School economist Ludwig von Mises , who had collaborated with Dollfuss before the coup, was made chairman of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce , and with the guidance of Mises and other economists, the Federal State pursued a policy of austerity in reaction to the Great Depression. The Federal State pursued harsh deflationary policies to balance
3168-587: The German Reich government until mid-1932. When the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini came to believe that the Heimwehr would not achieve its goal of making Austria fascist, he stopped his financial contributions in October 1933. Defunct In 1929 the government of Chancellor Ernst Streeruwitz , a coalition of the Christian Social Party, Greater German People's Party and the agrarian Landbund , engaged
3264-500: The Heimatblock had demanded that Anton Rintelen , the Christian Social governor of Styria and an outspoken friend of the Heimwehr, become chancellor but in the end had to be satisfied with him becoming Minister of Education. Guido Jakoncig, a member of the Heimatblock ranks, became Minister for Trade and Transport. The Heimwehr's involvement in the new government had little support from its rank and file. The provincial leadership of
3360-613: The Heimwehr developed a political wing called the Heimatblock ('Homeland Bloc') that was close to the conservative Christian Social Party and took part in both the cabinet of Chancellor Carl Vaugoin in 1930 and in Engelbert Dollfuss ' right-wing government from 1932 to 1934. In 1936 the Heimwehr was absorbed into what was at the time the only legally permitted political party in Austria, the Fatherland Front , and then later into
3456-653: The Heimwehr functionary Karl Gallian called the Heimatblock "the political machine gun of the Heimatwehr movement". In the National Council , however, internal disputes and squabbles weakened the Block's opposition activities. It was known more for noise and fisticuffs than for political work. When the Christian Socialist government of Karl Buresch had to resign on 6 May 1932, new elections appeared to be necessary. Since
3552-432: The Heimwehr in negotiations regarding constitutional reform. They and the Social Democrats were close to a compromise when in late September, the Heimwehr and Christian Social Party brought down the government. Ignaz Seipel , leader of the Christian Socialists, chose to install the independent Johannes Schober as chancellor. Schober, who had been Vienna's police chief during the 1927 July Revolt and had approved firing on
3648-692: The Heimwehr's newly elected national leader, became Minister of the Interior and Franz Hueber Minister of Justice in Vaugoin's cabinet. Vaugoin hoped that this would lead to an alliance with the Heimwehr in the next election. The Heimwehr's national leadership contemplated the electoral alliance and one with the Greater German People's Party, the Landbund and the Austrian National Socialists . There
3744-554: The National Council was made possible by the achievement of a 'basic mandate' in Upper Styria – that is, they attained a sufficient minimum percent of the votes in a region to qualify for entry into parliament. In the provincial elections in Styria, which took place at the same time, the Heimatblock won 12.5% of the votes and 6 seats. In national politics, the election results achieved the opposite of what had been wanted. The Heimatblock cost
3840-550: The National Socialists. Rauter met with the German Nazi Party's organizational leader, Gregor Strasser , to discuss cooperation in early October 1930. Because there were not enough supporters for such an alliance in the movement, they drew up their own electoral list, the Heimatblock. Since the National Council elections were scheduled for 9 November 1930, there was very little time for preparation. The election campaign
3936-482: The Nazi Party had already made large gains in the regional elections earlier in the year, the Christian Socialists tried to avoid holding one. The Social Democrats and the Greater Germans rejected coalition offers, which left only the Heimatblock and the Landbund to enable Engelbert Dollfuss , then still of the Christian Social Party, to form a government with a majority of just one seat. In the coalition negotiations,
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4032-414: The Nazis. They were also openly anti-Semitic, calling for a boycott of Jewish businesses and banning Jews as members after 1933. The attitude of the rest of the Heimwehr was less definite. Although anti-Semitism was brought into play as a political weapon, as it was against refugees from eastern Europe and the allegedly "Jewish" social democracy, its use was more opportunistic than ideological and did not play
