German nationalism in Austria
Encyclopedia
German nationalism is a political ideology and a current in Austrian politics
. It has its origins in the German National Movement of the 19th century, a nationalist movement of the German-speaking population in the Austro-Hungarian Empire
and had striven for a closer connection of the German-speaking Austrians to Germany, or even the link-up ("Anschluss") to a Greater Germany
. During the Habsburg monarchy, the First and the Second Austrian Republic, several political parties and clubs have adhered to German nationalism. The national liberal and German national parties have been termed as the Third Camp ("Drittes Lager"), as it has traditionally been the third force in Austrian politics, next to Catholic conservatives and socialists. Nowadays, German nationalism is represented in the Freedom Party of Austria
.
/49, the different ethnic groups in the Habsburg Monarchy, namely the Czechs in Bohemia, demanded political, economic, and cultural equality with the German-speaking population that benefitted from privileges dating back to the times of Empress Maria Theresa, and Emperor Joseph II
. Therefore, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was characterized by the nationalities' conflicts from the 1870s until the demise of the Empire in 1918. After the Prussian victory in the battle of Königgrätz
(1866), the German-speaking Austrians felt squeezed out of Germany, and feared to be demoted to just one of the several ethnic groups in the multinational Danube Monarchy. The conflicts between German and Czech populations intensified when in 1879 minister-president Eduard Taaffe
formed a government of Cisleithania
(Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) without the participation of the German-Liberal Party (Deutschliberale Partei). This national liberal party had been the main representative of the German-speaking bourgeoisie. Thereupon, the more radical German National Movement accused the German-Liberal Party of not representing the German's rights sufficiently.
In 1880, the "German Schools Society" (Deutscher Schulverein) was formed as a protection association in regions with a German-speaking minority. Reacting to an Austro-Hungarian languages act, the society promoted the establishment of German schools in communities where public means would not fund a school for the children of the German-speaking population.
In 1882, different German national groups and intellectuals published the Linz Program
which demanded a fixation of the German predominance and the complete Germanization of the Habsburg Empire. The manifesto was signed by the radical German nationalist and anti-semite Georg von Schönerer
, as well as Vienna's populist mayor Karl Lueger
, who also was a staunch anti-semite, but loyal to the Catholic Church and the Habsburg dynasty, and the Jewish social democrat Victor Adler
. The heterogenous group of signatories of the Linz program quickly drifted apart, when Schönerer revised the program and added an "Aryan paragraph
" in 1885.
Schönerer founded the German National Society, and later, in 1891 the Pan-German Society, demanding the accession of all German-speaking territories of the Danube Monarchy to the German Empire
, and decidedly rejecting Austrian patriotism. His radical and racist German nationalism was especially popular among well-educated, academic circles: professors, grammar school teachers, and students. School administrations reacted with, unsuccessfully, imposing Austrian patriotism and emperor cult. Vienna's mayor Karl Lueger even tried to dismiss all "Schönerians" from the teaching service – without success. The German Club, on the other hand, accepted the Habsburg dynasty and the sovereignty of Austria. The majority of German nationalists and national liberals adhered to this more moderate current.
From the 1880s on, the German national camp was fragmented into several splinter parties and factions. The most radical among them was the German Workers' Party
, formed in 1903, that later transformed into the Austrian wing of the German National Socialist Workers' Party
. After the 1911 elections for the Austrian Imperial Council, the German National Association formed the largest parliamentary group. At the end of First World War, it disintegrated again into its seventeen components.
After World War I
and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
the state adopted the name German Austria
(Deutsch-Österreich) which covered all of the German-speaking parts of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire excluding all of the Kingdom of Hungary
.
The state declared itself a "provisional national assembly of the independent German Austrian state" and on November 11, German Austria was officially and legally declared a republic. The provisional national assembly drafted provisional constitution that stated that "German Austria is a democratic republic" (Article 1) and "German Austria is a component of the German Republic
" (Article 2). Later plebiscites in the provinces of Tyrol and Salzburg yielded majorities of 98 and 99% in favor of a unification with Germany.
