Seipel, Ignaz | Article about Seipel, Ignaz by The Free Dictionary Seipel, Ignaz | Article about Seipel, Ignaz by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Wikipedia . Seipel, Ignaz (ĭg`näts zī`pəl), 1876–1932, Austrian chancellor (1922–24, 1926–29). A Roman Catholic priest, he was elected to the Austrian parliament in 1919 and became leader (1921–29) of the Christian Socialist party. As chancellor he did much to stabilize finances by introducing stringent economies and securing an international loan guaranteed by the League of Nations. His criticism of parliamentary democracy and his support of the Heimwehr, the Austrian fascistic militia, are thought to have paved the way for the quasidictatorial rule of Dollfuss Dollfuss, Engelbert , 1892–1934, Austrian chancellor. A Christian Socialist, he rose to prominence as leader of the Lower Austrian Farmers' League and became minister of agriculture in 1931. ..... Click the link for more information.

and Schuschnigg Schuschnigg, Kurt von , 1897–1977, Austrian chancellor. He served (1932–34) as minister of justice and education and helped Engelbert Dollfuss repress the Social Democrats and organize the corporative state. After Dollfuss's assassination (1934) he became chancellor. ..... Click the link for more information. . Bibliography Engelbert Dollfuss - Politics biography Engelbert Dollfuss The Austrian statesman Engelbert Dollfuss served as chancellor of Austria from 1932 to 1934. Engelbert Dollfuss was born on Oct. 4, 1892, near Texing, Lower Austria. Trained in law at the University of Vienna and in economics at the University of Berlin, he served as an officer in World War I. After the war he was secretary of the Peasant's Association of Lower Austria and became director of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture in 1927.

In 1930 he was appointed president of the Austrian Federal Railways system because of his association with the Christian Socialist party, and in 1931 he was named minister of agriculture and forests. On May 20, 1932, Dollfuss became chancellor of Austria, although his government possessed only a one-vote majority in the Nationalrat (lower house of Parliament) and a minority in the Bundesrat (upper house). To strengthen Austria's financial position, Dollfuss obtained a loan of Â£9 million sterling from the League of Nations in return for an agreement not to enter a customs union with Germany for 20 years, a stipulation which angered pan-German, Nationalist, and Socialist elements in Austria. Subject to bitter attacks from all sides, Dollfuss suspended Parliament when its three presidents resigned on March 4, 1933, and thereafter ruled by decree. In May he founded the Vaterlandische Front to mobilize support for his rule, and it was with this organization that the notorious Heimwehr merged in 1934.

The latter was a defense force formed after World War I; it later espoused Italian Fascist principles, became a political party in 1930, and perpetrated acts of terror and violence against its opponents. To bolster his foreign position and prevent Austria from uniting with Nazi Germany, Dollfuss met Mussolini at Riccione in August 1933 and received a guarantee of Austrian independence at the cost of abolishing all political parties and revising the Austrian constitution along Fascist-corporatist lines. On the prompting of Mussolini, he utilized an outbreak of rioting by leftist elements in February 1934 to destroy the Social Democratic party organization, thus removing Austria's most strongly anti-Nazi force from the scene. Announcing his wish to order the state according to the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno of Pope Pius XI, Dollfuss proclaimed a new constitution on May 1, 1934, providing for state organization through professional corporations like those in Fascist Italy. The opposition of German and Austrian Nazis to his government only increased, however, as he evidenced his determination to oppose the surrender of Austrian independence.

Finally, during an abortive Nazi putsch on July 25, 1934, Nazi agents entered the Chancellery in Vienna and during their brief occupation of the building assassinated Dollfuss. While Dollfuss's dogged determination to maintain the integrity of Austria made him a martyr, the weakness of his political position coupled with that of his small state forced him to implement the very authoritarian principles antithetical to the Christian ideals articulated in his 1934 constitution and to the continued independence of Austria. View the full website biography of Engelbert Dollfuss . Engelbert Dollfuss Facts LINK / CITE ADD TO WORD LIST Engelbert Dollfuss Facts The Austrian statesman Engelbert Dollfuss (1892-1934) served as chancellor of Austria from 1932 to 1934. Engelbert Dollfuss was born on Oct. 4, 1892, near Texing, Lower Austria. Trained in law at the University of Vienna and in economics at the University of Berlin, he served as an officer in World War I.

After the war he was secretary of the Peasant's Association of Lower Austria and became director of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture in 1927. In 1930 he was appointed president of the Austrian Federal Railways system because of his association with the Christian Socialist party, and in 1931 he was named minister of agriculture and forests. On May 20, 1932, Dollfuss became chancellor of Austria, although his government possessed only a one-vote majority in the Nationalrat (lower house of Parliament) and a minority in the Bundesrat (upper house). To strengthen Austria's financial position, Dollfuss obtained a loan of £9 million sterling from the League of Nations in return for an agreement not to enter a customs union with Germany for 20 years, a stipulation which angered pan-German, Nationalist, and Socialist elements in Austria. Subject to bitter attacks from all sides, Dollfuss suspended Parliament when its three presidents resigned on March 4, 1933, and thereafter ruled by decree.

In May he founded the Vaterländische Front to mobilize support for his rule, and it was with this organization that the notorious Heimwehr merged in 1934. The latter was a defense force formed after World War I; it later espoused Italian Fascist principles, became a political party in 1930, and perpetrated acts of terror and violence against its opponents. To bolster his foreign position and prevent Austria from uniting with Nazi Germany, Dollfuss met Mussolini at Riccione in August 1933 and received a guarantee of Austrian independence at the cost of abolishing all political parties and revising the Austrian constitution along Fascist-corporatist lines. On the prompting of Mussolini, he utilized an outbreak of rioting by leftist elements in February 1934 to destroy the Social Democratic party organization, thus removing Austria's most strongly anti-Nazi force from the scene. Announcing his wish to order the state according to the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno of Pope Pius XI, Dollfuss proclaimed a new constitution on May 1, 1934, providing for state organization through professional corporations like those in Fascist Italy.