4128-668: The Organization Chancellor). Numerous World War I front-line officers served as military "advisors" and functionaries. Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg , who became the Heimwehr's national leader in 1930, approached right-wing circles in Great Britain , including the fascist politician Oswald Mosley , from whom he was able to receive no financial support. Konstantin Kammerhofer , leader of the Styrian Heimwehr, received money from
4224-608: The States' Council ( Länderrat ). In practice, however, all governing power was now in Dollfuss' hands. Dollfuss continued to rule under what amounted to martial law until his assassination on 25 July 1934 during the Nazi July Putsch . Although the coup d'état initially had the encouragement of Hitler, it was quickly suppressed and Dollfuss's education minister, Kurt Schuschnigg , succeeded him. Hitler officially denied any involvement in
4320-402: The Styrian Heimwehr even declared its "state of political independence" on 19 May. The Heimatblock was not easy to work with inside the coalition, where it repeatedly objected to proposals made by Chancellor Dollfuss. A motion of no confidence by the Greater German People's Party was supported by two Heimatblock deputies and was defeated by 81 votes to 81. The narrow majority made it difficult for
4416-399: The Tyrol being very characteristic. Speakers from those regions, even those speaking Standard German, can usually be easily identified by their accent, even by an untrained listener. Several of the dialects have been influenced by contact with non-Germanic linguistic groups, such as the dialect of Carinthia, where, in the past, many speakers were bilingual (and, in the southeastern portions of
4512-620: The ban of the Social Democratic Party and the trade unions. The path to dictatorship was completed on 1 May 1934, when the Constitution of Austria was recast into a severely authoritarian and corporatist document by a rump National Council. Direct parliamentary elections were abolished. Instead, deputies were nominated by four non-elective, corporatist-styled councils – the State Council ( Staatsrat ), Federal Culture Council ( Bundeskulturrat ), Federal Economic Council ( Bundeswirtschaftsrat ), and
4608-467: The border meeting no resistance. Hitler had originally intended to retain Austria as a puppet state headed by Seyss-Inquart. However, the enthusiastic support for Hitler led him to change his stance and support a full Anschluss between Austria and Nazi Germany. On 13 March Seyss-Inquart formally decreed the Anschluss , though President Miklas avoided signing the law by resigning immediately, only for Seyss-Inquart to take over as acting President and sign
4704-399: The constitution, with the goal of creating a "social, Christian, German state of Austria on a corporatist basis and under strong authoritarian leadership". The Heimwehr was thus able to say that its Korneuburg Oath had become a state program. They therefore no longer saw any need to have their own political party, and the Heimatblock was dissolved on 27 September 1933. Before that, it had joined
4800-526: The coup have been more successful. Support for the Nazi movement in Austria was surpassed only by that in Germany, allegedly amounting to 75% in some areas. The Federal State of Austria glorified the history of Austria . The Habsburg Monarchy was elevated as a time of greatness in Austrian history. The Catholic Church played a large role in the nation's definition of Austrian history and identity, alienating German culture. Unlike Hitler's comparatively secular regime,
4896-636: The currency. It also cut spending drastically, and high interest rates were the norm. The budget deficit was slashed from over 200 million shillings to less than 50 million. By 1936, only 50% of the unemployed were receiving unemployment benefits. These policies coincided with a catastrophic economic contraction. According to Angus Maddison's estimates, unemployment peaked at 26% in 1933, failing to fall under 20% until 1937. This can be contrasted with German unemployment, which peaked at 30% in 1932 and had fallen to less than 5% by 1937. Additionally, real GDP collapsed, not returning to pre-1929 levels until 1937. Whether
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#17331066407224992-497: The demonstrators, was seen by the Heimwehr as strong and a beacon of hope. He proved, however, to be a bitter disappointment to them. In the dispute over the 1929 amendment to the Austrian constitution that strengthened the position of the federal president, he worked out a compromise with the Social Democrats that was completely unacceptable to the Heimwehr, and in addition he was unwilling to give in to their other demands. It represented
