Communist Party of Austria
Encyclopedia
The Communist Party of Austria (German
: Kommunistische Partei Österreichs, or KPÖ) is a communist party
based in Austria
. Established in 1918, it was banned between 1933 and 1945 under both the Austrofascist regime, and German control of Austria during World War II
. It played an important role in the Austrian resistance against the Nazis and fascism
.
The party publishes a newspaper called Volksstimmen (previously Volksstimme) and stands in elections, however, it has not had representation in the federal parliament since 1959. After losing its last representative in a state parliament, in Styria in 1970, it has become a fringe movement with limited political significance. At the National Council
elections held on November 22, 2002, it won only 0.56% of the votes (27,568 out of a total of 4,909,645), well below the 4% minimum to obtain seats in the National Council. However, it received an exceptional 20% of the vote in the 2003 Graz
local elections, and in 2005 it returned to its first state parliament in 35 years after winning 6.3% of the vote in Styria.
It is part of the New European Left Forum (NELF) and the Party of the European Left
.
' sea blockade during the First World War, there was a supply shortage in Austria, resulting in workers protests. Such tactics included strikes such as the 1918 "Jännerstreik". Concurrent with the Russia
n October Revolution
, the left wing of the workers' movement established the KPÖ. Ruth Fischer
, Franz Koritschoner
and Lucien Laurat
were among the co-founders.
Attempts to establish a Räterepublik
(republican system of councillors) in Austria resulted in developments different to those in Germany
or Russia, as the Räte were able to establish themselves in only isolated, high-population density areas such as Vienna
and the industrial areas of Upper Austria
. However, a "Red Guard" (Rote Garde) was formed and soon integrated with the Volkswehr (People's Resistance Army). On November 12, 1918 there was an attempted coup d'état
, which was not professionally organised and not authorised by the Soviet government. Within hours, the coup was smashed.
SPÖ| ability to unite the workers as an opposition
movement. In parallel with the ascent of Joseph Stalin
in the Soviet Union at the end of the 1920s, the KPÖ was also refashioned in an authoritarian direction.
In 1933 the KPÖ was banned by an emergency decree of the Austrofascist
government of Engelbert Dollfuß but continued to work underground. According to its own sources, the KPÖ had been prepared for this situation since the end of the 1920s. After the Social Democratic Party was also forbidden, many former SPÖ supporters and functionaries, such as Ernst Fischer and Christian Broda
, worked underground with the KPÖ.
The KPÖ took part in the workers rebellion of February 12, 1934, which was sparked by the militia Republikanischer Schutzbund. It marked the last attempt to save the democracy from fascism, but was ill fated.
Because the KPÖ had disagreed with Stalin’s branding of social democracy
as a form of "social fascism" since the 1920s, the Austrian communists were the avantgarde in their dissent. Their refusal to condemn the Social Democrats reflected aspects of the 7th World Congress of the Comintern
in 1935. The Austrian communists' tolerant stance opened their party to an influx of more disappointed Social Democrats.
After the crushing of the February 1934 uprising by the federal army and the Heimwehr, the KPÖ grew rapidly from 4,000 to 16,000 members.
The KPÖ also took an independent stance from the mainstream in its views about nationhood and an Austrian identity separate from Germany:
"The view that the Austrian people are a part of the German nation is theoretically unfounded. A union of the German nation, in which also the Austrians are included, never existed and does not exist today either. The Austrian people have lived under different economic and political conditions than the remaining Germans in the "Reich", and have therefore chosen another national development. How far this process of a national development is, and/or how close the connections from the common descent and common language are, only a concrete investigation of its history can answer that." (Note: free translation)
Original: "Die Auffassung, daß das österreichische Volk ein Teil der deutschen Nation ist, ist theoretisch unbegründet. Eine Einheit der deutschen Nation, in der auch die Österreicher miteinbezogen sind, hat es bisher nie gegeben und gibt es auch heute nicht. Das österreichische Volk hat unter anderen wirtschaftlichen und politischen Lebensbedingungen gelebt als die übrigen Deutschen im Reich und daher eine andere nationale Entwicklung genommen. Wie weit bei ihm der Prozeß der Herausbildung zu einer besonderen Nation fortgeschritten ist bzw. Wie eng noch die nationalen Bindungen aus der gemeinsamen Abstammung und gemeinsamen Sprache sind, kann nur eine konkrete Untersuchung seiner Geschichte ergeben." (Alfred Klahr, also known as "Rudolf"): Zur nationalen Frage in Österreich; in: Weg und Ziel, 2. Jahrgang (1937), Nr. 3.
These comments were written by the leading communist intellectual Alfred Klahr (under his pseudonym "Rudolf"), after being asked in 1936 by the communist leadership in exile in Prague
if the theoretical notion of an independent Austrian nation separate from Germany existed. In contrast, many Austrian Social Democrats regarded the affiliation to the German nation as natural and even desirable. Echoing the thoughts of Klahr, the KPÖ expressed its firm conviction in an independent Austria when the country was annexed to Nazi Germany
in March 1938. In their historical call "An das österreichische Volk" ("To the Austrian People"), the party denounced Adolf Hitler
’s dictatorship and called on all people to fight together for an independent Austria.
As a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
of 1939, a number of Austrian communists-in-exile, such as KPÖ founder member Franz Koritschoner
, were deported from the Soviet Union and handed over to the Nazis. After war broke out between Germany and the Soviet Union, the Soviets quickly reverted their stance and tried to support the Austrian Communists against their former allies.
During the Third Reich, the communists played an important role in the Austrian resistance, fighting side-by-side with former political enemies such as Christian socialists
, Catholic
s, Monarchists, and farmer
s against the regime of Hitler. Thus the KPÖ took seriously the order of the Allied Powers in the Moscow Declaration
from October 1943, which called for Austria's "own contribution" to its liberation from fascism as a condition for the resurrection of their own state. Over 2,000 communists lost their lives during the course of the resistance. There was also an Austrian communist resistance network in Belgium, the Österreichische Freiheitsfront
.
There is some disagreement amongst historians if the Austrian communists fought the Nazis out of pure patriotism or if they followed the pattern of the fight of communism against fascism in general. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. The Austrian communists wanted their country free from German occupation as much as they wanted it to become communist.
, the KPÖ was represented by seven members along with ten socialists and nine Christian socialists (see also the article about building of the Renner’s government in eLib the Austria project). Party chairman Johann Koplenig became vice-chancellor, Franz Honner responsible for home affairs, and Ernst Fischer was in charge of education. However, Renner outflanked the Communists by having two undersecretaries in each ministry. During the years of national reconstruction, the KPÖ vehemently criticised the "capitalistic reconstruction at the expense of the working class" and totally rejected the Marshall Plan
.
