First Republic of Austria - Austrofascism

Austrofascism

Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss of the Christian Social Party took power in Austria in 1932, and moved the party and Austria towards dictatorship, centralization and fascism. In 1933, Dollfuss took advantage of an error in a bill in parliament, and his cabinet voted to dissolve the National Council and declared that parliament ceased to function.

The government was in competition with the growing Austrian Nazi party, which wanted Austria to join Germany. Dollfuss's Austrofascism tied Austria's roots with Roman Catholicism to the government, as a means to show reason to why Austria should not join a predominantly Protestant Germany. Violence escalated into civil war between Nazis, socialists, and Austrofascists.

On May 1, 1934, Dollfuss created a one-party state, to be led by the Fatherland Front (German: Vaterländische Front), with the proclamation of the authoritarian "May Constitution". Federalism and the controlling powers of the Federal Council was curtailed, while elections for the National Council was abolished, its members instead nominated by four non-elective, corporatist-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 appointment was 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 on July 25, 1934 (see Maiverfassung 1934).

This assassination by the Austrian Nazis infuriated Austria's neighbor, Fascist Italy under dictator Benito Mussolini. 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, maintained the ban on Nazi activities, but also banned Austria's national paramilitary force, the Heimwehr, in 1936.