The opposition of German and Austrian Nazis to his government only increased, however, as he evidenced his determination to oppose the surrender of Austrian independence. Finally, during an abortive Nazi putsch on July 25, 1934, Nazi agents entered the Chancellery in Vienna and during their brief occupation of the building assassinated Dollfuss. While Dollfuss's dogged determination to maintain the integrity of Austria made him a martyr, the weakness of his political position coupled with that of his small state forced him to implement the very authoritarian principles antithetical to the Christian ideals articulated in his 1934 constitution and to the continued independence of Austria. Further Reading on Engelbert Dollfuss There is not much information on Dollfuss in English. Perhaps the most useful work is Paul R. Sweet, "Mussolini and Dollfuss: An Episode in Fascist Diplomacy," in Julius Braunthal, The Tragedy of Austria (1948).

Hitler, Adolf | Article about Hitler, Adolf by The Free Dictionary Hitler, Adolf | Article about Hitler, Adolf by The Free Dictionary (ä`dôlf hĭt`lər), 1889–1945, founder and leader of National Socialism National Socialism or Nazism, doctrines and policies of the National Socialist German Workers' party, which ruled Germany under Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1945. ..... Click the link for more information. (Nazism), and German dictator, b. Braunau in Upper Austria. Early Life The son of Alois Hitler (1837–1903), an Austrian customs official, Adolf Hitler dropped out of high school, and after his mother's death in 1907 moved to Vienna. He twice failed the admission examination for the academy of arts. His vicious anti-Semitism (perhaps influenced by that of Karl Lueger Lueger, Karl , 1844–1910, Austrian politician. He was the leader of the Christian Social party. Lueger appealed to the lower middle classes of Vienna through his anti-Semitism, which was partly religious but mostly opportunist. .....

Click the link for more information. ) and political harangues drove many acquaintances away. In 1913 he settled in Munich, and on the outbreak of World War I he joined the Bavarian army. During the war he was gassed and wounded; a mediocre soldier who lacked leadership skills and never progressed beyond the rank of corporal, he nonetheless received the Iron Cross for bravery. The war hardened his extreme nationalism, and he blamed the German defeat on betrayal by Jews and Marxists. Upon his return to Munich he joined a handful of other nationalistic veterans in the German Workers' party. The Nazi Party In 1920 the German Workers' party was renamed the National Socialist German Workers, or Nazi, party; in 1921 it was reorganized with Hitler as chairman. He achieved leadership in the party (and later in Germany) largely due to his extraordinary skill as a speaker, holding large crowds spellbound by his oratory. Hitler made the party a paramilitary organization and won the support of such prominent nationalists as Field Marshal Ludendorff Ludendorff, Erich , 1865–1937, German general.

A disciple of Schlieffen, he served in World War I as chief of staff to Field Marshal Hindenburg and was largely responsible for German military decisions. ..... Click the link for more information. . On Nov. 8, 1923, Hitler attempted the "beer-hall putsch," intended to overthrow the republican government. Leading Bavarian officials (themselves discontented nationalists) were surrounded at a meeting in a Munich beer hall by the Nazi militia, or storm troopers, and made to swear loyalty to this "revolution." On regaining their freedom they used the Reichswehr [army] to defeat the coup. Hitler fled, but was soon arrested and sentenced to five years in the Landsberg fortress. He served nine months. The putsch made Hitler known throughout Germany. In prison he dictated to Rudolf Hess Hess, Rudolf, 1894–1987, German National Socialist leader, b. Alexandria, Egypt; son of a German merchant. In 1920 he became an ardent follower of Adolf Hitler and after the Munich "beer-hall putsch" (1923) shared Hitler's imprisonment. ..... Click the link for more information.

the turgid Mein Kampf [my struggle], filled with anti-Semitic outpourings, worship of power, disdain for civil morality, and strategy for world domination. It became the bible of National Socialism. Under the tutelage of Hitler and Gregor Strasser Strasser, Gregor , 1892–1934, German political leader. A pharmacist, he joined the National Socialist (Nazi) party in its infancy and participated in Adolf Hitler's abortive coup in 1923. After Hitler's imprisonment, he briefly led the party. ..... Click the link for more information. , aided by Josef Goebbels Goebbels, Joseph (Paul Joseph Goebbels) , 1897–1945, German National Socialist propagandist. He was kept out of the service in World War I by a clubfoot. After graduating from the Univ. of Heidelberg (Ph.D. ..... Click the link for more information. and from 1928 by Hermann Goering Goering or Göring, Hermann Wilhelm , 1893–1946, German National Socialist leader. In World War I he was a hero of the German air force. .....