The Communists assured the Soviets that they could win as much as 30% of the vote in the first National Council elections in 1945
. However, the KPÖ won only 5.4% of the votes (approximately 175,000 votes) and was thus represented with only four members in the Austrian parliament. Nevertheless, chancellor Leopold Figl
offered the party a ministerial position in the government and Karl Altmann
was made Minister for Energy. With the beginning of the Cold War
and the continuing arguments around the Marshall Plan, Altmann resigned in 1947 from his office and the KPÖ became an opposition party.
and Voest factories and the nitrogen plants in the American zone of occupation. However, the interruption of the strike to legitimise it with a conference of all Austrian work councils took the momentum out of the movement and in the second phase the concentration of strikes shifted to the Soviet zone of occupation. In the Soviet occupied districts of Vienna, communist commandos stormed power stations and tram-depots. The Austrian Trade Union Federation
(ÖGB) rejected the strike. The KPÖ took a prominent role in this strike, which is why politicians of the grand coalition feared a coup d'état behind the strikes, with the goal of the installation of a people's republic
. The KPÖ denied any such intentions.
On October 5 the chairman of the Building and Wood workers Trade Union, Franz Olah
, succeeded in the dissolution of the October strikes. Olah organised workers who supported the SPÖ, in clashes with the communists they were able to outnumber and defeat them. This caused great irritation with the communist party and many SPÖ members. The fact that the Soviet Red Army
did not interfere also brought the strike to an end.
During the 10-year allied occupation from 1945–55, the threat of national division similar to that which befell post-war Germany loomed large. The Iron Curtain
was dividing the European continent into two halves. Previously kept top-secret documents in the archives in Moscow have recently been made available to the public. The so-called Sondermappe contains valuable information about loans given to the provisional Austrian government of Renner, as well as about the extent of Soviet support and influence on the KPÖ and events in Austria. In December 2005, the Austrian Academy of Sciences
(Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften) published a new report, as a finale to the jubilee year of 50 years of Austrian independence since World War II. The report, which has been summarised in the book Sowjetische Politik in Österreich 1945-1955 by the historian Werner Mueller, reveals that the leadership of the KPÖ was in constant contact with the Soviet authorities and Moscow. The ÖVP and the SPÖ were able to win the majority of the votes in parliamentary elections on November 25, 1945 (St. Catherine's Day
, therefore the elections became known as the Katharinen-Wahl), the KPÖ surprisingly won only four mandates. The KPÖ representative in Moscow, Friedrich Hexmann (b. 1900 – d. 1991) had to present a report to the Politburo
with proposals on how to improve the situation for the party. The problem with the strategy of the communists was their goal to build a future coalition (Volksfront) with the socialists. This however meant that the difference between the KPÖ and the SPÖ was not very apparent, which meant severe losses to the communists. There were also several other problems back then with the party’s ideology:
Retrospectively, it can be assumed that especially the closeness of the KPÖ to Moscow made many voters wary of the party and its aims. In the former territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, multiparty democracies were slowly but surely being penetrated and undermined by the local communist parties with the covert or even overt support of the Soviets, as was observable in Czechoslovakia
, Hungary
and Poland
. As the Iron Curtain was being drawn closed, Austrians feared the same fate as their neighbours.
Talks between the leader Johann Koplenig and Stalin (Sondermappe Codename: Gen. Filipof(f)) resulted in proposals of a possible division of Austria between East and West, similar to Germany. Since the KPÖ was constantly losing votes in the parliamentary elections, a division and establishment of a communist-led East Austria would have been a practical way to consolidate at least a part of their dwindling power. Interestingly, the Soviet authorities in Moscow showed little interest for such a division for various reasons: the size of a newly established East Austria would have been quite small and may not have been capable of existing without massive assistance. Already, the situation in the Soviet sector of Austria was extremely difficult as the Soviets confiscated all industries, factories and goods and transported anything of economic value back to the Soviet Union as part of war-reparations. Strategically, a division of Austria would have ultimately meant that a West Austria, closely linked to NATO, would have provided a connection between West Germany and Italy. A united, neutral Austria however could act as a barrier, together with Switzerland
, thereby securing a part of the Central European front for the Soviets. The proposals by the Austrian communists were therefore brushed aside.
Historians agree that Austria was extremely lucky considering the circumstances. Why was Austria spared the fate of a complete communist dictatorship unlike its neighbouring countries or even state division as in Germany? The position of the communists in Austria was not strong enough in order for them to effectively take over power, as opposed to in Czechoslovakia for example. The potentially important working class preferred to vote for the SPÖ; not even the great strike of 1950 could change that pattern. Besides, even though Austria and Vienna was divided up into four zones controlled by the Allies, similar to Germany and Berlin, an "East Austria" would have been unviable. Stalin was basically not willing to waste any further time and energy for this seemingly difficult situation, focusing rather on consolidation of the rest of eastern and central Europe under Moscow’s rule. The only realistic exit strategy was to come to some favourable agreement with the Americans, British, and French and restore Austria’s independence.
Moscow wanted a guarantee of neutrality
as a pre-condition for the release of Austria into independence; the country would not be allowed to join either sides of the Iron Curtain. As negotiations got underway, the KPÖ changed its tactics. The KPÖ swerved to Moscow’s stance and supported the idea of neutrality during the negotiations of the Austrian State Treaty
. Many members of the other parties, such as Leopold Figl, did not want neutrality but a firm anchoring with the West and NATO. However the Soviets were able to push this demand through. The Austrian State Treaty
was voted upon on May 15, 1955, the declaration of neutrality proclaimed on October 26, 1955. This was decided in the National Council with the votes of the ÖVP, SPÖ and the KPÖ; the Federation of Independents
(VdU, the forerunner of the FPÖ) voted against neutrality.
Because of the economic recovery and the end of the occupation in 1955, the protective power of the Soviet occupiers was lost to the KPÖ. The party lost a main pillar of support and was shaken by internal crisis. Just like most of the other communist parties around the world, the KPÖ had oriented itself towards Marxism-Leninism
of the Stalinist brand. After Stalin’s death, Nikita Khrushchev
took over as chairman of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
. He pursued a course of reform and shocked delegates at the 20th Party Congress on February 23, 1956 by making his famous Secret Speech denouncing the "cult of personality
" that surrounded Stalin. As a consequence of this "thaw" the KPÖ also dissociated itself from Stalinism
. A thorough analysis of the causes and the erroneous interpretations connected with Stalinism as well as its negative impact on socialism and the communist world movement, however, took place only after the collapse of the communist bloc in 1989.
The party’s failure to condemn the bloody suppression of the 1956 Hungarian uprising led to a wave of withdrawals from the party. On May 10, 1959 the KPÖ lost the National Council elections, receiving 142,000 votes, 3.3% of the total tally and thus missing the 4% benchmark.
The invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops in 1968 during the Prague Spring
was at first condemned by the KPÖ. However in 1971 the party revised its position and swung back to the Soviet side. A critic of these developments ("tank communism"), the former KPÖ Minister of Education, Ernst Fischer was expelled from the party and rehabilitated in only 1998.
