Austrofascism
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Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria between 1934 and 1938. It was based on a ruling party, the Patriotic Front (Vaterländische Front) and the Heimwehr (Homeguard) paramilitary units. Leaders were Engelbert Dollfuß and, after Dollfuß's assassination, Kurt Schuschnigg, who originally were politicians of the Christian Social Party, which was quickly integrated into the new movement.
Origins and Ideology
The system of Austrofascism was partly based on Mussolini's Italian fascism and conservative Political Catholicism (Clerical Fascism). Its basis was laid in the Korneuburg Program of the Christian Socialist Party on May 18, 1930. Effectively, it meant that the democratic constitution and parliamentarism were replaced by an authoritarian system, the so-called Ständestaat (State of Estates).Notably, in the Ständestaat constitution, Austria was not a republic, but its official name was Bundesstaat Österreich (Federation of Austria), which belies the fact that the country's constituent parts, the States of Austria, effectively had fewer powers than under the 1920 constitution.
History
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Definition Definitions of fascism Varieties and derivatives of fascism Italian fascism Nazism Neo-Fascism Rexism Falangism Ustaše Clerical fascism Austrofascism Crypto-fascism Japanese fascism Greek fascism Brazilian Integralism Fascist political parties and movements Fascism as an international phenomenon List of fascist movements by country
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In March 1933, Dollfuß began his authoritarian strategy with a strong stance against the opposition social democrats, who responded with the February Uprising of 1934. Dollfuß completed his work with the constitution of May 1, 1934. Austrofascism then remained in place until the Anschluss to Germany in 1938.
Criticism of the Term
Although the term "Austrofascism" was used by the proponents of the regime itself, it is still disputed today. On a political level, criticism sometimes comes from representatives of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP; the post-WW2 successors of the Christian Social Party), some of whom do not distance themselves from the regime. They usually stress the Austro-fascists' merits in fighting for Austria's independence and against Nazism. Other parties often critizise the ÖVP for keeping a picture of Dollfuß — the man who abolished parlamentarism — on one of the walls of its offices in the Austrian parliament.
While it is undisputed that the regime was an authoritarian dictatorship in character (it locked away members of the opposition in concentration camps called Anhaltelager), some historians argue that it lacked certain characteristics of true fascism. Although the Patriotic Front used fascist symbols (such as the Kruckenkreuz) and was meant to be a party of the masses, it lacked a solid basis in the population. The government also did not target minorities or engage in any sort of expansionism.
According to some historians, Austrofascism was a contrived and desperate attempt to "out-Hitler" ("überhitlern") the Nazis, a term used by Dollfuß himself. They argue that Dollfuß was interested in a renaissance of Catholicism rather than in a totalitarian state, meaning that he wanted to return to the time before the ideas of the French Revolution of 1789 took hold. Ernst Hanisch, for example, speaks of semi-fascism. Some parallels to Spain under Francisco Franco cannot be overlooked. Austrofascism is sometimes also called imitation fascism.
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