5088-446: The different accents ( isoglosses ) coincide strongly with the borders of the states and also with the border with Bavaria, with Bavarians having a markedly different rhythm of speech in spite of the linguistic similarities. Heimwehr The Heimwehr ( German: [ˈhaɪmˌveːɐ̯] , lit. ' Home Guard ' ) or Heimatschutz ( German: [ˈhaɪmatˌʃʊts] , lit. ' Homeland Protection ' )
5184-617: The failed coup , but he continued to destabilise the Austrian state by secretly supporting Nazi sympathisers like Arthur Seyss-Inquart and Edmund Glaise-Horstenau . In turn Austria under Schuschnigg sought the backing of its southern neighbour, the fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini . Tables turned after the Second Italo-Abyssinian War of 1935–36, when Mussolini, internationally isolated, approached Hitler. Though Schuschnigg tried to improve relations with Nazi Germany by amnestying several Austrian Nazis and accepting them in
5280-405: The fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini , had to improvise the management for the election campaign, develop a party program and schedule election events. Their unexpected participation in the party process, which had previously been so extensively criticized, also had to be explained to members and made palatable to them. The Heimatblock received 6.2% of the total vote and 8 seats. Entry into
5376-441: The following: There are, however, some false friends between the two regional varieties: In addition to the standard variety, in everyday life most Austrians speak one of a number of Upper German dialects . While strong forms of the various dialects are not fully mutually intelligible to northern Germans , communication is much easier in Bavaria , especially rural areas, where the Bavarian dialect still predominates as
5472-458: The government side. When all defence associations ( Wehrverbände ) were disbanded in 1936 under Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg , the Heimwehr was for the most part absorbed into the Fatherland Front and the Front Militia ( Frontmiliz ). A standard uniform was intended for Heimwehr members, but it never came about because members generally had to pay for their own clothing. The men were dressed in both military and civilian dress of all types. Only
5568-495: The government to pass legislation. A deputy who was out sick, or the voting behaviour of individual Heimatblock members that deviated from the party line, could determine success or defeat in the National Council. Before the parliamentary summer recess on 19 August 1932, the Social Democratic Arbeiter-Zeitung ( Workers' Newspaper ) wrote: "But in October when Parliament reconvenes, either it will have to be dissolved or another government formed. This governing which depends daily on
5664-430: The hoped-for movement of the Fatherland Front towards fascism did not proceed to the extent hoped for by much of the Heimwehr, relations with the movement remained contradictory and distrustful. On 19 June 1933, Dollfuss banned the Styrian Heimatschutz alongside the Austrian Nazi Party . On 11 September 1933, Dollfuss announced the end of the party-state and introduced plans to institute a corporatist order and to change
5760-429: The internal cohesion of the Heimwehr. Starhemberg eventually made way for Walter Pfrimer as the new national leader. He represented a radical course within the Heimwehr and had already used violence several times in Styria to push through political demands. Pfrimer saw that all previous attempts to bring about the desired change in the political system had failed, that the Heimwehr was continuing to break apart and that it
5856-442: The language of Marxism and class conflict to provide the theoretical basis for political confrontation with the Christian Social Party and the Heimwehr, it caused many in the middle class, including some who were merely not socialist minded, to fear a domestic political turn toward a dictatorship of the proletariat . On 30 January 1927 members of the SDAP who were holding a meeting at Schattendorf in Burgenland were fired on by
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#17331066407225952-410: The leader of the Styrian Heimwehr, which made up the largest segment within the movement. Martial speeches nevertheless continued to be made at voter meetings and in newspapers. The election appeal in the newspaper of the Heimatschutz stated that the Heimatblock had to "conquer parliament ... in order to build the new state, the Heimatwehr state, on the ruins of the party-political parliament." In Linz,
6048-429: The leader of the Vienna Heimatschutz, Emil Fey . He immediately arranged for a ban on marches in Vienna by the political movements involved in the violence. Dollfuss' authoritarian course pleased the Heimwehr, and on 5 November 1932 the Österreichische Heimatschutzzeitung ( Austrian Heimatschutz Newspaper ) ran the headline: "Commitment to fascism!" and on 25 February 1933: "Away with Parliament!" Seven days later,