Because of the continuiing fall in support, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the party flirted briefly with the idea of Eurocommunism
. This was a new brand of communism, tailored specifically to western European needs, away from the diktat
of Moscow and the eastern European communist parties. Eurocommunism was supposed to work within the framework of a liberal democracy without abandoning the aims of communism. This in turn provoked the protest of the core supporter, who saw little difference to socialism and feared a weakening of the communist cause. The leadership of the KPÖ eventually saw itself forced to backtrack on this new ideology and Eurocommunism was subsequently dropped, the party restoring the connections to the CPSU.
Having previously had 150,000 members in the first couple of post-war years, the party’s ranks shrank to around 35,000 in the 1960s and to a few thousands in the 1970s. As of 2005, membership stands at about 3,500 members.
The KPÖ was represented in the National Council from 1945 until 1959, in the state assemblies (Landtag
e) (partially with interruptions) of Salzburg
until 1949, in Lower Austria
until 1954, in the Burgenland
until 1956, in Vienna
until 1969 and in Carinthia
as well as Styria until 1970. In Upper Austria
, the Tyrol and Vorarlberg
the KPÖ never won state representation. After losing its seats in the National Council and the state assemblies, the political emphasis shifted inevitably more strongly to enterprises and trade unions, the municipalities and starting from the 1970s to non-parliamentary alliance networks.
In January 1990 two new leaders, Walter Silbermayr and Susanne Sohn, stepped in to renew the party and uncover the errors which were made in the past. The attempts by Sohn and Silbermayr to create a leftist alliance (Wahlbündnis) for the 1990 National Council elections failed. The party lost about a third of its members. In March 1991, only three months later, both chairpersons resigned, because their course of renewal was not being supported internally enough by party-members.
The party has consistently been critical of the European Community and the European Union
, comparing Austria’s accession to the EU in 1995 to the Anschluß to Nazi-Germany. The party campaigned against the European Constitution in its planned form; however it does not regard leaving the European Union as an immediate priority, but more as a long-term goal.
Until 2003, there was an official celebration on the Jesuitenwiese in the Vienna Prater
park normally held each year in the first weekend of September. The celebration was named Volksstimmefest, named its former party-newspaper. Due to financial reasons, the festival was unable to take place in 2004. It has however since then staged a comeback in September 2005. Today the KPÖ sees itself as part of the anti-globalisation movement as well as a feminist party. In the national elections it ran together with LINKE Liste, during the European elections 2004 as part of the Party of the European Left
.
in 1989, there were long court-proceedings for many years concerning the considerable net assets of the company "Novum", which was in possession of the KPÖ as a fortune reserve. Even though the company was officially an East German one, it was used to siphon money and finance the KPÖ. The company used to be able to make large amounts of money through GDR foreign trade and the protection of the East German Socialist Unity Party
(SED), with the profits used almost exclusively to support the Austrian communists. As the successor state, the Federal Republic of Germany laid claim to all the finances of Novum, which was hotly contested by the KPÖ. It came to legal proceedings. The German courts decided in 2002, that the former SED-company belonged to the state-assets of the GDR, hence to its successor state the unified Germany. Therefore, these net assets of the KPÖ were confiscated.
Due to the court decision over the "Novum" holding, the party lost over 250 million euro
s of its financial assets. The party saw no alternative but to fire all its employees and stop the production of its weekly newspaper Volksstimme ("Voice of the people"). The continuing existence of the party depends largely on volunteer work of dedicated communists and sympathisers.
Because of the financial problems, the party had to sell the so-called Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus
(EKH), which was occupied by the so-called Autonome (autonomous) activists since 1990. The sale led to substantial criticism from leftists within and outside Austria, being condemned as "capitalistic". Critics accused the KPÖ of not having exhausted all possibilities to avoid the sale. The accusation that the private buyer was a right-wing extremist could however not be substantiated.
In January 2005, there were several acts of vandalism against cars and private dwellings of KPÖ functionaries as well as the house of the KPÖ chairman. According to media reports the perpetrators outed themselves through the graffiti as EKH sympathisers. The KPÖ defended itself by arguing it had no other possible financial means to keep the house. Already in 2003 the party tried to convince the city of Vienna to buy the object to save it from privatisation; however, the city authorities did not respond so the house's occupying groups were also not willing to co-operate. Only before the 2005 local council elections, a solution could be found.
, he in turn accused them of Stalinist tendencies.
This conflict escalated in 2004, when at a party convention it was decided to enter the Party of the European Left
. In the elections to the European parliament
the KPÖ ran in a largely self-financed alliance ("Wahlbündnis LINKS") with Leo Gabriel as the leading candidate. In an interview with the magazine profil
, he spoke out against socialism ("Ich will ein solidarisches, kein sozialistisches Europa." :de:Kpö#Innerparteilicher Konflikt "I want a Europe of solidarity, not a socialist Europe"), which sparked furious criticism from the internal party opposition. A further point of contention for the opposition was that the party, in the course of its entry to the European Left Party, had to drop its previous demand of an Austrian withdrawal from the European Union. Many party organisations therefore boycotted the election campaign
. The election result of 0.77% or 20,497 votes was disappointing and meant a drop of 1,466 voices compared to the election results of 1999.
The pressure on the party leadership to convene a party congress rose as a consequence whereupon the leadership, which consisted of Walter Baier and two further members, called up the 33rd Party Congress of the KPÖ for the December 11 and December 12, 2004 as a delegation
party congress in Linz-Ebelsberg. With this summoning the leadership ignored a resolution of the 32nd Party Congress (which was held as an "all-members" party congress, not a delegates), which stated that the following 33rd Party Congress again be held as an "all-member" party congress, somewhere outside Vienna. Since the Party Congress is, according to party statute, the highest committee of the KPÖ, the opposition saw a breach of the statute and called upon the arbitration commission of the party, which has to decide in such cases. The arbitration commission decided however that formally no breach of the statute was recognisable since according to statute the Party Congress cannot decide on the concrete form of a convening party congress. Some members of the branch KPÖ Ottakring (Ottakring
is a traditional worker’s district in Vienna) tried to convene an all-members party congress of their own, justifying their actions on the statute of the party. This attempt was called off quickly due to threats of legal action from the party’s chair. The delegates Party Congress convened and took place on December 4 and December 5, 2004 with 76 delegates meeting in Ebelsberg. The Party Congress was boycotted by the internal party opposition as well as of the regional branch KPÖ Tyrol and the KPÖ Graz/Styria. The agenda of the 33rd Party Congress were the rejection of the European constitution and the European Union services guideline, the defence of public property from privatisation, as well as how to celebrate the Austrian jubilee year 2005 (60 years since the end of World War II, 50 years of independence as the Second Republic, 10 years as a member of the European Union) http://www.oesterreich2005.at/.
Walter Baier was re-elected without contest with 89.4% of the votes. Among other things, the party statute was also changed. Because of the internal conflict several members of the opposition were excluded from the party. Some critics accused the leadership of undemocratic procedures and also withdrew from the party.
In March 2006 Walter Baier resigned from the presidency of the party for personal and political reasons. He was replaced by Mirko Messner, a Carinthian Slovene and longtime party-activist, and Melina Klaus later that month.