Click the link for more information. , the party grew slowly until the economic depression, beginning in 1929, brought it mass support. Hitler's Rise to Power To Germans burdened by reparations payments to the victors of World War I, and threatened by hyperinflation, political chaos, and a possible Communist takeover, Hitler, frenzied yet magnetic, offered scapegoats and solutions. To the economically depressed he promised to despoil "Jew financiers," to workers he promised security. He gained the financial support of bankers and industrialists with his virulent anti-Communism and promises to control trade unionism. Hitler had a keen and sinister insight into mass psychology, and he was a master of intrigue and maneuver. After acquiring German citizenship through the state of Brunswick, he ran in the presidential elections of 1932, losing to the popular war hero Paul von Hindenburg Hindenburg, Paul von , 1847–1934, German field marshal and president (1925–34), b. Poznan (then in Prussia). His full name was Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Hindenburg und Beneckendorff. ..... Click the link for more information.

but strengthening his position by falsely promising to support Chancellor Franz von Papen Papen, Franz von , 1879–1969, German politician. Appointed (1913) military attaché to the German embassy in Washington, he was implicated in espionage activities that led (1915) the U.S. government to request his recall. ..... Click the link for more information. , who lifted the ban on the storm troops (June, 1932). When the Nazis were elected the largest party in the Reichstag (July, 1932), Hindenburg offered Hitler a subordinate position in the cabinet. Hitler held out for the chief post and for sweeping powers. The chancellorship went instead to Kurt von Schleicher Schleicher, Kurt von, 1882–1934, German general. A leading Reichswehr (army) figure after World War I, Schleicher wielded great power in the years before Adolf Hitler came to power (1933). ..... Click the link for more information. , who resigned on Jan. 28, 1933.

Amid collapsing parliamentary government and pitched battles between Nazis and Communists, Hindenburg, on the urging of von Papen, called Hitler to be chancellor of a coalition cabinet, refusing him extraordinary powers. Supported by Alfred Hugenberg Hugenberg, Alfred , 1865–1951, German financier and politician. He was president of the directorate of the Krupp firm (1909–18), entered the Reichstag in 1919, and was chairman (1928–33) of the conservative German Nationalist party. ..... Click the link for more information. , Hitler took office on Jan. 30. Hitler in Power Germany's new ruler was a master of Machiavellian politics. Hitler feared plots, and firmly believed in his mission to achieve the supremacy of the so-called Aryan race, which he termed the "master race." Having legally come to power, he used brutality and subversion to carry out a "creeping coup" to transform the state into his dictatorship.

He blamed the Communists for a fire in the Reichstag Reichstag [Ger.,=imperial parliament], name for the diet of the Holy Roman Empire, for the lower chamber of the federal parliament of the North German Confederation, and for the lower chamber of the federal parliament of Germany from 1871 to 1945. ..... Click the link for more information. on Feb. 27, and by fanning anti-Communist hysteria the Nazis and Nationalists won a bare majority of Reichstag seats in the elections of Mar. 5. After the Communists had been barred, and amid a display of storm trooper strength, the Reichstag voted to give Hitler dictatorial powers. From the first days of Hitler's "Third Reich" (for its history, see Germany Germany , Ger. Deutschland, officially Federal Republic of Germany, republic (2005 est. pop. 82,431,000), 137,699 sq mi (356,733 sq km). Located in the center of Europe, it borders the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France on the west; Switzerland and Austria on ..... Click the link for more information.

; National Socialism National Socialism or Nazism, doctrines and policies of the National Socialist German Workers' party, which ruled Germany under Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1945. ..... Click the link for more information. ; World War II World War II, 1939–45, worldwide conflict involving every major power in the world. The two sides were generally known as the Allies and the Axis. Causes and Outbreak ..... Click the link for more information. ) political opponents such as von Schleicher and Gregor Strasser (who had resigned from the Nazis) were murdered or incarcerated, and some Nazis, among them Ernst Roehm Roehm or Röhm, Ernst , 1887–1934, German National Socialist leader. An army officer in World War I, he met (1919) Adolf Hitler, whose political career he helped to launch. ..... Click the link for more information. , were themselves purged. Jews, Socialists, Communists, and others were hounded, arrested, or assassinated. Government, law, and education became appendages of National Socialism.

After Hindenburg's death in 1934 the chancellorship and presidency were united in the person of the Führer [leader]. Heil Hitler! became the obligatory form of greeting, and a cult of Führer worship was propagated. In 1938, amid carefully nurtured scandal, Hitler dismissed top army commanders and divided their power between himself and faithful subordinates such as Wilhelm Keitel Keitel, Wilhelm , 1882–1946, German general. A supporter of Hitler, he became (1938) chief of staff of the supreme command of the armed forces, a new post that marked the German army's subjection to Hitler. ..... Click the link for more information. . As Hitler prepared for war he replaced professional diplomats with Nazis such as Joachim von Ribbentrop Ribbentrop, Joachim von , 1893–1946, German foreign minister (1938–45). After World War I he became a wealthy champagne merchant. He joined the National Socialist party in 1932 and impressed Adolf Hitler with his knowledge of foreign languages and countries; he soon ..... Click the link for more information. .

Many former doubters had been converted by Hitler's bold diplomatic coups, beginning with German rearmament. Hitler bullied smaller nations into making territorial concessions and played on the desire for peace and the fear of Communism among the larger European states to achieve his expansionist goals. To forestall retaliation he claimed to be merely rectifying the onerous Treaty of Versailles. Benito Mussolini Mussolini, Benito , 1883–1945, Italian dictator and leader of the Fascist movement. Early Career His father, an ardent Socialist, was a blacksmith; his mother was a teacher. ..... Click the link for more information. became his ally and Italy gradually became Germany's satellite. Hitler helped Franco to establish a dictatorship in Spain. On Hitler's order the Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss Dollfuss, Engelbert , 1892–1934, Austrian chancellor. A Christian Socialist, he rose to prominence as leader of the Lower Austrian Farmers' League and became minister of agriculture in 1931. ..... Click the link for more information.

was assassinated, and the Anschluss Anschluss , German term designating the incorporation of Austria into Germany in the 1930s. Anschluss was first advocated by Austrian Social Democrats. The 1919 peace treaty of St. Germain prohibited Anschluss, to prevent a resurgence of a strong Germany. ..... Click the link for more information. amalgamated Austria with the Reich. Hitler used the issue of "persecuted" Germans in Czechoslovakia to push through the Munich Pact Munich Pact, 1938. In the summer of 1938, Chancellor Hitler of Germany began openly to support the demands of Germans living in the Sudetenland (see Sudetes) of Czechoslovakia for an improved status. In September, Hitler demanded self-determination for the Sudetenland. ..... Click the link for more information. , in which England, France, and Italy agreed to German annexation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia (1938). World War II Hitler's nonaggression pact (Aug., 1939) with Stalin allowed him to invade Poland (Sept.

