Austrian Nazism

Austrian Nazism or Austrian National Socialism was a pan-German movement that was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. The movement took a concrete form on 15 November 1903 when the German Worker's Party (DAP) was established in Austria with its secretariat stationed in the town of Aussig (now Ústí nad Labem in the Czech Republic). It was suppressed under the rule of Engelbert Dollfuss (1932–34), with its political organization, the DNSAP ("German National Socialist Workers' Party") banned in early 1933, but was revived and made part of the German Nazi Party after the German annexation of Austria in 1938.^[16]

German National Socialist Workers' Party Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei
Abbreviation	DNSAP
Landesinspekteur	Theodor Habicht[1][2]
Landesleiter	Hermann Neubacher Josef Leopold[3][4]
Founders	Alfred Proksch[5] ... and others Franko Stein Ludwig Vogel Hans Knirsch Rudolf Jung Hans Krebs Walter Riehl
Founded	5 May 1918; 106 years ago (5 May 1918)
Banned	19 June 1933; 91 years ago (19 June 1933)[6][7]
Preceded by	German Workers' Party[8]
Paramilitary wings	Austrian Legion
Membership	34,000 (1923 est.)[9]
Ideology	Nazism[10][11] Pan-Germanism[12] Austro-German nationalism Anti-Marxism[13][14] Volksgemeinschaft
Political position	Far-right
Electoral alliance	Christian National Congregation [de] (1922 [de])[15]
Colours	Brown
Politics of Austria Political parties Elections

Origins

Franko Stein from Eger (now Cheb, Czech Republic) and an apprentice bookbinder Ludwig Vogel from Brüx (now Most, Czech Republic), organised the Deutschnationaler Arbeiterbund (German National Workers' League) in 1893. It was a collection of labourers, apprentices, and trade unionists from the railroads, mines, and textile industries, who upheld nationalism as a result of their conflicts with the non-German-speaking portions of the workforce, especially in the railway systems. In 1899, Stein was able to convene a workers' congress in Eger and promulgated a 25-point program.

Another convention was called in April 1902, under the title of "German-Political Workers' Association for Austria" (German: Deutschpolitischer Arbeiterverein für Österreich), in Saaz. In Aussig, on 15 November 1903, they reorganized under the name of the "German Workers' Party in Austria" (German: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei in Österreich). At further party congresses, Hans Knirsch proposed to call themselves the "Nationalsozialistische" (National-Socialist) or "Deutsch-Soziale" (German-social) Workers' Party. The Bohemian groups blocked the proposal, who did not want to copy the name of the Czech National Social Party. An early member of this group is Ferdinand Burschowsky, a printer from Hohenstadt (Moravia), who was active in writing and publishing.

DNSAP

At a party congress in Vienna in May 1918, the DAP changed its name to the Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei (DNSAP). It produced a National Socialist Program, which is thought to have influenced the later German Nazi manifesto.^{[citation needed]} From 1920, the swastika was added as the party symbol. Before 1920, it consisted of a hammer, oak leaves and a quill.^[17][18]

The Austrian DNSAP split into several factions in 1923 and again in 1926, the Deutschsozialer Verein (German-Social Association) led by Dr. Walter Riehl, the Schulz-Gruppe,^[19][20] NSDAP-Hitlerbewegung [de], and other splinter groups.^[21] After 1930, most former DNSAP members became supporters of the German NSDAP led by Austrian-born Adolf Hitler and were one of the chief elements leading the pro-Nazi coup in 1938 that brought about the Anschluss of Austria with Germany.

According to fascism scholar Stanley G. Payne, if elections had been held in 1933, the DNSAP might have mustered about 25% of the votes.^{[citation needed]} Contemporary Time magazine analysts suggested a higher support of 50%, with a 75% approval rate in the Tyrol region bordering Nazi Germany.^[22]

Leaders of the party, who were dubbed Landesleiter due to the recognition of Hitler as overall Führer, included Alfred Proksch (1931–33), Hermann Neubacher (1935) and Josef Leopold (1936–38), although real power frequently lay with Theodor Habicht, a German sent by Hitler to oversee Nazi activity in Austria.

Election results

National Council

Date	Votes			Seats		Position	Size
	No.	%	± pp	No.	±
1919	23,334	0.78	n/a	0 / 170	n/a	Extra-parliamentary	16th
1920	n/a	n/a	n/a	0 / 183	±0	Extra-parliamentary	n/a
1923	did not run
1927	26,991	0.74	n/a	0 / 165	n/a	Extra-parliamentary	5th[note 1]
1930	111,627	3.03	+ 2.3	0 / 165	±0	Extra-parliamentary	5th[note 2]

Notes

1. Völkisch-Sozialer Block, joint list of NSDAP–Hitler movement and Hans Kipper's "League of the Free". In one Lower Austrian constituency, the NSDAP ran separately, receiving 779 votes. Riehl and Schulz groups ran on the Unity List with Christian Social Party and Greater German People's Party, but also won no seat.
2. Only NSDAP–Hitler movement. The Schulz group ran as part of the National Economy Bloc with Greater German People's Party and Landbund, but also won no seat.