Also the relationship to the Communist Youth of Austria - Young Left (KJÖ) was tense, because attempts have been made by the leadership to develop a new youth organisation.
developed to a successful local party (20.75% in the 2005 local council elections). This was achieved due in large part to the popular town councillor Ernst Kaltenegger. Traditionally at the year’s end the leaders of the Graz KPÖ reveal their accounts. KPO councillors are required to earn the average industrial wage and donate the rest to social programmes in accordance with the basic rules of the KPÖ. In the election to the Styrian Landtag (State Diet or assembly) on October 2, 2005 the KPÖ with leading candidate Ernest Kaltenegger were able to win four seats. This was their first return in the Styrian assembly since 1970.
|----- bgcolor="#DDDDDD"
! colspan="3"| Results of the last important elections
|-
! align="center" | Year
! align="center" | Location
! align="center" | Percentage of votes received
|-
| align="center" | 2006
| align="center" | Austria
| align="center" | 1.01% (+ 0.45%)
|-
| align="center" | 2005
| align="center" | Vienna
| align="center" | 1.47% (+ 0.83%)
|-
| align="center" | 2005
| align="center" | Styria
| align="center" | 6.32% (+ 5.31%)
|-
| align="center" | 2004
| align="center" | Europe
| align="center" | 0.78% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2004
| align="center" | Carinthia
| align="center" | 0.6% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2003
| align="center" | Upper Austria
| align="center" | 0.80% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2003
| align="center" | Lower Austria
| align="center" | 0.77% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2004
| align="center" | Tyrol
| align="center" | 0.70% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2002
| align="center" | Austria
| align="center" | 0.56% (+ 0.08)
|}>
In state elections the KPÖ ran for the last time in 1987 in Burgenland
(0.56%), in Salzburg
in 1989 (0.5%), and in Vorarlberg
in 1989 (0.71%). After hitting an absolute low in most elections in the 1990s, the party gradually succeeded to recover to results similar to the 1980s. Since October 2, 2005, the KPÖ is once again represented with 4 seats in the Styrian state assembly. Because of this regional success and the resulting extensive media-coverage the party was able to profit in the following state election in Vienna on October 23, 2005, where it reached 1.47%. This doubling in votes was partly because the age of voting was lowered to 16 years for the first time. For the first time since 1991 the KPÖ had seats in the districts. On October 23, 2005 one mandate each was won in the districts of Leopoldstadt
and Landstraße
. In the remaining 21 districts mandates were narrowly missed.
See also: Styria state election, 2005, Vienna state election, 2005
The KPÖ tried to build a leftist-alliance, similar to the Die Linkspartei. party in Germany, in time for the parliamentary elections in 2006
. However this was not successful and the party ran alone.
. The left bar shows all the chairpersons (Bundesparteivorsitzende, abbreviated as "CP") of the KPÖ, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red (Social Democratic Party
) and black (Austrian People's Party
) colours correspond to which party led the federal government (Bundesregierung, abbreviated as "Govern."). The last names of the respective chancellors are shown, the Roman numeral stands for the cabinets
.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Kommunistische Partei Österreichs, or KPÖ) is a communist party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
based in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Established in 1918, it was banned between 1933 and 1945 under both the Austrofascist regime, and German control of Austria during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It played an important role in the Austrian resistance against the Nazis and fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
.
The party publishes a newspaper called Volksstimmen (previously Volksstimme) and stands in elections, however, it has not had representation in the federal parliament since 1959. After losing its last representative in a state parliament, in Styria in 1970, it has become a fringe movement with limited political significance. At the National Council
National Council of Austria
The National Council is one of the two houses of the Austrian parliament. According to the constitution, the National Council and the complementary Federal Council are peers...
elections held on November 22, 2002, it won only 0.56% of the votes (27,568 out of a total of 4,909,645), well below the 4% minimum to obtain seats in the National Council. However, it received an exceptional 20% of the vote in the 2003 Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
local elections, and in 2005 it returned to its first state parliament in 35 years after winning 6.3% of the vote in Styria.
It is part of the New European Left Forum (NELF) and the Party of the European Left
Party of the European Left
The Party of the European Left, commonly abbreviated to just the European Left, is a political party at European level and an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed in January 2004 for the purposes of...
.
Establishment
The KPÖ was officially established on the 3 November 1918. Due to the AlliesAllies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
' sea blockade during the First World War, there was a supply shortage in Austria, resulting in workers protests. Such tactics included strikes such as the 1918 "Jännerstreik". Concurrent with the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, the left wing of the workers' movement established the KPÖ. Ruth Fischer
Ruth Fischer
Ruth Fischer was a German Communist, a co-founder of the Austrian Communist Party in 1918. According to secret information declassified in 2010, she was a key agent of the American intelligence service known as "The Pond."-Life and work:Born in Leipzig, Ruth Fischer was the daughter of the...
, Franz Koritschoner
Franz Koritschoner
Franz Koritschoner was an Austrian communist politician. Koritschoner was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Austria in 1918, and a member of its Central Committee until 1927. He edited the central party organ, Die Rote Fahne....
and Lucien Laurat
Lucien Laurat
Lucien Laurat was a Marxist and author, mostly known in the English-speaking world for his book Marxism and Democracy.In Marxism and Democracy Laurat provides an examination into the views of Rosa Luxemburg and her critique of Leninism...
were among the co-founders.
Attempts to establish a Räterepublik
Soviet (council)
Soviet was a name used for several Russian political organizations. Examples include the Czar's Council of Ministers, which was called the “Soviet of Ministers”; a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia; and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union....
(republican system of councillors) in Austria resulted in developments different to those in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
or Russia, as the Räte were able to establish themselves in only isolated, high-population density areas such as Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and the industrial areas of Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
. However, a "Red Guard" (Rote Garde) was formed and soon integrated with the Volkswehr (People's Resistance Army). On November 12, 1918 there was an attempted coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, which was not professionally organised and not authorised by the Soviet government. Within hours, the coup was smashed.
First Republic and National Socialism
During the First Republic, the KPÖ had little influence and failed to gain a single mandate in parliament, in part because of the ability of the Social Democratic PartySocial 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...
SPÖ| ability to unite the workers as an opposition
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
movement. In parallel with the ascent of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
in the Soviet Union at the end of the 1920s, the KPÖ was also refashioned in an authoritarian direction.
In 1933 the KPÖ was banned by an emergency decree of the Austrofascist
Austrofascism
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...
government of Engelbert Dollfuß but continued to work underground. According to its own sources, the KPÖ had been prepared for this situation since the end of the 1920s. After the Social Democratic Party was also forbidden, many former SPÖ supporters and functionaries, such as Ernst Fischer and Christian Broda
Christian Broda
Christian Broda was an Austrian lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Austria. He served as Minister of Justice of Austria from 1960 to 1966 in the third cabinet of Julius Raab, and again as Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Bruno Kreisky from 1970 to 1983...
, worked underground with the KPÖ.
The KPÖ took part in the workers rebellion of February 12, 1934, which was sparked by the militia Republikanischer Schutzbund. It marked the last attempt to save the democracy from fascism, but was ill fated.