1), beginning World War II, while Stalin annexed Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia to the USSR and attacked eastern Poland; but Hitler honored the pact only until he found it convenient to attack the USSR (June, 1941). In Dec., 1941, he assumed personal command of war strategy, leading to disaster. In early 1943 he refused to admit defeat at the battle of Stalingrad (now Volgograd Volgograd , formerly Stalingrad, city (1989 pop. 999,000), capital of Volgograd region, SE European Russia, a port on the Volga River and the eastern terminus of the Volga-Don Canal. As a transshipment point, the port handles oil, coal, ore, lumber, and fish. ..... Click the link for more information. ), bringing death to vast numbers of German troops. As the tide of war turned against Hitler, his mass extermination of the Jews, overseen by Adolf Eichmann Eichmann, Adolf , 1906–62, German National Socialist official. A member of the Austrian Nazi party, he headed the Austrian office for Jewish emigration (1938).

His zeal in deporting Jews brought him promotion (1939) to chief of the Gestapo's Jewish section. ..... Click the link for more information. , was accelerated, and he gave increasing power to Heinrich Himmler Himmler, Heinrich , 1900–1945, German Nazi leader. An early member of the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) party, Himmler took part in Adolf Hitler's "beer-hall putsch" of 1923, and in 1929 Hitler appointed him head of the SS, or Schutzstaffel, ..... Click the link for more information. and the dread secret police secret police, policing organization operating in secrecy for the political purposes of its government, often with terroristic procedures. The Nature of a Secret Police ..... Click the link for more information. , the Gestapo and SS (Schutzstaffel).

Fall of Hitler and the Third Reich By July, 1944, the German military situation was desperate, and a group of high military and civil officials (including Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben and Karl Goerdeler Goerdeler, Carl Friedrich , 1884–1945, German civil servant, leader of resistance to Hitler. Lord mayor of Leipzig (1930–37) and price commissioner (1931–32, 1934–35), he resigned after continuously protesting measures taken by the Nazi regime. ..... Click the link for more information. ) attempted an assassination. Hitler escaped a bomb explosion with slight injuries; most of the plotters were executed. Although the war was hopelessly lost by early 1945, Hitler insisted that Germans fight on to the death. During the final German collapse in Apr., 1945, Hitler denounced Nazi leaders who wished to negotiate, and remained in Berlin when it was stormed by the Russians. On Apr. 29 Hitler married his long-time mistress, Eva Braun Braun, Eva , 1912–45, mistress and later wife of the German dictator Adolf Hitler.

She was a shop assistant to a Nazi photographer, through whom she met Hitler. She entered his household in 1936, although their relationship was kept secret. ..... Click the link for more information. , and on Apr. 30 they committed suicide together in an underground bunker of the chancellery building, having ordered that their bodies be burned. Hitler left Germany devastated; his legacy is the memory of one of the most dreadful tyrannies of modern times. Bibliography See his Mein Kampf (complete tr. 1940), Hitler's Secret Conversations, 1941–1944 (tr. 1953), and Hitler's Secret Book (tr. 1962). See also biographies by A. Bullock (rev. ed. 1964), B. F. Smith (1968), J. C. Fest (tr. 1974), I. Kershaw (2 vol., 1999–2000), and A. N. Wilson (2012); H. R. Trevor-Roper, The Last Days of Hitler (1947); W. A.

Jenks, Vienna and the Young Hitler (1960); W. Maser, Hitler (tr. 1973); R. E. Hertzstein, Adolf Hitler and the German Trauma, 1913–1945 (1974); R. and C. Winston, Hitler (1974); R. Hamilton, Who Voted for Hitler? (1982); J. Lukacs, The Hitler of History (1997); R. Rosenbaum, Explaining Hitler (1998); F. Redlich, Hitler: Diagnosis of a Destructive Prophet (1998); R. J. Overy, The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia (2004). Hitler, Adolf (real surname, Schickelgruber). Born Apr. 20, 1889, in Braunau, Austria; died Apr. 30, 1945, in Berlin. Leader of the German fascist (National Socialist) party and head of the German fascist state (1933-45); major war criminal. Hitler was born into the family of a customs official.

Even prior to World War I, he was already an ardent proponent of antisocialist, nationalistic, and anti-Semitic “theories.” In 1913 he moved to Munich; during World War I, he was a corporal in the German Army. From 1919 he was one of the leading members of the so-called National Socialist German Workers’ Party, becoming its head in 1921. On Nov. 8 and 9, 1923, together with General E. von Ludendorff, Hitler attempted a fascist coup d’état in Munich; it failed. In the struggle for power, Hitler made use of unrestrained demagogy, provocation, blackmail, and murder. Hitler and his henchmen, financed by the German monopolies, conducted revanchist propaganda under the banner of a struggle against the Versailles Treaty of 1919 and succeeded in kindling chauvinism in the country and engendering massive support for themselves among the population. On Jan. 30, 1933, President P. von Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor.