See also

• Nazi Party
• Austrian SS
• Austrofascism
• Austria within Nazi Germany
• Timeline of the Weimar Republic
• German Workers' Party (Austria-Hungary)

References

Notes

1. Miller & Schulz 2017, pp. 362–363.
2. Rees (1990), p.169
3. Rees (1990), p.229
4. Parkinson, F. (1989) Conquering the Past: Austrian Nazism Yesterday and Today. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p.49. ISBN 978-0-8143-2055-6
5. Rees (1990), p.305
6. "Austrian Nazis Are Outlawed", Montreal Gazette, (June 20, 1933), p. 1.
7. Bukey 2002, p. 44.
8. Lauridsen, John T. (2007) Nazism and the Radical Right in Austria, 1918-1934. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press. p.283 ISBN 978-87-635-0221-4
9. Kriechbaumer, Robert (2001), Die großen Erzählungen der Politik. Politische Kultur und Parteien in Österreich von der Jahrhundertwende bis 1945, Schriftenreihe des Forschungsinstitutes für politisch-historische Studien der Dr.-Wilfried-Haslauer-Bibliothek, Salzburg 12 (in German), Wien / Köln / Weimar: Böhlau, p. 775, ISBN 3-205-99400-0
10. Whiteside (1962), pp.1–3
11. Nicholls, David (2000) Adolf Hitler: A Biographical Companion. ABC-CLIO. pp.236–37. ISBN 978-0-87436-965-6
12. Wladika, Michael (2005), Hitlers Vätergeneration: Die Ursprünge des Nationalsozialismus in der k.u.k. Monarchie (in German), Böhlau Verlag, p. 157, ISBN 978-3-205-77337-5
13. Wladika, Michael (2005), Hitlers Vätergeneration: Die Ursprünge des Nationalsozialismus in der k.u.k. Monarchie (in German), Böhlau Verlag, p. 157, ISBN 9783205773375
14. David Nicholls. Adolf Hitler: A Biographical Companion. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000. pp. 236–37.
15. Voithofer, Richard (2000) "Drum schliesst Euch frisch an Deutschland an …". Die Grossdeutsche Volkspartei in Salzburg 1920–1936 Böhlau, Wien/Köln/Weimar. pp.188–198
16. Kirk, Timothy (1996). Nazism and the Working Class in Austria. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-47501-3.
17. Jungcurt, Uta (2016). Alldeutscher Extremismus in der Weimarer Republik. Denken und Handeln einer einflussreichen Minderheit. Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 150
18. [https://arplan.org/2019/10/17/german-national-socialist-workers-party ("National Socialists Before Hitler, Part IV: The German National Socialist Workers’ Party (DNSAP)")
19. Dirk Hänisch (1998), Die österreichischen NSDAP-Wähler: Eine empirische Analyse ihrer politischen Herkunft und ihres Sozialprofils, Böhlaus Zeitgeschichtliche Bibliothek 35 Helmut Konrad (in German), Wien / Köln / Weimar: Böhlau, pp. 71 f., ISBN 3-205-98714-4
20. aieou: http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.n/n122448.htm Nationalsozialismus
21. Der Zwist der Nationalsozialisten. In: Salzburger Volksblatt, 6 September 1926, p. 1 (Online at ANNO)Template:ANNO/Maintenance/svb
22. "AUSTRIA: Eve of Renewal". Time. September 25, 1933. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011.

Bibliography

• Bukey, Evan Burr (2002). Hitler's Austria: Popular Sentiment in the Nazi Era, 1938–1945. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-5363-4.
• Miller, Michael D.; Schulz, Andreas (2017). Gauleiter : the regional leaders of the Nazi party and their deputies, 1925-1945. San Jose, Calif.: R.James Bender Publishing. ISBN 978-1-932970-21-0.
• Rees, Philip (1990) Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-13-089301-7
• Whiteside, Andrew Gladding (1962) Austrian National Socialism Before 1918. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.

Further reading

• Pauley, Bruce F. (1981) Hitler and the Forgotten Nazis: A History of Austrian National Socialism. Chapel Hill, North CarolinaL University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-1456-3
• Pauley, Bruce F. (1979). "From Splinter Party to Mass Movement: The Austrian Nazi Breakthrough". German Studies Review. 2 (1). German Studies Association: 7–29. doi:10.2307/1428703. JSTOR 1428703.