Because the KPÖ had disagreed with Stalin’s branding of social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
as a form of "social fascism" since the 1920s, the Austrian communists were the avantgarde in their dissent. Their refusal to condemn the Social Democrats reflected aspects of the 7th World Congress of the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
in 1935. The Austrian communists' tolerant stance opened their party to an influx of more disappointed Social Democrats.
After the crushing of the February 1934 uprising by the federal army and the Heimwehr, the KPÖ grew rapidly from 4,000 to 16,000 members.
The KPÖ also took an independent stance from the mainstream in its views about nationhood and an Austrian identity separate from Germany:
"The view that the Austrian people are a part of the German nation is theoretically unfounded. A union of the German nation, in which also the Austrians are included, never existed and does not exist today either. The Austrian people have lived under different economic and political conditions than the remaining Germans in the "Reich", and have therefore chosen another national development. How far this process of a national development is, and/or how close the connections from the common descent and common language are, only a concrete investigation of its history can answer that." (Note: free translation)
Original: "Die Auffassung, daß das österreichische Volk ein Teil der deutschen Nation ist, ist theoretisch unbegründet. Eine Einheit der deutschen Nation, in der auch die Österreicher miteinbezogen sind, hat es bisher nie gegeben und gibt es auch heute nicht. Das österreichische Volk hat unter anderen wirtschaftlichen und politischen Lebensbedingungen gelebt als die übrigen Deutschen im Reich und daher eine andere nationale Entwicklung genommen. Wie weit bei ihm der Prozeß der Herausbildung zu einer besonderen Nation fortgeschritten ist bzw. Wie eng noch die nationalen Bindungen aus der gemeinsamen Abstammung und gemeinsamen Sprache sind, kann nur eine konkrete Untersuchung seiner Geschichte ergeben." (Alfred Klahr, also known as "Rudolf"): Zur nationalen Frage in Österreich; in: Weg und Ziel, 2. Jahrgang (1937), Nr. 3.
These comments were written by the leading communist intellectual Alfred Klahr (under his pseudonym "Rudolf"), after being asked in 1936 by the communist leadership in exile in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
if the theoretical notion of an independent Austrian nation separate from Germany existed. In contrast, many Austrian Social Democrats regarded the affiliation to the German nation as natural and even desirable. Echoing the thoughts of Klahr, the KPÖ expressed its firm conviction in an independent Austria when the country was annexed to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in March 1938. In their historical call "An das österreichische Volk" ("To the Austrian People"), the party denounced Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
’s dictatorship and called on all people to fight together for an independent Austria.
As a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
of 1939, a number of Austrian communists-in-exile, such as KPÖ founder member Franz Koritschoner
Franz Koritschoner
Franz Koritschoner was an Austrian communist politician. Koritschoner was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Austria in 1918, and a member of its Central Committee until 1927. He edited the central party organ, Die Rote Fahne....
, were deported from the Soviet Union and handed over to the Nazis. After war broke out between Germany and the Soviet Union, the Soviets quickly reverted their stance and tried to support the Austrian Communists against their former allies.
During the Third Reich, the communists played an important role in the Austrian resistance, fighting side-by-side with former political enemies such as Christian socialists
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
, Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s, Monarchists, and farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s against the regime of Hitler. Thus the KPÖ took seriously the order of the Allied Powers in the Moscow Declaration
Moscow Declaration
The Moscow Declaration was signed during the Moscow Conference on October 30, 1943. The formal name of the declaration was "Declaration of the Four Nations on General Security". It was signed by the foreign secretaries of the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union...
from October 1943, which called for Austria's "own contribution" to its liberation from fascism as a condition for the resurrection of their own state. Over 2,000 communists lost their lives during the course of the resistance. There was also an Austrian communist resistance network in Belgium, the Österreichische Freiheitsfront
Österreichische Freiheitsfront
The Österreichische Freiheitsfront was an antifascist organization created by Austrian and German communist refugees in Brussels during the Second World War occupation of Belgium by Nazi Germany...
.
There is some disagreement amongst historians if the Austrian communists fought the Nazis out of pure patriotism or if they followed the pattern of the fight of communism against fascism in general. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. The Austrian communists wanted their country free from German occupation as much as they wanted it to become communist.
Second Republic
After Austria regained its freedom from Germany, the party briefly reached national importance because it was in part able to count on the support of the occupying Soviet authorities. In the first provisional government under Karl RennerKarl Renner
Karl Renner was an Austrian politician. He was born in Untertannowitz in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and died in Vienna...
, the KPÖ was represented by seven members along with ten socialists and nine Christian socialists (see also the article about building of the Renner’s government in eLib the Austria project). Party chairman Johann Koplenig became vice-chancellor, Franz Honner responsible for home affairs, and Ernst Fischer was in charge of education. However, Renner outflanked the Communists by having two undersecretaries in each ministry. During the years of national reconstruction, the KPÖ vehemently criticised the "capitalistic reconstruction at the expense of the working class" and totally rejected the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
.
The Communists assured the Soviets that they could win as much as 30% of the vote in the first National Council elections in 1945
Austrian legislative election, 1945
The elections to the Austrian National Council held in fall of 1945 were the first after World War II. The elections were held according to the Austrian election law of 1929, with all citizens at least 21 years old eligible to vote, however former Nazis were banned from voting, official sources...
. However, the KPÖ won only 5.4% of the votes (approximately 175,000 votes) and was thus represented with only four members in the Austrian parliament. Nevertheless, chancellor Leopold Figl
Leopold Figl
Leopold Figl was an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party and the first Federal Chancellor after World War II...
offered the party a ministerial position in the government and Karl Altmann
Karl Altmann
- Biography :Altmann, son of Joseph Altmann, was born in Feuchtwangen and grew up in Ansbach. He studied painting in Munich and then at the Arts Academy Dresden, visited Italy, and settled down in Munich....
was made Minister for Energy. With the beginning of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and the continuing arguments around the Marshall Plan, Altmann resigned in 1947 from his office and the KPÖ became an opposition party.
October strike 1950
Because the post-war national economy was totally destroyed, the government had to institute an austere programme of recovery. The planned measures (Viertes Lohn- und Preisabkommen, Fourth wage and price-fixing agreement) included substantial price increases but much smaller wage increases and large-scale strike movements formed in protest from September 26 to October 6, 1950. This, the largest strike action in the post-war history of Austria, started in the SteyrSteyr
Steyr is a town, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Steyr and Enns. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and simultaneously the 3rd largest town in Upper Austria....
and Voest factories and the nitrogen plants in the American zone of occupation. However, the interruption of the strike to legitimise it with a conference of all Austrian work councils took the momentum out of the movement and in the second phase the concentration of strikes shifted to the Soviet zone of occupation. In the Soviet occupied districts of Vienna, communist commandos stormed power stations and tram-depots. The Austrian Trade Union Federation
Austrian Trade Union Federation
-External links:*...