6144-495: The like. In 1927 the various provincial Heimwehr associations joined to form an umbrella organization, the Federation of Austrian Self-Defense Associations. The Heimwehr's leaders attempted to implement the political change they wanted both through ongoing agitation in the streets – mainly in the form of massive Sunday marches – and behind the scenes through political pressure on the federal government. A large march on 7 October 1928 in Wiener Neustadt , an industrial area of Vienna that
6240-401: The middle-class parties. Many Heimwehr leaders began to develop a more political profile and demanded a fundamental change in Austria's political system that would move it towards authoritarianism and corporatism – that is, a society similar to the type favoured by Italian fascism that was organized around corporate groups such as agriculture, manual labour, the military, business, trade and
6336-425: The mobile Heimwehr formations known as Jägerbataillone , which were intended to function as a kind of rapid reaction force, were completely and relatively similarly dressed, something that was made possible primarily by the fact that Starhemberg paid for their equipment with his own funds. Because of their headgear, a hat or cap with a " Spielhahnstoß " (a hunter's term for the black grouse's tail feathers; see
6432-526: The mother tongue. The Central Austro-Bavarian dialects are more intelligible to speakers of Standard German than the Southern Austro-Bavarian dialects of Tyrol . Viennese , the Austro-Bavarian dialect of Vienna , is seen for many in Germany as quintessentially Austrian. The people of Graz , the capital of Styria , speak yet another dialect which is not very Styrian and more easily understood by people from other parts of Austria than other Styrian dialects, for example from western Styria. Simple words in
6528-400: The nobility of Austria-Hungary . The sociolect, a variety of Standard German, is influenced by Viennese German and other Austro-Bavarian dialects spoken in eastern Austria but is slightly nasalized . For many years, Austria had a special form of the language for official government documents that is known as Österreichische Kanzleisprache , or " Austrian chancellery language". It is
6624-412: The non-Austrian area of Meißen and Dresden . Austria High German ( Hochdeutsch in Österreich , not to be confused with the Bavarian Austria German dialects) has the same geographic origin as the Swiss High German ( Schweizer Hochdeutsch , not to be confused with the Alemannic Swiss German dialects). The process of introducing the new written standard was led by Joseph von Sonnenfels . Since 1951,
6720-433: The notion of Standard Austrian German has been both debated and defended by German linguists since the 1970s. A One Standard German Axiom , effectively preventing the development of newer standards of German, has recently been offered as a characteristic of the field but has not been taken up. Until 1918, the spoken standard in Austria was the Schönbrunner Deutsch , a sociolect spoken by the imperial Habsburg family and
6816-490: The official language. Austrian delegates participated in the international working group that drafted the German spelling reform of 1996 and several conferences leading up to the reform were hosted in Vienna at the invitation of the Austrian federal government. Austria adopted it as a signatory, along with Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, of an international memorandum of understanding ( Wiener Absichtserklärung ) signed in Vienna in 1996. The eszett or "sharp s" (ß)
6912-464: The one-party state and legalizing the socialist trade unions. Hitler reacted with the mobilization of Wehrmacht troops at the Austrian border and demanded the appointment of Seyss-Inquart as Austrian chancellor. On 11 March Austrian Nazis stormed the Federal Chancellery and forced Schuschnigg to resign. Seyss-Inquart was sworn in as his successor by Miklas and the next day Wehrmacht troops crossed
7008-491: The pan-German nationalism of the Nazi Party – as a basic part of its ideology. Such attempts to unite the Heimwehr under an integrated leadership failed in the long run due to the differing objectives of the individual Heimwehr associations and the rivalries of their various leaders. The Styrian and Carinthian Heimwehr in particular rejected the Christian, corporatist course of the federal leadership and moved increasingly close to
7104-586: The population in the areas they passed through. Such local self-defense associations over time formed individual Heimwehr units. Beginning in April 1919, the Vorarlberg provincial government approved and promoted active paramilitary people's militias to combat Austromarxism , either equipping the militia members with weapons or allowing them to use their own. They were led by the Christian Socialist provincial governor Otto Ender and financed primarily by local industry. In