The German nationalists
inside of German Austria were strongly desiring for the hope of a Greater Germany. However, this was restricted by The Allies of World War I
as it strictly forbid the union between German Austria and Germany.
In September 10, 1919, Karl Renner signed the Treaty of Saint Germain and "German Austria" was changed to "Austria" and any attempt to unify Austria with Germany was banned. This is sometimes called a "pre-Anschluss
" attempt, from then on the First Austrian Republic began.
and the agrarian Landbund
. Initially relatively influential, the two groupings rapidly lost their shares of the votes to the Christian Socials and the Socialists
, that both accepted the interdiction of linking up with Germany by the Treaty of Saint Germain. The German national idea of the "Anschluss" to a Greater Germany was incorporated by the Austrian National Socialists
that decended from the German national camp. In 1933, Nazis and Greater Germanists formed an action group.
regime of chancellors Engelbert Dollfuss
, who was assassinated by the Nazis, and Kurt Schuschnigg
. Their Fatherland Front defended the independence of Austria with protection of Mussolini's Italy, while the Nazis strove for a quick link-up with Hitler's Germany. While Hitler, a native of Austria, annexing Austria in 1938, and its unification (Anschluss
) to the Greater German Empire, the historical aim of the German national movement was achieved. The German national camp was practically absorbed into the Nazi Party (NSDAP).
, and the Socialist Party, both promoted Austrian independence and considered the Greater German idea to be ultimately of the past. Moreover, all former members of the Nazi party were banned from any political activity, they were even disenfranchised. However, the German national and national liberal camp was revived, in form of the Federation of Independents
(Verband der Unabhängigen), which also fought the De-nazification laws and represented the interests of former Nazis, Wehrmacht, and SS soldiers. In 1956, it was transformed into the Freedom Party of Austria
. In the 1950s and 1960s, the German national camp, represented by the affiliated organisations of the Freedom Party, were very active at the universities, where the Burschenschaft
en (duelling fraternities) spread their German national and liberal ideology. Inside the Freedom Party, the liberal wing grew stronger and gradually Austrian patriotism was incorporated in the party's ideology. During Norbert Steger
's party leadership from 1980-1986 and the Freedom Party's participation in a coalition government with the Social Democrats, the German national faction was weakened.
By contrast, Jörg Haider
's takeover of the party leadership in 1986, was considered a triumph of the German national factions. However, Haider's right-wing populism did not stress the German national origins, as the connection to Germany is not an issue with which elections can be won. No more than 17 percent of the Freedom Party's voters question the existence of an Austrian nation and only 6 percent of all Austrians identify themselves as "Germans". The German nationalistic influence could still be seen in the hostile position towards Austria's Slavic minorities, as the Carinthian Slovenes
in the conflict over bilingual town signs, rejection of immigration and European integration. Nowadays, the German national wing is only a minor faction inside the Freedom Party. German nationalists, including Andreas Mölzer
, and Martin Graf
, now refer to themselves as "cultural Germans" (Kulturdeutsche), and stress the identity of Austrians as "Germans
" in contrast to a distinct "Austrian national identity".
Politics of Austria
The Politics of Austria take place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, with a Federal Chancellor as the head of government, and a Federal President as head of state. Executive power is exercised by the governments, both local and federal...
. It has its origins in the German National Movement of the 19th century, a nationalist movement of the German-speaking population in the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and had striven for a closer connection of the German-speaking Austrians to Germany, or even the link-up ("Anschluss") to a Greater Germany
German question
The German question was a debate in the 19th century, especially during the Revolutions of 1848, over the best way to achieve the Unification of Germany. From 1815–1871, a number of 37 independent German-speaking states existed within the German Confederation...
