Fascism in Interwar Austria

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses fascism. The paper looks at fascism's nature and its relationship to conservatives in interwar Austria. It specifically looks at the period between World War I and World War II. The paper focuses on Italian and German power at the time and the grim choice that Austria found itself faced with - of succumbing to Italian or to German rule.

From the Paper:

"In Austria, a strong fascist party rose, although it could not get control of the government. Austria was unique in Europe in lacking a strong nationalistic element. It had been stripped of its empire in the Great War. (Woolf 4) The resulting nation, a shadow of its former self, was politically divided between socialist Vienna and the surrounding provinces which were traditionally conservative and terrified in their antisocialism. (Carsten 223) The fascists formed the Heimwehr (local defense force) as a vehicle to address these fears in the Stryia province. Drawing on a strong feeling of localism against any internationalism, the Heimwehr formed working alliances with the leading mining corporation, under which all workers had to have a membership card, which the Heimwehr would issue only to those who renounced socialist unions. Further, the Heimwehr used thugs to break up strikes, to the delight of the authoritarian conservative provincial governments. (Woolf 7)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Stadler, K. R. "Austria." In S. J. Woolf, ed., European Fascism. London, England: Wiedenfield and Nicolson, 1968. pp. 88-110.
• Carsten, F. L. The Rise of Fascism. Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1980.
• Blinkhorn, Martin. "Allies, Rivals, or Antagonists? Fascists and Conservatives in Modern Europe." In Martin Blinkhorn, ed. Fascists and Conservatives. London, England: Unwin Hyman, 1990. pp. 1-13.
• Woolf, S.J. "Introduction." In S. J. Woolf, ed., European Fascism. London, England: Wiedenfield and Nicolson, 1968. pp. 1-17.
• Vita-Finzi, "Italian Fascism and the intellectuals." In S.J. Woolf, ed. Nature of Fascism. London, England: Wiedenfield and Nicolson, 1968. pp. 226-44.

More papers on Fascism in Interwar Austria:

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• Essay # 63840 : "Re-visioning Fascism in Bertolucci's "1900"

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