(ÖGB) rejected the strike. The KPÖ took a prominent role in this strike, which is why politicians of the grand coalition feared a coup d'état behind the strikes, with the goal of the installation of a people's republic
People's Republic
People's Republic is a title that has often been used by Marxist-Leninist governments to describe their state. The motivation for using this term lies in the claim that Marxist-Leninists govern in accordance with the interests of the vast majority of the people, and, as such, a Marxist-Leninist...
. The KPÖ denied any such intentions.
On October 5 the chairman of the Building and Wood workers Trade Union, Franz Olah
Franz Olah
Franz Olah was an Austrian politician who served as the country's Interior Minister from 1963 until 1964 as a member of the Social Democratic Party ....
, succeeded in the dissolution of the October strikes. Olah organised workers who supported the SPÖ, in clashes with the communists they were able to outnumber and defeat them. This caused great irritation with the communist party and many SPÖ members. The fact that the Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
did not interfere also brought the strike to an end.
Weaknesses and crises
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
was dividing the European continent into two halves. Previously kept top-secret documents in the archives in Moscow have recently been made available to the public. The so-called Sondermappe contains valuable information about loans given to the provisional Austrian government of Renner, as well as about the extent of Soviet support and influence on the KPÖ and events in Austria. In December 2005, the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Austrian Academy of Sciences
The Austrian Academy of Sciences is a legal entity under the special protection of the Federal Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every field, particularly in fundamental research...
(Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften) published a new report, as a finale to the jubilee year of 50 years of Austrian independence since World War II. The report, which has been summarised in the book Sowjetische Politik in Österreich 1945-1955 by the historian Werner Mueller, reveals that the leadership of the KPÖ was in constant contact with the Soviet authorities and Moscow. The ÖVP and the SPÖ were able to win the majority of the votes in parliamentary elections on November 25, 1945 (St. Catherine's Day
St. Catherine's Day
St. Catherine's Day is on 25 November each year. It has retained its popularity throughout the centuries and is still widely celebrated in modern-day Estonia. It marks the arrival of winter and is one of the more important and popular autumn days in the Estonian folk calendar...
, therefore the elections became known as the Katharinen-Wahl), the KPÖ surprisingly won only four mandates. The KPÖ representative in Moscow, Friedrich Hexmann (b. 1900 – d. 1991) had to present a report to the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
with proposals on how to improve the situation for the party. The problem with the strategy of the communists was their goal to build a future coalition (Volksfront) with the socialists. This however meant that the difference between the KPÖ and the SPÖ was not very apparent, which meant severe losses to the communists. There were also several other problems back then with the party’s ideology:
- 1) The party projected itself as a true Austrian patriotic party, believing and having fought for the liberation from Nazi Germany. The KPÖ had little problem correctly identifying and admitting the guilt that Austrians had in the crimes committed under the Hitler regime. Insofar, the KPÖ was already ahead of its time. However, right after the war Austria preferred to have a collective amnesiaAmnesiaAmnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
about its role and preferred to regard itself as the first victim of Nazi Germany, not its supporter. Any talk by the communists of the guilt that Austrians carried was therefore not working in favour for the KPÖ.
- 2) The KPÖ advocated full compensationDamagesIn law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...
of war damages to the Soviet Union and
- 3) It supported further closer ties to Moscow, not necessarily to the West.
Retrospectively, it can be assumed that especially the closeness of the KPÖ to Moscow made many voters wary of the party and its aims. In the former territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, multiparty democracies were slowly but surely being penetrated and undermined by the local communist parties with the covert or even overt support of the Soviets, as was observable in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. As the Iron Curtain was being drawn closed, Austrians feared the same fate as their neighbours.
Talks between the leader Johann Koplenig and Stalin (Sondermappe Codename: Gen. Filipof(f)) resulted in proposals of a possible division of Austria between East and West, similar to Germany. Since the KPÖ was constantly losing votes in the parliamentary elections, a division and establishment of a communist-led East Austria would have been a practical way to consolidate at least a part of their dwindling power. Interestingly, the Soviet authorities in Moscow showed little interest for such a division for various reasons: the size of a newly established East Austria would have been quite small and may not have been capable of existing without massive assistance. Already, the situation in the Soviet sector of Austria was extremely difficult as the Soviets confiscated all industries, factories and goods and transported anything of economic value back to the Soviet Union as part of war-reparations. Strategically, a division of Austria would have ultimately meant that a West Austria, closely linked to NATO, would have provided a connection between West Germany and Italy. A united, neutral Austria however could act as a barrier, together with Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, thereby securing a part of the Central European front for the Soviets. The proposals by the Austrian communists were therefore brushed aside.
Historians agree that Austria was extremely lucky considering the circumstances. Why was Austria spared the fate of a complete communist dictatorship unlike its neighbouring countries or even state division as in Germany? The position of the communists in Austria was not strong enough in order for them to effectively take over power, as opposed to in Czechoslovakia for example. The potentially important working class preferred to vote for the SPÖ; not even the great strike of 1950 could change that pattern. Besides, even though Austria and Vienna was divided up into four zones controlled by the Allies, similar to Germany and Berlin, an "East Austria" would have been unviable. Stalin was basically not willing to waste any further time and energy for this seemingly difficult situation, focusing rather on consolidation of the rest of eastern and central Europe under Moscow’s rule. The only realistic exit strategy was to come to some favourable agreement with the Americans, British, and French and restore Austria’s independence.
Moscow wanted a guarantee of neutrality
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
as a pre-condition for the release of Austria into independence; the country would not be allowed to join either sides of the Iron Curtain. As negotiations got underway, the KPÖ changed its tactics. The KPÖ swerved to Moscow’s stance and supported the idea of neutrality during the negotiations of the Austrian State Treaty
Austrian State Treaty
The Austrian State Treaty or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on May 15, 1955, in Vienna at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying powers and the Austrian government...
. Many members of the other parties, such as Leopold Figl, did not want neutrality but a firm anchoring with the West and NATO. However the Soviets were able to push this demand through. The Austrian State Treaty
Austrian State Treaty
The Austrian State Treaty or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on May 15, 1955, in Vienna at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying powers and the Austrian government...
was voted upon on May 15, 1955, the declaration of neutrality proclaimed on October 26, 1955. This was decided in the National Council with the votes of the ÖVP, SPÖ and the KPÖ; 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...
(VdU, the forerunner of the FPÖ) voted against neutrality.
Because of the economic recovery and the end of the occupation in 1955, the protective power of the Soviet occupiers was lost to the KPÖ. The party lost a main pillar of support and was shaken by internal crisis. Just like most of the other communist parties around the world, the KPÖ had oriented itself towards Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
of the Stalinist brand. After Stalin’s death, Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
took over as chairman of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
. He pursued a course of reform and shocked delegates at the 20th Party Congress on February 23, 1956 by making his famous Secret Speech denouncing the "cult of personality
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
" that surrounded Stalin. As a consequence of this "thaw" the KPÖ also dissociated itself from Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
. A thorough analysis of the causes and the erroneous interpretations connected with Stalinism as well as its negative impact on socialism and the communist world movement, however, took place only after the collapse of the communist bloc in 1989.
