The Austrian Civil War, also known as the February Uprising, is a term sometimes used for a few days of skirmishes between socialist and fascist forces between 12 February and 16 February 1934 in Austria. The clashes took place principally in the cities of Vienna and Linz. February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Inhabitants according to official census figures: 1800 to 2005 Vienna in 1858 UN complex in Vienna, with the non-affiliated Austria Center Vienna in front - picture taken from Danube Tower in nearby Danube Park. ... Map of Austria, locating Linz Linz is a city and Statutarstadt in northeast Austria, on the Danube river. ...

Origins of the conflict

After the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (following World War I), the state of Austria - comprising, by and large, the German-speaking parts of the former empire - became constituted as a parliamentary democracy. Two major factions dominated politics in the new nation: socialists (represented politically by the Social Democratic Party of Austria) and conservatives (politically represented by the Christian Social Party). The socialists found their strongholds in the working-class districts of the cities, while the conservatives could build on the support of the rural population and of most of the upper classes. The conservatives also maintained close alliances with the Roman Catholic Church, and could count among their ranks some leading clerics. Official languages Latin, German, Hungarian Established church Roman Catholic Capital & Largest City Vienna pop. ... Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard... Motto: none Anthem: (German for Land of Mountains, Land on the River) Capital (largest city) Vienna German (official) Slovenian (reg. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... A parliamentary system, or parliamentarism, is distinguished by the executive branch of government being dependent on the direct or indirect support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence. ... Socialism is a class of ideologies favouring a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... The Social Democratic Party of Austria (de:Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. ... This article deals with conservatism as a political philosophy. ... The Christian Social Party (CS) was an Austrian political party from 1893 to 1933 and a predecessor of the contemporary Austrian Peoples Party. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see Terminology, below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus, with its traditions first established by the Twelve Apostles and maintained through...

As in most of the nascent European democracies of the time, politics in Austria took on a highly ideological flavour. Both the socialist and the conservative camp did not merely consist of political parties, but possessed far-ranging power structures, including their own paramilitary forces. The conservatives began organizing the Heimwehr ('home guard') in 1921-1923; the Social Democrats organized paramilitaries called the Schutzbund ('protection league') after 1923 when members of the fascist Heimwehr shot an elderly man and a child in Schattendorf Minor. Altercations and clashes between these forces (at political rallies, etc.) occurred not infrequently. European redirects here. ... A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organised in a military fashion. ... The Heimwehr (German Home Guard) were a Nationalist, initially paramilitary grouping, operating within Austria during the 1920s and 1930s; they were similar in methods, organisation, and ideology to Germanys Freikorp. ... The Heimwehr (German Home Guard) were a Nationalist, initially paramilitary grouping, operating within Austria during the 1920s and 1930s; they were similar in methods, organisation, and ideology to Germanys Freikorp. ...

A first major incident ensued early in 1927, when members of the Frontkämpfervereinigung ("Front Combat Union" - a paramilitary association likewise affiliated with the conservative camp) shot and killed an eight-year-old boy and a war-veteran marching with the Schutzbund in a counter-demonstration. In July a jury acquitted three defendants in the case, which led to outrage in the leftist camp and to the so-called July Revolt of 1927. On 15 July 1927 a general strike occurred, and demonstrations took place in the capital. After the storming of a police station, security forces started shooting at demonstrators. An angry mob then set fire to the Palace of Justice (Justizpalast), seen as a symbol of a flawed and partial judicial system. Altogether, 89 people (85 of them demonstrators) lost their lives in the conflict, and many hundreds suffered injury. Surprisingly, the violence soon died down and the factions took their battle from the streets back into the political institutions. During the Austrian July Revolt of 1927, 85 protesters were killed by Austrian police forces, while four policemen died, on July 15, 1927. ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... A general strike is a strike action by an entire labour force in a city, region or country. ...

However, the travails of the First Republic only got worse in the following years. The Great Depression also showed its effects in Austria, resulting in high unemployment and massive inflation. In addition, from 1933 - the year Hitler became Chancellor of Germany - National Socialist sympathizers (who wanted a unification of Austria with Hitler's Germany) threatened the Austrian state from within. Around the world there have been a number of First Republics: French First Republic - 1792 First Spanish Republic First Philippine Republic In Italy the term First Republic is used informally to refer to the period up to 1991, when a series of scandals (mainly bribery) hit many politicians. ... The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn which started in 1929 (although its effects were not fully felt until late 1930) and lasted through most of the 1930s. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ...