7200-493: The resignation of Social Democrat Karl Renner as president of the Austrian Nationalrat , after irregularities occurred during a voting process. Dollfuss called the incident a "self-elimination" ( Selbstausschaltung ) of the parliament and had the following meeting on 15 March forcibly prorogued by the forces of the Vienna police department. Dolfuss then seized emergency powers under the "Wartime Economy Authority Law,"
7296-429: The respective whims of Mr. Werner or Mr. Hainzl is impossible, untenable, intolerable." On 16 October, during a march by National Socialists in Vienna, gunfire broke out between members of the SDAP's Republican Protection League, Communists, Nazis and the police. Four people died and many more were wounded. In response, the government the next day created the new position of State Secretary for Security and filled it with
7392-493: The so-called Korneuburg Oath, which he read out at a general assembly of the Lower Austrian Heimatschutz . It included statements that pointed in the direction of Austrofascism such as "We want to seize power … and bring a new order to the state and the economy" and "We reject Western democratic parliamentarianism and the party-state!". The oath established Austrian conservative nationalism – as distinct from
7488-403: The special written form has been used mainly by a government that has now for centuries been based in Vienna. Österreichische Kanzleisprache is now used less and less because of various administrative reforms that reduced the number of traditional civil servants ( Beamte ). As a result, Standard Austrian German is replacing it in government and administrative texts. When Austria became
7584-598: The standardized form of Austrian German for official governmental use and in schools has been defined by the Österreichisches Wörterbuch ("Austrian Dictionary"), published originally at the behest of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (in the 1950s the "Unterrichtsministerium", under minister Felix Hurdes) with Verlag Jugend & Volk, then by the Österreichischer Bundesverlag. The official Austrian dictionary, Österreichisches Wörterbuch , prescribes spelling rules that define
7680-431: The state "assaulted the rights of citizens in a fantastic manner", noting that in 1934 the police raided 106,000 homes in Vienna and made 38,141 arrests of Nazis, social democrats, liberals and communists. He added, however: But—and it was an important "but"—the terror never reached anything like the repressive force of the Nazi terror. Most of those arrested promptly got out of jail again. Even at its most extreme phase, it
7776-530: The state, many still are even today) with Slovene , and the dialect of Vienna, which has been influenced by immigration during the Austro-Hungarian period, particularly from what is today the Czech Republic . The German dialects of South Tyrol have been influenced by local Romance languages , particularly noticeable with the many loanwords from Italian and Ladin . The geographic borderlines between
7872-505: The strategically important Austrian interior ministry . After the British ambassador to Berlin, Nevile Henderson on 3 March 1938 had stated that the German claims to Austria were justified, Schuschnigg started a last attempt to retain Austrian autonomy by scheduling a nationwide referendum on 13 March. As part of his effort to ensure victory, he released the Social Democratic leaders from prison and gained their support in return for dismantling
7968-570: The summer of 1920 they had about 3,000 members, whereas the Austrian army in the province had only 800 soldiers under arms. The Vorarlberg Heimwehr subsequently emerged from the militia groups. The first association of the Heimatwehr ('Homeland Guard'), as the Heimwehr was called in Tyrol , was founded on 12 May 1920 by Richard Steidle , a member of the Tyrolean parliament from the Christian Social Party who
8064-541: The various dialects are very similar, but pronunciation is distinct for each and, after listening to a few spoken words, it may be possible for an Austrian to realise which dialect is being spoken. However, in regard to the dialects of the deeper valleys of the Tyrol, other Tyroleans are often unable to understand them. Speakers from the different provinces of Austria can easily be distinguished from each other by their particular accents (probably more so than Bavarians), those of Carinthia , Styria, Vienna, Upper Austria , and
8160-411: The victory of the Fatherland Front. After the Social Democratic Party was outlawed on 12 February 1934, the Nazi Party became the new enemy of those Heimwehr associations that supported the political course of the federal government, while the associations of Styria and Carinthia moved more and more in the direction of the Nazis and eventually merged organizationally with them. During the period of