The party’s failure to condemn the bloody suppression of the 1956 Hungarian uprising led to a wave of withdrawals from the party. On May 10, 1959 the KPÖ lost the National Council elections, receiving 142,000 votes, 3.3% of the total tally and thus missing the 4% benchmark.
The invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops in 1968 during the Prague Spring
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
was at first condemned by the KPÖ. However in 1971 the party revised its position and swung back to the Soviet side. A critic of these developments ("tank communism"), the former KPÖ Minister of Education, Ernst Fischer was expelled from the party and rehabilitated in only 1998.
Because of the continuiing fall in support, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the party flirted briefly with the idea of Eurocommunism
Eurocommunism
Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy and less aligned to the influence or control of the Communist Party of the Soviet...
. This was a new brand of communism, tailored specifically to western European needs, away from the diktat
Diktat
A diktat is a harsh penalty or settlement imposed upon a defeated party by the victor, or a dogmatic decree. Historically, it was particularly used in Germany to refer to the Treaty of Versailles....
of Moscow and the eastern European communist parties. Eurocommunism was supposed to work within the framework of a liberal democracy without abandoning the aims of communism. This in turn provoked the protest of the core supporter, who saw little difference to socialism and feared a weakening of the communist cause. The leadership of the KPÖ eventually saw itself forced to backtrack on this new ideology and Eurocommunism was subsequently dropped, the party restoring the connections to the CPSU.
Having previously had 150,000 members in the first couple of post-war years, the party’s ranks shrank to around 35,000 in the 1960s and to a few thousands in the 1970s. As of 2005, membership stands at about 3,500 members.
The KPÖ was represented in the National Council from 1945 until 1959, in the state assemblies (Landtag
Landtag
A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...
e) (partially with interruptions) of Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
until 1949, in Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
until 1954, in the Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
until 1956, in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
until 1969 and in Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
as well as Styria until 1970. In Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
, the Tyrol and Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...
the KPÖ never won state representation. After losing its seats in the National Council and the state assemblies, the political emphasis shifted inevitably more strongly to enterprises and trade unions, the municipalities and starting from the 1970s to non-parliamentary alliance networks.
After the fall of Socialist Bloc
With the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, the KPÖ saw itself confronted with new challenges about its philosophy and future. The experiment with a moderate form of Eurocommunism did not go down well with its core supporters; however, moderate voters could not be persuaded either. The KPÖ faced difficult times as communism and communist parties throughout the world were receding.In January 1990 two new leaders, Walter Silbermayr and Susanne Sohn, stepped in to renew the party and uncover the errors which were made in the past. The attempts by Sohn and Silbermayr to create a leftist alliance (Wahlbündnis) for the 1990 National Council elections failed. The party lost about a third of its members. In March 1991, only three months later, both chairpersons resigned, because their course of renewal was not being supported internally enough by party-members.
The party has consistently been critical of the European Community and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, comparing Austria’s accession to the EU in 1995 to the Anschluß to Nazi-Germany. The party campaigned against the European Constitution in its planned form; however it does not regard leaving the European Union as an immediate priority, but more as a long-term goal.
Until 2003, there was an official celebration on the Jesuitenwiese in the Vienna Prater
Prater
The Wiener Prater is a large public park in Vienna's 2nd district . The amusement park, often simply called "Prater", stands in one corner of the Wiener Prater and includes the .-Name:...
park normally held each year in the first weekend of September. The celebration was named Volksstimmefest, named its former party-newspaper. Due to financial reasons, the festival was unable to take place in 2004. It has however since then staged a comeback in September 2005. Today the KPÖ sees itself as part of the anti-globalisation movement as well as a feminist party. In the national elections it ran together with LINKE Liste, during the European elections 2004 as part of the Party of the European Left
Party of the European Left
The Party of the European Left, commonly abbreviated to just the European Left, is a political party at European level and an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed in January 2004 for the purposes of...
.
Financial situation
After the collapse of the German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
in 1989, there were long court-proceedings for many years concerning the considerable net assets of the company "Novum", which was in possession of the KPÖ as a fortune reserve. Even though the company was officially an East German one, it was used to siphon money and finance the KPÖ. The company used to be able to make large amounts of money through GDR foreign trade and the protection of the East German Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
(SED), with the profits used almost exclusively to support the Austrian communists. As the successor state, the Federal Republic of Germany laid claim to all the finances of Novum, which was hotly contested by the KPÖ. It came to legal proceedings. The German courts decided in 2002, that the former SED-company belonged to the state-assets of the GDR, hence to its successor state the unified Germany. Therefore, these net assets of the KPÖ were confiscated.
Due to the court decision over the "Novum" holding, the party lost over 250 million euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s of its financial assets. The party saw no alternative but to fire all its employees and stop the production of its weekly newspaper Volksstimme ("Voice of the people"). The continuing existence of the party depends largely on volunteer work of dedicated communists and sympathisers.
Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus
The Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus is a building in Vienna's 10th district, Favoriten.Since June 23, 1990, it has been a squatted social centre, which hosts migrants and refugees, community activities, and political groups.-Overview:...
(EKH), which was occupied by the so-called Autonome (autonomous) activists since 1990. The sale led to substantial criticism from leftists within and outside Austria, being condemned as "capitalistic". Critics accused the KPÖ of not having exhausted all possibilities to avoid the sale. The accusation that the private buyer was a right-wing extremist could however not be substantiated.
In January 2005, there were several acts of vandalism against cars and private dwellings of KPÖ functionaries as well as the house of the KPÖ chairman. According to media reports the perpetrators outed themselves through the graffiti as EKH sympathisers. The KPÖ defended itself by arguing it had no other possible financial means to keep the house. Already in 2003 the party tried to convince the city of Vienna to buy the object to save it from privatisation; however, the city authorities did not respond so the house's occupying groups were also not willing to co-operate. Only before the 2005 local council elections, a solution could be found.
Internal party conflict
Since 1994 a conflict has been boiling between the party leadership around Walter Baier and different internal oppositional party-groups, who had gathered themselves mainly around the newspaper nVs (neue Volksstimme, "new Voice of the people") and the internet platform www.kominform.at. While the critics accused Walter Baier of revisionism and betrayal of MarxismMarxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, he in turn accused them of Stalinist tendencies.
This conflict escalated in 2004, when at a party convention it was decided to enter the Party of the European Left
Party of the European Left
The Party of the European Left, commonly abbreviated to just the European Left, is a political party at European level and an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed in January 2004 for the purposes of...
. In the elections to the European parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
the KPÖ ran in a largely self-financed alliance ("Wahlbündnis LINKS") with Leo Gabriel as the leading candidate. In an interview with the magazine profil
Profil (magazine)
profil is an Austrian news magazine. It was founded in 1970 by Oscar Bronner, who also founded the magazine Trend and the daily newspaper Der Standard....