After Hindenburg’s death, Hitler concentrated all legislative and executive power in his own hands, merging the posts of president and chancellor (August 1934). Hitler and his henchmen established a bloody terrorist regime in the country and turned Germany into an armed camp. Fascist Germany, with Hitler at its head, carried out an armed intervention into the Spanish Republic (1936-39), seized Austria (1938), occupied Czechoslovakia (1938-39), and, having put together a bloc of aggressor countries, unleashed World War II. On June 22, 1941, fascist Germany attacked the USSR. In December 1941, Hitler became commander in chief of the German armed forces. Hitler was the inspirer and one of the principal organizers of the massive extermination of innocent civilians and prisoners of war and of the monstrous atrocities committed by the fascists in German-occupied countries and especially in the temporarily seized territories of the USSR. In 1945, amid the defeat of fascist Germany, the disintegration of the fascist state, and the entry of Soviet troops into Berlin, Hitler committed suicide in the bunker of the Berlin imperial chancellery.

REFERENCES Hitler, Adolf (dreams) While sleeping in a bunker during World War I, Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) had a nightmare in which an avalanche of earth and molten lava buried him alive. Awakened from his sleep by this bad dream, Hitler left the dugout seeking fresh air to clear his head. He proceeded to wander into the open area that was the battlefield; this was extremely dangerous, but Hitler later insisted that he was being led by a will that was not his own. He remained in a semiconscious state until a sudden burst of enemy fire brought him to his senses. Immediately recognizing the danger, he turned around and sought the relative safety of his bunker only to find that there had been a direct hit on the dugout and all of his comrades were dead. Hitler interpreted this event to be an affirmation of his destiny to be a great leader to his people; he attributed his survival to a force that would protect him so he could carry out that role. He felt himself to be invincible. Modern day analysts who review this dream do not conclude that it was an unequivocal sign of divine election.

Some maintain, though, that it could have been prophetic in nature, predicting his destiny when he died in an underground bunker at the end of World War II. The psychoanalyst Carl Jung cited it as an example of “synchronicity.” Hitler, Adolf Engelbert Dollfuß - Metapedia Engelbert Dollfuß 20 May 1932 – 25 July 1934 Predecessor Engelbert Dollfuß ( October 4 , 1892 – July 25 , 1934 ), also known as Engelbert Dollfuss, was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman , who was chancellor of Austria from 1932 and national conservative leader of Austria from 1933 until his assassination in 1934 by Austrians supportive of National Socialist Germany . Contents 9 References Early life Born in Texing in Lower Austria as the child of the single and deeply religious mother Josepha Dollfuss by an unknown father, Dollfuss was educated at a Roman Catholic seminary before deciding to study Law at the University of Vienna and then Economics at the University of Berlin .

Dollfuss had difficulty gaining admission into the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I due to his short stature – according to The New York Times he stood at 150 cm (4'11"), [1] but was eventually accepted and sent to the Alpine Front . He was a highly decorated soldier and was briefly taken prisoner by the Italians as a POW in 1918.[ citation needed ] After the war he worked for the Agriculture ministry as secretary of the Farmers' Association and became director of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture in 1927, and in 1930 as a member of the conservative Christian Social Party was appointed president of the Federal Railway System . (One of the founders of the CS was a hero of Dollfuss's, Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang .) The following year he was named minister of agriculture and forests.

Chancellor of Austria Dollfuss became Chancellor on May 20, 1932 as head of a coalition government , with the pressing goal of tackling the problems of the Great Depression , in a state (post-Versailles Austria) that was economically disadvantaged by the loss of a large part of the former Austro-Hungarian empire's manufacturing industry situated in Bohemia and Moravia . Much of Austria-Hungary's industry had been situated in the areas that were separated into Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia with the Treaty of Versailles , and thus this manufacturing power was lost to Austria after World War I . Dollfuss's majority in Parliament was marginal (he had only a one-vote majority) [2] . Dollfuss as leader of Austria In March 1933, an argument arose over irregularities in the voting procedure. The president of the National Council (the lower house) resigned to be able to cast a vote as a parliament member. As a consequence the two vice presidents, belonging to other parties, resigned as well to be able to vote. As a consequence, the parliament could not conclude the session.

Dollfuss took the resignation of all three presidents as a pretext to declare that the National Council had become unworkable, and advised President Wilhelm Miklas to issue a decree adjourning it indefinitely. When the National Council wanted to reconvene days after the resignation of the three presidents, Dollfuss barred entrance to parliament by police force, effectively eliminating democracy in Austria. From that point onwards he governed as dictator by emergency decree with absolute power. One motive of Dollfuss' actions was that with Adolf Hitler becoming German Chancellor in 1933, it looked increasingly likely that the Austrian National Socialists (DNSAP) would gain a significant minority in future elections. On the other hand, the Soviet Union's influence in Europe had increased throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. Dollfuss thus banned the DNSAP in June 1933 and the communists later on. Under the banner of Christian Social Party , he later on established a one-party autocratic rule, banning all other Austrian parties including the Social Democrats.

Corporative State Although largely based on a Political Catholicism , the Ständestaat was given an extra boost, by imitating to some degree organisational elements of fascism in Italy. Dollfuss looked to Italy in support, especially also against the National Socialists and gained a guarantee for Austria's independence by Italy in August 1933. He also exchanged 'Secret Letters' with Benito Mussolini about ways to guarantee Austrian independence. Mussolini was interested in Austria forming a buffer zone against Germany. From the position of Dollfuss; he regarded Hitler's and Stalin's government's as too similar for comfort. He was convinced that Austria-Italy could counterweight both National Socialism and Communism in Europe. In September 1933 Dollfuss merged his Christian Social Party, the nationalist paramilitary Heimwehr (Home Guard) (which encompassed many workers who were unhappy with the radical leadership of the socialist party) and other nationalist and conservative groups to form the Vaterländische Front . Dollfuss escaped an assassination attempt in October 1933 by Rudolf Dertill , a 22-year old who had been ejected from the military for his National-Socialist views.