. During the Habsburg monarchy, the First and the Second Austrian Republic, several political parties and clubs have adhered to German nationalism. The national liberal and German national parties have been termed as the Third Camp ("Drittes Lager"), as it has traditionally been the third force in Austrian politics, next to Catholic conservatives and socialists. Nowadays, German nationalism is represented in the Freedom Party of Austria
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents , which had...
.
In the Habsburg Monarchy
In the conflict of nationalities in nineteenth century's Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the German National Movement (Deutschnationale Bewegung) advocated Greater German, anti-semitic, and anti-clerical tendencies. Since the Revolutions of 1848Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
/49, the different ethnic groups in the Habsburg Monarchy, namely the Czechs in Bohemia, demanded political, economic, and cultural equality with the German-speaking population that benefitted from privileges dating back to the times of Empress Maria Theresa, and Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
. Therefore, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was characterized by the nationalities' conflicts from the 1870s until the demise of the Empire in 1918. After the Prussian victory in the battle of Königgrätz
Battle of Königgrätz
The Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...
(1866), the German-speaking Austrians felt squeezed out of Germany, and feared to be demoted to just one of the several ethnic groups in the multinational Danube Monarchy. The conflicts between German and Czech populations intensified when in 1879 minister-president Eduard Taaffe
Eduard Taaffe, 11th Viscount Taaffe
Eduard Franz Joseph, 11th Viscount Taaffe was an Austrian statesman who held a hereditary peerage in the Peerage of Ireland.-Family background and early years:...
formed a government of Cisleithania
Cisleithania
Cisleithania was a name of the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in 1867 and dissolved in 1918. The name was used by politicians and bureaucrats, but it had no official status...
(Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) without the participation of the German-Liberal Party (Deutschliberale Partei). This national liberal party had been the main representative of the German-speaking bourgeoisie. Thereupon, the more radical German National Movement accused the German-Liberal Party of not representing the German's rights sufficiently.
In 1880, the "German Schools Society" (Deutscher Schulverein) was formed as a protection association in regions with a German-speaking minority. Reacting to an Austro-Hungarian languages act, the society promoted the establishment of German schools in communities where public means would not fund a school for the children of the German-speaking population.
In 1882, different German national groups and intellectuals published the Linz Program
Linz Program of 1882
The Linz Program of 1882 was a political platform that called for the complete Germanization of the Austrian state. It was created in response to the rising social, economic and political position of the Slavic peoples within the Austria-Hungary Dual Monarchy...
which demanded a fixation of the German predominance and the complete Germanization of the Habsburg Empire. The manifesto was signed by the radical German nationalist and anti-semite Georg von Schönerer
Georg Ritter von Schönerer
Georg Ritter von Schönerer was an Austrian politician active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a major exponent of German nationalism in Austria....
, as well as Vienna's populist mayor Karl Lueger
Karl Lueger
Karl Lueger was an Austrian politician and mayor of Vienna. The populist and anti-Semitic politics of his Christian Social Party are sometimes viewed as a model for Hitler's Nazism.- Career :...
, who also was a staunch anti-semite, but loyal to the Catholic Church and the Habsburg dynasty, and the Jewish social democrat Victor Adler
Victor Adler
----Victor Adler was an Austrian Social Democratic leader.Born in Prague, Adler received a university degree in Vienna in 1881. He founded the Socialist movement in Austria and created the Marxist journals Gleicheit in 1886 and Arbeiter-Zeitung in 1889...
. The heterogenous group of signatories of the Linz program quickly drifted apart, when Schönerer revised the program and added an "Aryan paragraph
Aryan paragraph
An Aryan paragraph is a clause in the statutes of an organization, corporation, or real estate deed that reserves membership and/or right of residence solely for members of the Aryan race and excludes from such rights any non-Aryans, particularly Jews or those of Jewish descent, as well as to those...
" in 1885.
