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AustrofascismAustrofascism 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 (Vaterlndische Front) and the Heimwehr (Homeguard) paramilitary units. Leaders were Engelbert Dollfu and, after Dollfu' assassination, Kurt Schuschnigg, who originally were politicians of the Christian Socialist 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 Stndestaat (State of Estates). Notably, in the Stndestaat constitution, Austria was not a republic, but its official name was Bundesstaat sterreich (Federation of Austria), which belies the fact that the country's constituent parts, the States of Austria, effectively had less powers than under the 1920 constitution. History In March 1933, Dollfu began his authoritarian strategy with a strong stance against the opposition social democrats, who responded with the February Uprising of 1934. Dollfu 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 Even though the term "Austrofascism" was used by the proponents of the regime itself, it is disputed until today. On a political level, criticism sometimes comes from representatives of the Austrian People's Party (VP; the post-WW2 successors of the Christian Socialists), some of whom fail to distance themselves from the regime. They usually stress the Austro-fascists' merits in fighting for Austria's independence and against Nazism. It is often criticized by other parties that the VP keeps a picture of Dollfu -- 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 a character (which locked away members of the opposition in concentration camps called Anhaltelager), some historians argue that it lacked certain characteristics of true fascism. Even though 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 was also not targeting minorities or engaging in any sort of expansionism. According to some historians, Austrofascism was a contrived and desperate attempt to "overhitler" the Nazis, a term used by Dollfu himself. They argue that Dollfu was rather interested in a renaissance of Catholicism 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, where, however, some parallels to Spain under Franco cannot be overlooked. Both Italian Fascism and in National Socialism also incorporated a traditionalist school represented n Italy e.g. by Julius Evola and in Germany by Carl Schmitt. Thus, Austrofascism is sometimes also called imitation fascism. External links
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