Austrian civil war and new constitution In February 1934, National Socialist supporters in the security forces provoked arrests of Social Democrats and searches for weapons of the Social Democrats' already outlawed Republikanischer Schutzbund . Due to the steps of the Dollfuss dictatorship against known Social Democrats, the Social Democrats called for nationwide resistance against the Government which almost ended in a civil war. A civil war began, which lasted from February 12 until February 27, with partly fierce fighting primarily in the East of Austria, especially in the streets of some outer Vienna districts, where large fortress-like municipal workers' buildings were situated, and in the northern, industrial areas of the province of Styria . As a consequence of the resistance, which was suppressed by police and military power, the Social Democrats were outlawed [3] , and its leaders were imprisoned or fled abroad. New constitution Dollfuss staged a parliamentary session with just his party members present in April 1934 to have his new constitution approved as well as made all the decrees already passed since March 1933 "legal".

The new constitution became effective on May 1, 1934 and swept away the last remains of democracy and the system of the first Austrian Republic. Adolf Hitler and Engelbert Dollfuss. Assassination Dollfuss was assassinated in July 25, 1934 by ten Austrian National Socialists ( Paul Hudl , Franz Holzweber , Otto Planetta and others) who entered the Chancellery building and shot him in an attempted coup d'état, the July Putsch . [4] Another reason the putsch was thwarted was that Mussolini mobilized a part of the Italian army on the Austrian border and threatened Hitler with war in the event of a German invasion of Austria. The assassination of Dollfuss was accompanied by Italian uprisings in many regions in Italy, resulting in further deaths. In Carinthia a large contingent of northern German National socialists tried to seize power but were subdued by the Italian units near by. The assassins in Vienna surrendered and were executed. Kurt Schuschnigg became the new chancellor of Austria. Dollfuss is buried in the Hietzing cemetery in Vienna [5] alongside his wife Alwine Dollfuss (d.

1973) and two of his children, Hannerl and Eva. See also Engelbert Dollfuß Engelbert Dollfuß Set cemetery Person Engelbert Dollfuss (German: Engelbert Dollfuß; October 4, 1892 – July 25, 1934) was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Frontstatesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government. In early 1933, he shut down parliament, banned the Austrian Nazi party and assumed dictatorial powers.Suppressing the Socialist movement in February 1934, he cemented the rule of “austrofascism” through the authoritarian First of May Constitution. Dollfuss was assassinated as part of a failed coup attempt by Nazi agents in 1934. His successor Kurt Schuschnigg maintained his regime until Adolf Hitler's annexing of Austria in 1938. Early life He was born in Texing in Lower Austria to unmarried mother Josepha Dollfuss and her lover Joseph Weninger.

The couple of peasant origin was unable to get married due to financial problems. Josepha married landowner Leopold Schmutz a few months after her son's birth, who did not adopt Engelbert however as his own child. Dollfuss, who was raised as a devout Roman Catholic, was shortly in seminary before deciding to study law at the University of Vienna and then economics at the University of Berlin. Here he met Alwine Glienke, a German woman from a Protestant family, whom he married in 1921. The couple had a son and two daughters, one of which died in early childhood. Dollfuss had difficulty gaining admission into the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I because he was only 153 cm tall. He was eventually accepted and sent to the Alpine Front. He was a highly decorated soldier and was briefly taken prisoner by the Italians as aprisoner of war in 1918. After the war he worked for the agriculture ministry as secretary of the Farmers' Association and became director of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture in 1927.

In 1930 as a member of the conservative Christian Social Party(CS), he was appointed president of the Federal Railway System. (One of the founders of the CS was a hero of Dollfuss', Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang.) The following year he was named Minister of Agriculture and Forests. Chancellor of Austria In late May 1932, with the resignation of Karl Buresch's Christian-Social government, Dollfuss, age 39 and with only one year's experience in the Federal government, was offered the office of Chancellor by President Wilhelm Miklas, also a member of the Christian-Social Party. Accordingly, Dollfuss refused to reply, instead spending the night in his favorite church praying, returning in the morning for a bath and a spartan meal before replying to the President he would accept the offer. Dollfuss was sworn in on May 20, 1932, as head of a coalition government between the Christian-Social Party, the Landbund—a right-wing agrarian party—and Heimatblock, the parliamentary wing of theHeimwehr, a paramilitary ultra-nationalist group.

The coalition assumed the pressing task of tackling the problems of the Great Depression. Much of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's industry had been situated in the areas that became part of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia after World War I as a result of the Treaty of Saint-Germain. Postwar Austria was therefore economically disadvantaged. Dollfuss' majority in Parliament was marginal; his government had only a one-vote majority. Dollfuss as dictator of Austria Chancellor Dollfuss in Geneva, 1933 In March 1933, an argument arose over irregularities in the voting procedure. The Social Democratic president of the National Council (the lower house of parliament) Karl Renner resigned to be able to cast a vote as a parliament member. As a consequence, the two vice presidents, belonging to other parties, resigned as well to be able to vote. Without a president, the parliament could not conclude the session. Dollfuss took the three resignations as a pretext to declare that the National Council had become unworkable, and advised President Wilhelm Miklas to issue a decree adjourning it indefinitely.

