Engelbert Dollfuss

[[File:Engelbert Dollfuss.jpg|thumb|165 px|Dollfuss, looking rather similar to Charlie Chaplin.]]{{fascism|2}}
'''Engelbert Dollfuss''' {{lived|1892|1934}} was an [[Austria]]n politician and [[Fascism|fascist]]<ref>https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095725420</ref> who was the chancellor of Austria during 1932 to 1934, having ascended to the position in the midst of a government crisis, previously holding the role as Minister for Forests and Agriculture. Dollfuss was allied with [[Mussolini]] during the 1930s, when [[Hitler]] was gaining prominence in Germany. When Dollfuss was assassinated, this caused [[Italy]] to have a difficult relationship with [[Germany]] until the beginning of [[World War II]].<ref>https://www.jstor.org/stable/45334721</ref>

==Beginnings==
Dollfuss was born to a poor peasant family in rural Austria. The local priests aided him byfinancing his attendance in public school, which made Dollfuss consider becoming a priest when he enrolled in the University of Vienna to study [[theology]]. However, he later abandoned this decision and chose to study law instead in 1912. From there, he gave lessons as a career and even joined the Students' Social Movement, a student organization which performed [[charity]] for workers.<ref>https://www.jstor.org/stable/27944814</ref>

During the outbreak of [[World War I]], it was reported that Dollfuss was considered for enlistment in the military, but was said to be rejected because his height was 2 centimeters shorter than the required average.<ref>https://ww2gravestone.com/people/dollfuss-engelbert/</ref>

==Political career==
Dollfuss modeled Austrian fascism from [[Catholic]] religious values, corporatist ideals, and anti-[[secularism]], which he modeled after Italian fascism.<ref>https://scholarship.rice.edu/handle/1911/89038</ref>

Dolfuss banned Austrian [[socialist]] and [[social democrat]] movements and established an authoritarian regime, but he opposed Nazism and outlawed the Austrian Nazi Party in 1934. This was because he saw Nazism as anti-Christian and was committed to Austrian independence, while the Nazis sought to absorb Austria into a Greater Germany.<ref>https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,753682,00.html</ref>

==Austrian civil war==
Dollfuss's administration took heavy action against social democrats. The social democrats responded by defending themselves, and this kicked off a {{wpl|Austrian Civil War|civil war}} between Dollfuss's government and the social democrats in February 1934. Most of the fighting took place in east Austria, where bloodbaths and massacres occurred in workers' buildings. The fighting lasted for five days and ended with several hundred dead and about 1,000 wounded.<ref>https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.149663/page/n437/mode/2up?view=theater</ref> When the fighting ended, the government outlawed the party and its members either escaped abroad or were imprisoned.<ref>https://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/89038/RICE0073.pdf?sequence=1</ref>

==Assassination==
Dollfuss was assassinated by Austrian Nazis starting the {{wpl|July Putsch}} in 1934. His opponents saw his form of fascism as too weak and lenient compared to Hitler's. His death would temporarily lead Mussolini to be at odds with the Nazis, but later they would become allies after Hitler appointed a new Austrian chancellor who was loyal to Germany and shared his ideology.<ref>https://www.history.co.uk/article/engelbert-dollfuss-austrian-dictator-murdered-by-hitler</ref>

==See also==
*Johannes Messner, ''Dollfuss: An Austrian Patriot''. Norfolk, Virginia, Gates of Vienna Books, 2004. {{isbn|9781932528367}}

==References==
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[[Category:Antisemites]]
[[Category:Austria]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Fascists]]
[[Category:European politicians]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]

Categories: Antisemites, Austria, Catholics, Christians, Dictators, Fascists, European politicians, Racists, Right-wing activists