Schönerer founded the German National Society, and later, in 1891 the Pan-German Society, demanding the accession of all German-speaking territories of the Danube Monarchy to the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, and decidedly rejecting Austrian patriotism. His radical and racist German nationalism was especially popular among well-educated, academic circles: professors, grammar school teachers, and students. School administrations reacted with, unsuccessfully, imposing Austrian patriotism and emperor cult. Vienna's mayor Karl Lueger even tried to dismiss all "Schönerians" from the teaching service – without success. The German Club, on the other hand, accepted the Habsburg dynasty and the sovereignty of Austria. The majority of German nationalists and national liberals adhered to this more moderate current.
From the 1880s on, the German national camp was fragmented into several splinter parties and factions. The most radical among them was the German Workers' Party
German Workers' Party (Austria-Hungary)
----The German Workers' Party in Austria-Hungary is the predecessor of the Austrian and Czechoslovak Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei , founded on 14 November 1903, in Aussig , Bohemia...
, formed in 1903, that later transformed into the Austrian wing of the German National Socialist Workers' Party
Austrian National Socialism
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 November 15, 1903 when the German Worker's Party was established in Austria with its secretariat stationed in the town of Aussig...
. After the 1911 elections for the Austrian Imperial Council, the German National Association formed the largest parliamentary group. At the end of First World War, it disintegrated again into its seventeen components.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
the state adopted the name German Austria
German Austria
Republic of German Austria was created following World War I as the initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking population within what had been the Austro-Hungarian Empire, without the Kingdom of Hungary, which in 1918 had become the Hungarian Democratic Republic.German...
(Deutsch-Österreich) which covered all of the German-speaking parts of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire excluding all of the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
.
The state declared itself a "provisional national assembly of the independent German Austrian state" and on November 11, German Austria was officially and legally declared a republic. The provisional national assembly drafted provisional constitution that stated that "German Austria is a democratic republic" (Article 1) and "German Austria is a component of the German Republic
German Republic
German Republic can refer to:*Weimar Republic*Federal Republic of Germany , also called Bonn Republic*Federal Republic of Germany , also called Berlin Republic*German Democratic Republic...
" (Article 2). Later plebiscites in the provinces of Tyrol and Salzburg yielded majorities of 98 and 99% in favor of a unification with Germany.
The German nationalists
Pan-Germanism
Pan-Germanism is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify the German-speaking populations of Europe in a single nation-state known as Großdeutschland , where "German-speaking" was taken to include the Low German, Frisian and Dutch-speaking populations of the Low...
inside of German Austria were strongly desiring for the hope of a Greater Germany. However, this was restricted by The Allies of World War I
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
as it strictly forbid the union between German Austria and Germany.
In September 10, 1919, Karl Renner signed the Treaty of Saint Germain and "German Austria" was changed to "Austria" and any attempt to unify Austria with Germany was banned. This is sometimes called a "pre-Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
" attempt, from then on the First Austrian Republic began.
During the First Republic (1919-1934)
In the First Austrian Republic (1919-1934), the German nationalists were represented in the Greater German People's PartyGreater German People's Party
The Greater German People's Party was a German nationalist and national liberal party during the First Republic of Austria.-Foundation:...
and the agrarian Landbund
Landbund
The Landbund was an Austrian political party during the period of the First Republic .-History:The Landbund was founded in 1919 as Deutsche Bauernpartei and represented liberal and protestant farmers in Styria, Carinthia and Upper Austria...
. Initially relatively influential, the two groupings rapidly lost their shares of the votes to the Christian Socials and the Socialists
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
, that both accepted the interdiction of linking up with Germany by the Treaty of Saint Germain. The German national idea of the "Anschluss" to a Greater Germany was incorporated by the Austrian National Socialists
Austrian National Socialism
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 November 15, 1903 when the German Worker's Party was established in Austria with its secretariat stationed in the town of Aussig...
that decended from the German national camp. In 1933, Nazis and Greater Germanists formed an action group.