When the National Council wanted to reconvene days after the resignation of the three presidents, Dollfuss had police bar entrance to parliament, effectively eliminating democracy in Austria. From that point onwards, he governed as dictator by emergency decree with absolute power. Dollfuss was concerned that with German National Socialist leader Adolf Hitler becoming Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Austrian National Socialists (DNSAP) could gain a significant minority in future elections (according to fascism scholar Stanley G. Payne, should elections have been held in 1933, the DNSAP could have mustered about 25% of the votes - contemporary TIME analysts suggests a higher support of 50%, with a 75% approval rate in the Tyrol region bordering Nazi Germany). As well, the Soviet Union's influence in Europe had increased throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. Dollfuss banned the DNSAP in June 1933 and the communists later on. Under the banner of Christian Social Party, he later on established a one-party dictatorship rule largely modeled after fascism in Italy, banning all other Austrian parties including the Social Democratic Labour Party (SDAPÖ).

Social Democrats however continued to exist as an independent organization, including its paramilitary Republikaner Schutzbund, which could muster tens of thousands against Dollfuss' government. Austrofascism Dollfuss modeled Austrofascism after Italian fascism[citation needed] juxtaposed to Catholic corporatism and anti-secularism, dropping Austrian pretences of reunification with Germany as long as the Nazi Party remained in power. In August 1933, Mussolini's government issued a guarantee of Austrian independence. Dollfuss also exchanged 'Secret Letters' with Benito Mussolini about ways to guarantee Austrian independence. Mussolini was interested in Austria forming a buffer zone against Nazi Germany. Dollfuss always stressed the similarity of the regimes of Hitler in Germany and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union, and was convinced that Austrofascism and Italian fascism could counter totalitarian national socialism and communism in Europe.

In September 1933 Dollfuss merged his Christian Social Party with elements of other nationalist and conservative groups, including the Heimwehr, which encompassed many workers who were unhappy with the radical leadership of the socialist party, to form the Vaterländische Front, though the Heimwehr continued to exist as an independent organization until 1936, when Dollfuss' successor Kurt von Schuschnigg forcibly merged it into the Front, instead creating the unabidingly loyal Frontmiliz as paramilitary task force. Dollfuss escaped an assassination attempt in October 1933 by Rudolf Dertill, a 22-year old who had been ejected from the military for his national socialist views. Austrian civil war and new constitution In February 1934, Nazi agents[citation needed] in the security forces provoked arrests of Social Democrats and unjustified searches for weapons of the Social Democrats' already outlawedRepublikanischer Schutzbund. After the Dollfuss dictatorship took steps against known Social Democrats, the Social Democrats called for nationwide resistance against the government. A civil war began, which lasted from February 12 until February 27.

Fierce fighting took place primarily in the East of Austria, especially in the streets of some outer Vienna districts, where large fortress-like municipal workers' buildings were situated, and in the northern, industrial areas of the province of Styria, where Nazi agents[citation needed] had great interest in a bloodbath between security forces and workers' militias. The resistance was suppressed by police and military power. The Social Democrats were outlawed, and their leaders were imprisoned or fled abroad. New constitution Dollfuss staged a parliamentary session with just his party members present in April 1934 to have his new constitution approved, effectively the second constitution in the world espousingcorporatist[citation needed] ideas (after that of the Portuguese Estado Novo). The session retrospectively made all the decrees already passed since March 1933 legal. The new constitution became effective on May 1, 1934, and swept away the last remnants of democracy and the system of the first Austrian Republic.

Assassination Dollfuss was assassinated on July 25, 1934, by ten Austrian Nazis (Paul Hudl, Franz Holzweber, Otto Planetta and others) of Regiment 89 who entered the Chancellery building and shot him in an attempted coup d'état, the July Putsch. Mussolini had no hesitation in attributing the attack to the German dictator: the news reached him at Cesena, where he was examining the plans for a psychiatric hospital. The Duce personally gave the announcement to the widow, who was a guest at his villa in Riccione with children. He also put at the disposal of Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg, who spent a holiday in Venice, a plane that allowed the prince to rush back to Vienna and to face the assailants with his militia, with the permission of President Wilhelm Miklas. Mussolini also mobilized a part of the Italian army on the Austrian border and threatened Hitler with war in the event of a German invasion of Austria to thwart the putsch.

Then he announced to the world: "The independence of Austria, for which he has fallen, is a principle that has been defended and will be defended by Italy even more strenuously", and then replaced in the main square of Bolzano the statue of Walther von der Vogelweide, a Germanic troubadour, with that of Drusus, a Roman general who conquered part of Germany. This was the greatest moment of friction between Fascism and National Socialism and Mussolini himself came down several times to reaffirm the differences in the field. The assassination of Dollfuss was accompanied by uprisings in many regions in Austria, resulting in further deaths. In Carinthia, a large contingent of northern German Nazis tried to seize power but were subdued by the Italian units nearby. At first Hitler was jubilant, but the Italian reaction surprised him. Hitler became convinced that he could not face a conflict with the Western European powers, and he officially denied liability, stating his regret for the murder of the Austrian Prime Minister. He replaced the ambassador to Vienna with Franz von Papen and prevented the conspirators entering Germany, also expelling them from the Austrian Nazi Party.