The conflict

On March 4, 1933, Christian Social Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss suspended the Austrian Parliament. In a close vote (on railway workers' wages) in the National Council, each of the three presidents of parliament resigned their position in order to cast a ballot, leaving nobody to preside over the meeting. Even though the bylaws could have resolved this situation, Dollfuss used this opportunity to declare that parliament had ceased to function, and blocked all attempts to reconvene it. The Social Democratic Party had thus lost its major platform for political action. The conservatives, who had lost some local elections recently and feared that they soon would lose power on the national level, could now rule by decree on the basis of a 1917 emergency law, without checks on their power, and began to suspend civil liberties. They banned the Schutzbund - the socialist paramilitary organization - and imprisoned many of its members. March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Chancellor of Austria (in German: Bundeskanzler) is the head of government in Austria. ... Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuss (German: Dollfuß) (October 4, 1892, Texing—July 25, 1934, Vienna) was an Austrian statesman, serving as chancellor for two years from 1932 until his assassination in 1934. ... The National Council or Nationalrat is one of the two houses of the Federal Assembly, the bicameral federal parliament of the Federal Republic of Austria. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

On 12 February 1934, a forced search in the city of Linz of premises belonging to the Social Democratic Party sparked off armed conflict between government forces (police and paramilitaries) and the outlawed, but still existent, socialist paramilitaries. Skirmishes between the two camps spread to other cities and towns in Austria, with the heat of the action occurring in Vienna. There, members of the Schutzbund barricaded themselves in city council housing estates (Gemeindebauten), the symbols and strongholds for the socialist movement in Austria. Police and paramilitaries took up positions outside these complexes and opened fire. Fighting also occurred in industrial towns such as Steyr, Sankt Pölten, Weiz, Eggenberg bei Graz, Kapfenberg, Bruck an der Mur and Wörgl. February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Map of Austria, locating Linz Linz is a city and Statutarstadt in northeast Austria, on the Danube river. ... Inhabitants according to official census figures: 1800 to 2005 Vienna in 1858 UN complex in Vienna, with the non-affiliated Austria Center Vienna in front - picture taken from Danube Tower in nearby Danube Park. ... The Karl-Marx-Hof in Vienna A Gemeindebau (German for municipality building) is a residential building erected by a municipality, usually to provide low-cost public housing. ... Quayside at Enns river Steyr is a town (population 39,495 as of 2001) in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria, located at the confluence of the rivers Steyr and Enns. ... The title of this article contains the character ö. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Sankt Poelten. ... Weiz is a small town of 8,943 inhabitants in the eastern part of Styria, Austria. ... Kapfenberg (around 22. ... Bruck an der Mur is a city in the Austrian province of Styria. ... Wörgl is a town in Tyrol, Austria, in the Kufstein district. ...

An apparently decisive moment in the events came with the entry of the Austrian military into the conflict. Though the army remained still a comparatively independent institution, the military leadership decided to follow the government’s calls to assist the police in its actions against the socialist paramilitaries. Under fire now by the army's light artillery, the socialist fighters soon surrendered. By 16 February 1934 the Austrian Civil War had ended. February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The fallout

Several hundred people (including paramilitaries, members of the security forces and civilians) died in the armed conflict; more than a thousand suffered wounds. The authorities tried several ringleaders under the provisions of martial law and executed them. Leading socialist politicians managed to escape the country. The incidents of February 1934 were taken as a pretext by the government to prohibit the Social Democratic Party and its affiliated trade unions altogether. In May, the conservatives broke with any pretence of still working inside of the constitutional framework. They declared the democratic constitution invalid and put in its place a corporatist constitution modeled along the lines of Mussolini's fascist Italy. The authoritarian regime in place was called Austrofascism or Ständestaat. The Patriotic Front (Vaterländische Front), into which the Heimwehr and the Christian Social Party were merged, became the only legal political party. A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... Benito Mussolini created a fascist state through the use of propaganda, total control of the media and disassembly of the working democratic government. ... Supporters of the Austrian Christian Social Party in 1934 Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria between 1934 and 1938. ... Supporters of the Austrian Christian Social Party in 1934 Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria between 1934 and 1938. ... The Vaterländische Front (VF, English: Patriotic Front) was a right-wing Austrian political party. ...

Long-term effects

Though small in scale in an international comparison (and small in scale indeed in the light of the horrible events of World War II which soon followed), the Austrian Civil War nevertheless proved a decisive moment in the history of the Republic. After World War II, when Austria re-emerged on the political landscape as a sovereign nation, politics again fell under the domination of the Social Democrats and the conservatives, who now formed a party called the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). However, so as to avoid a repeat of the bitter divisions of the First Republic, the leaders of the Second Republic were determined to put the idea of broad consensus at the heart of the new political system. The concept of the 'Grand Coalition' was introduced, in which the two major parties (Social Democrats and People's Party) shared in the government and avoided open confrontation. This system brought with it stability and continuity, but ultimately lead to other political repercussions (also see Proporz). But the events of the Austrian Civil War had persuaded many in the political establishment (and, indeed, the population at large) that a slow pace of political reform was a small price to pay for social calm. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The Austrian Peoples Party (de:Österreichische Volkspartei, or ÖVP) is an Austrian political party. ... // Overview Proporz is a long standing doctrine within the politics of the second Austrian republic. ...

However, Austrian political parties often stand accused of having done little to come to terms with the past. In particular, representatives of the Austrian People's Party sometimes argue the necessity of the abolition of democracy in order to fight Nazism, and the party's parliamentary faction still has a picture of Dollfuss, the chancellor who suspended parliament, in its office rooms. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

See also

• Austrofascism
• History of Austria

Supporters of the Austrian Christian Social Party in 1934 Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria between 1934 and 1938. ... This is the history of Austria. ...

References

• Strohal, Eberhard (1988). Die Erste Republik (series title: kurz & bündig). Vienna: hpt-Verlag.