The Anschluss
The Nazis firmly fought the austrofascistAustrofascism
Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used by historians to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria with the May Constitution of 1934, which ceased with the forcible incorporation of the newly-founded Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938...
regime of chancellors Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government...
, who was assassinated by the Nazis, and Kurt Schuschnigg
Kurt Schuschnigg
Kurt Alois Josef Johann Schuschnigg was Chancellor of the First Austrian Republic, following the assassination of his predecessor, Dr. Engelbert Dollfuss, in July 1934, until Germany’s invasion of Austria, , in March 1938...
. Their Fatherland Front defended the independence of Austria with protection of Mussolini's Italy, while the Nazis strove for a quick link-up with Hitler's Germany. While Hitler, a native of Austria, annexing Austria in 1938, and its unification (Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
) to the Greater German Empire, the historical aim of the German national movement was achieved. The German national camp was practically absorbed into the Nazi Party (NSDAP).
During the Second Republic and Recent Development
After the end of the Second World War, the German national current was initially discredited for its links to the Nazi regime. The dominant parties of the new republic were the Christian conservative Austrian People's PartyAustrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
, and the Socialist Party, both promoted Austrian independence and considered the Greater German idea to be ultimately of the past. Moreover, all former members of the Nazi party were banned from any political activity, they were even disenfranchised. However, the German national and national liberal camp was revived, in form of the Federation of Independents
Federation of Independents
The Federation of Independents was a German national and national-liberal political party in Austria active from 1949 to 1955...
(Verband der Unabhängigen), which also fought the De-nazification laws and represented the interests of former Nazis, Wehrmacht, and SS soldiers. In 1956, it was transformed into the Freedom Party of Austria
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents , which had...
. In the 1950s and 1960s, the German national camp, represented by the affiliated organisations of the Freedom Party, were very active at the universities, where the Burschenschaft
Burschenschaft
German Burschenschaften are a special type of Studentenverbindungen . Burschenschaften were founded in the 19th century as associations of university students inspired by liberal and nationalistic ideas.-History:-Beginnings 1815–c...
en (duelling fraternities) spread their German national and liberal ideology. Inside the Freedom Party, the liberal wing grew stronger and gradually Austrian patriotism was incorporated in the party's ideology. During Norbert Steger
Norbert Steger
Norbert Steger is an Austrian lawyer and former politician for the Freedom Party of Austria . He was the FPÖ party leader from 1980 to 1986, and Vice Chancellor and Minister of Commerce of Austria from 1983 to 1987....
's party leadership from 1980-1986 and the Freedom Party's participation in a coalition government with the Social Democrats, the German national faction was weakened.
By contrast, Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
's takeover of the party leadership in 1986, was considered a triumph of the German national factions. However, Haider's right-wing populism did not stress the German national origins, as the connection to Germany is not an issue with which elections can be won. No more than 17 percent of the Freedom Party's voters question the existence of an Austrian nation and only 6 percent of all Austrians identify themselves as "Germans". The German nationalistic influence could still be seen in the hostile position towards Austria's Slavic minorities, as the Carinthian Slovenes
Carinthian Slovenes
Carinthian Slovenes are the Slovene-speaking population group in the Austrian State of Carinthia. The Carinthian Slovenes send representatives to the National Ethnic Groups Advisory Council...
in the conflict over bilingual town signs, rejection of immigration and European integration. Nowadays, the German national wing is only a minor faction inside the Freedom Party. German nationalists, including Andreas Mölzer
Andreas Mölzer
Andreas Mölzer is an Austrian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Freedom Party of Austria.- Biography :...
, and Martin Graf
Martin Graf
Martin Graf is an Austrian politician. He is member of the Freedom Party of Austria and currently third president of the Austrian Parliament.- Biography :...
, now refer to themselves as "cultural Germans" (Kulturdeutsche), and stress the identity of Austrians as "Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
" in contrast to a distinct "Austrian national identity".