The Nazi assassins in Vienna, after declaring the formation of a new government under Austrian Nazi Anton Rintelen, previously exiled by Dollfuss as Austrian Ambassador to Rome, surrendered after threats from Austrian military of blowing up the Chancellery using dynamite, and were subsequently tried and executed through hanging. Kurt Schuschnigg, previously Minister of Education was appointed new chancellor of Austria after a few days, assuming the office from Dollfuss' deputy Starhemberg. Out of a population of 6.5 million, approximately 500,000 Austrians were present at Dollfuss' burial in Vienna. He is interred in the Hietzing cemetery in Vienna beside his wife Alwine Dollfuss (d. 1973) and two of his children, Hannerl and Eva, all of whom were in Italy as guests of Rachele Mussolini at the time of his death, an event which saw Mussolini himself shed some tears over his slain ally. Dollfuss' son Rudolph died in November 2011 at the age of 85.

Stature Dollfuss was a very short man and his diminutive stature (155 cm = 5'2"[citation needed] or 150 cm = 4'11" according to the New York Times) was the object of satire; among his nicknames were 'Millimetternich' (making a portmanteau out of millimeter and Metternich), and the "Jockey". The New York Times also reported a series of jokes, including how in the coffee houses of Vienna, one could order a "Dollfuss" cup of coffee instead of a "Short Black" cup of coffee (black being the color of the Christian Democratic political faction). In contrast to his own diminutive stature, his personal assistant and secretary Eduard Hedvicek, who later played a significant role in the unsuccessful attempt to save his life was a very large and tall man (200 cm = 6'7"). Source: wikipedia.org Engelbert Dollfuss facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Engelbert Dollfuss COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc.

Engelbert Dollfuss The Austrian statesman Engelbert Dollfuss (1892-1934) served as chancellor of Austria from 1932 to 1934. Engelbert Dollfuss was born on Oct. 4, 1892, near Texing, Lower Austria. Trained in law at the University of Vienna and in economics at the University of Berlin, he served as an officer in World War I. After the war he was secretary of the Peasant's Association of Lower Austria and became director of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture in 1927. In 1930 he was appointed president of the Austrian Federal Railways system because of his association with the Christian Socialist party, and in 1931 he was named minister of agriculture and forests. On May 20, 1932, Dollfuss became chancellor of Austria, although his government possessed only a one-vote majority in the Nationalrat (lower house of Parliament) and a minority in the Bundesrat (upper house).

To strengthen Austria's financial position, Dollfuss obtained a loan of £9 million sterling from the League of Nations in return for an agreement not to enter a customs union with Germany for 20 years, a stipulation which angered pan-German, Nationalist, and Socialist elements in Austria. Subject to bitter attacks from all sides, Dollfuss suspended Parliament when its three presidents resigned on March 4, 1933, and thereafter ruled by decree. In May he founded the Vaterländische Front to mobilize support for his rule, and it was with this organization that the notorious Heimwehr merged in 1934. The latter was a defense force formed after World War I; it later espoused Italian Fascist principles, became a political party in 1930, and perpetrated acts of terror and violence against its opponents. To bolster his foreign position and prevent Austria from uniting with Nazi Germany, Dollfuss met Mussolini at Riccione in August 1933 and received a guarantee of Austrian independence at the cost of abolishing all political parties and revising the Austrian constitution along Fascist-corporatist lines.

On the prompting of Mussolini, he utilized an outbreak of rioting by leftist elements in February 1934 to destroy the Social Democratic party organization, thus removing Austria's most strongly anti-Nazi force from the scene. Announcing his wish to order the state according to the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno of Pope Pius XI, Dollfuss proclaimed a new constitution on May 1, 1934, providing for state organization through professional corporations like those in Fascist Italy. The opposition of German and Austrian Nazis to his government only increased, however, as he evidenced his determination to oppose the surrender of Austrian independence. Finally, during an abortive Nazi putsch on July 25, 1934, Nazi agents entered the Chancellery in Vienna and during their brief occupation of the building assassinated Dollfuss. While Dollfuss's dogged determination to maintain the integrity of Austria made him a martyr, the weakness of his political position coupled with that of his small state forced him to implement the very authoritarian principles antithetical to the Christian ideals articulated in his 1934 constitution and to the continued independence of Austria. Further Reading There is not much information on Dollfuss in English.

Perhaps the most useful work is Paul R. Sweet, "Mussolini and Dollfuss: An Episode in Fascist Diplomacy," in Julius Braunthal, The Tragedy of Austria (1948). Additional Sources The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press Engelbert Dollfuss (ĕng´əlbĕrt dôl´fŏŏs), 1892–1934, Austrian chancellor. A Christian Socialist, he rose to prominence as leader of the Lower Austrian Farmers' League and became minister of agriculture in 1931. Appointed chancellor in 1932, he obtained a badly needed international loan in return for a renewal of the pledge to maintain the full independence of Austria. In Mar., 1933, he assumed quasi-dictatorial powers. The increasingly powerful Austrian National Socialist party, backed by Nazi Germany, was the chief threat to the Dollfuss regime and to Austrian independence. Dollfuss dissolved the party in June, 1933. Unwilling or unable to cooperate with the Social Democrats, he relied more and more on alliance with the native Austrian fascists under E. R.

von Starhemberg . In foreign policy he lacked adequate support of the Western powers and staked the preservation of Austrian independence on friendship with Italy. Pressed by Starhemberg and Mussolini, he enacted provocative measures against the Social Democrats, and in Feb., 1934, he ruthlessly suppressed a Socialist uprising. In Apr., 1934, Austria became a corporative state with a one-party, authoritarian system. Dollfuss was assassinated (July 25) by Austrian Nazis, who made an unsuccessful attempt to seize power. See W. Maass, Assassination in Vienna (1972). Cite this article

Question: Which Christian Socialist politician became chancellor of Austria in 1932?
Answer: Engelbert Dollfuss