8256-562: The wish was fulfilled. With the so-called " Self-elimination of the Austrian Parliament " of 4 March 1933, the way was paved for the dictatorship of Austrofascism. On 24 March, Fey imposed preliminary censorship on the Social Democratic party newspapers Arbeiter-Zeitung and Das Kleine Blatt , and on 31 March the Republican Protection League was dissolved. The traditional May Day march was also banned. On 10 May Fey
8352-402: The words stehen (to stand) and gestehen (to confess) are identical in the present perfect: habe gestanden . The Austrian variant avoids that potential ambiguity ( bin gestanden from stehen , "to stand"; and habe gestanden from gestehen , "to confess": "der Verbrecher ist vor dem Richter gestanden und hat gestanden" ). In addition, the preterite ( simple past )
8448-545: Was a nationalist, initially paramilitary group that operated in the First Austrian Republic from 1920 to 1936. It was similar in methods, organization, and ideology to the Freikorps in Germany. The Heimwehr was opposed to parliamentary democracy , socialism and Marxism and fought in various skirmishes against left-wing and foreign groups during the 1920s and 1930s. Some of its regional groups also opposed Nazism while others favored it. In spite of its anti-democratic stance,
8544-503: Was a stronghold of the SDAP, was a self-confident demonstration of strength. Many in the middle class cheered the Heimwehr as a "saviour in the time of need". The Heimwehr was supported financially, logistically, and with arms by industry and large landowners, especially from Styria , as well as by Italian fascists, the Hungarian regime of Miklós Horthy and groups on the Bavarian right (e.g.
8640-564: Was advocated by leading regime politicians such as Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt Schuschnigg . The result was an authoritarian government based on a mix of Italian Fascist and conservative Catholic influences. It ended in March 1938 with the Anschluss , the German annexation of Austria. Austria would not become an independent country again until 1955, when the Austrian State Treaty ended
8736-480: Was appointed Minister of Security, and the Heimwehr ideologue Odo Neustädter-Stürmer was appointed State Secretary for Labor Procurement, Labor Service, Roads and Tourism. On 20 May the Fatherland Front was founded, in large part at Starhemberg's suggestion. It absorbed Christian Social Party, the Landbund and the Heimwehr and was conceived as a rallying organization in which all political movements except Austromarxism and National Socialism were to be represented. Since
8832-484: Was characterized by considerable confusion. The Viennese, Lower Austrian, and Burgenland provincial associations preferred to stand in combination with the Christian Socialists, while the Vorarlberg provincial association abstained from any political participation in accordance with its statutes. Some Heimwehr newspapers had to advertise for two lists. In a very short time, the Heimatblock, with generous financial support from
8928-621: Was coming under increasing pressure from the growing strength of the Austrian National Socialists. As a result, he decided to risk everything in a coup d'état which was to finally implement the Heimwehr's demands and thus solve all the group's problems with one blow. Pfrimer's coup attempt in September 1931 failed completely and ultimately led to the Heimwehr movement splitting into a pro-government wing around Steidle and Starhemberg and an anti-government wing around Konstantin Kammerhofer,
9024-408: Was considerable disagreement over questions of ideology and political strategy. Starhemberg advocated a separate Heimwehr list for the 1930 National Council election , while the Styrian Heimwehr rejected the idea. Walter Pfrimer , leader of the Heimwehr in Styria, was fundamentally opposed to participating in the election, while his chief of staff, Rauter, pursued the idea of an electoral alliance with
9120-518: Was difficult to take the Schuschnigg dictatorship completely seriously, although Schutzbunders tried in 1935 got mercilessly severe sentences. This was because of Austrian gentleness, Austrian genius for compromise, Austrian love for cloudy legal abstractions, and Austrian Schlamperei . According to the Hossbach Memorandum , Hitler in November 1937 declared his plans for an Austrian campaign in
9216-466: Was the regional leader of the Heimatwehr in Tyrol until 1936. His deputies either supported or held parliamentary seats with the Greater German People's Party ( Großdeutsche Volkspartei ), an Austrian political party calling for unification with Germany. The group's statutes listed four program points: Their program also emphasized the "exclusion of all party politics" and stated that as
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