, he spoke out against socialism ("Ich will ein solidarisches, kein sozialistisches Europa." :de:Kpö#Innerparteilicher Konflikt "I want a Europe of solidarity, not a socialist Europe"), which sparked furious criticism from the internal party opposition. A further point of contention for the opposition was that the party, in the course of its entry to the European Left Party, had to drop its previous demand of an Austrian withdrawal from the European Union. Many party organisations therefore boycotted the election campaign
Election boycott
An election boycott is the boycotting of an election by a group of voters, each of whom abstains from voting.Boycotting may be used as a form of political protest where voters feel that electoral fraud is likely, or that the electoral system is biased against its candidates, or that the polity...
. The election result of 0.77% or 20,497 votes was disappointing and meant a drop of 1,466 voices compared to the election results of 1999.
The pressure on the party leadership to convene a party congress rose as a consequence whereupon the leadership, which consisted of Walter Baier and two further members, called up the 33rd Party Congress of the KPÖ for the December 11 and December 12, 2004 as a delegation
Delegation
Delegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. However the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work. Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e...
party congress in Linz-Ebelsberg. With this summoning the leadership ignored a resolution of the 32nd Party Congress (which was held as an "all-members" party congress, not a delegates), which stated that the following 33rd Party Congress again be held as an "all-member" party congress, somewhere outside Vienna. Since the Party Congress is, according to party statute, the highest committee of the KPÖ, the opposition saw a breach of the statute and called upon the arbitration commission of the party, which has to decide in such cases. The arbitration commission decided however that formally no breach of the statute was recognisable since according to statute the Party Congress cannot decide on the concrete form of a convening party congress. Some members of the branch KPÖ Ottakring (Ottakring
Ottakring
Ottakring is the 16th District in the city of Vienna, Austria . It is located west of the central districts, north of Penzing and south of Hernals. Ottakring has some heavily populated urban areas with many residential buildings...
is a traditional worker’s district in Vienna) tried to convene an all-members party congress of their own, justifying their actions on the statute of the party. This attempt was called off quickly due to threats of legal action from the party’s chair. The delegates Party Congress convened and took place on December 4 and December 5, 2004 with 76 delegates meeting in Ebelsberg. The Party Congress was boycotted by the internal party opposition as well as of the regional branch KPÖ Tyrol and the KPÖ Graz/Styria. The agenda of the 33rd Party Congress were the rejection of the European constitution and the European Union services guideline, the defence of public property from privatisation, as well as how to celebrate the Austrian jubilee year 2005 (60 years since the end of World War II, 50 years of independence as the Second Republic, 10 years as a member of the European Union) http://www.oesterreich2005.at/.
Walter Baier was re-elected without contest with 89.4% of the votes. Among other things, the party statute was also changed. Because of the internal conflict several members of the opposition were excluded from the party. Some critics accused the leadership of undemocratic procedures and also withdrew from the party.
In March 2006 Walter Baier resigned from the presidency of the party for personal and political reasons. He was replaced by Mirko Messner, a Carinthian Slovene and longtime party-activist, and Melina Klaus later that month.
Also the relationship to the Communist Youth of Austria - Young Left (KJÖ) was tense, because attempts have been made by the leadership to develop a new youth organisation.
KPÖ Graz and Styria
On the local level a continuing importance was achieved in the state of Styria, where the KPÖ GrazGraz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
developed to a successful local party (20.75% in the 2005 local council elections). This was achieved due in large part to the popular town councillor Ernst Kaltenegger. Traditionally at the year’s end the leaders of the Graz KPÖ reveal their accounts. KPO councillors are required to earn the average industrial wage and donate the rest to social programmes in accordance with the basic rules of the KPÖ. In the election to the Styrian Landtag (State Diet or assembly) on October 2, 2005 the KPÖ with leading candidate Ernest Kaltenegger were able to win four seats. This was their first return in the Styrian assembly since 1970.
Recent elections
! colspan="3"| Results of the last important elections
|-
! align="center" | Year
! align="center" | Location
! align="center" | Percentage of votes received
|-
| align="center" | 2006
Austrian legislative election, 2006
The 2006 general election for the National Council in Austria was held on 1 October 2006.Following the Austrian legislative election, 1999, the Austrian People's Party had formed a coalition government with the Austrian Freedom Party , and later the Alliance for the Future of Austria .As a result...
| align="center" | Austria
| align="center" | 1.01% (+ 0.45%)
|-
| align="center" | 2005
| align="center" | Vienna
| align="center" | 1.47% (+ 0.83%)
|-
| align="center" | 2005
| align="center" | Styria
| align="center" | 6.32% (+ 5.31%)
|-
| align="center" | 2004
European Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
| align="center" | Europe
| align="center" | 0.78% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2004
| align="center" | Carinthia
| align="center" | 0.6% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2003
| align="center" | Upper Austria
| align="center" | 0.80% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2003
| align="center" | Lower Austria
| align="center" | 0.77% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2004
| align="center" | Tyrol
| align="center" | 0.70% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2002
| align="center" | Austria
| align="center" | 0.56% (+ 0.08)
|}>
In state elections the KPÖ ran for the last time in 1987 in Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
(0.56%), in Salzburg
Salzburg (state)
Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...
in 1989 (0.5%), and in Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...
in 1989 (0.71%). After hitting an absolute low in most elections in the 1990s, the party gradually succeeded to recover to results similar to the 1980s. Since October 2, 2005, the KPÖ is once again represented with 4 seats in the Styrian state assembly. Because of this regional success and the resulting extensive media-coverage the party was able to profit in the following state election in Vienna on October 23, 2005, where it reached 1.47%. This doubling in votes was partly because the age of voting was lowered to 16 years for the first time. For the first time since 1991 the KPÖ had seats in the districts. On October 23, 2005 one mandate each was won in the districts of Leopoldstadt
Leopoldstadt
Leopoldstadt is the 2nd municipal District of Vienna . There are inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau , forms a large island surrounded by the Danube Canal and, to the north, the Danube. It is named after Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor...
and Landstraße
Landstraße
Landstraße is the 3rd municipal District of Vienna, Austria] . It is near the center of Vienna and was established in the 19th century. Landstraße is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and residential homes. It has inhabitants in an area of 7.42 km². It has existed since...
. In the remaining 21 districts mandates were narrowly missed.
See also: Styria state election, 2005, Vienna state election, 2005
The KPÖ tried to build a leftist-alliance, similar to the Die Linkspartei. party in Germany, in time for the parliamentary elections in 2006
Austrian legislative election, 2006
The 2006 general election for the National Council in Austria was held on 1 October 2006.Following the Austrian legislative election, 1999, the Austrian People's Party had formed a coalition government with the Austrian Freedom Party , and later the Alliance for the Future of Austria .As a result...
. However this was not successful and the party ran alone.
Party chairpersons since 1945
The chart below shows a timeline of the communist chairpersons and the Chancellors of AustriaChancellor of Austria
The Federal Chancellor is the head of government in Austria. Its deputy is the Vice-Chancellor. Before 1918, the equivalent office was the Minister-President of Austria. The Federal Chancellor is considered to be the most powerful political position in Austrian politics.-Appointment:The...
. The left bar shows all the chairpersons (Bundesparteivorsitzende, abbreviated as "CP") of the KPÖ, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red (Social Democratic Party
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...
) and black (Austrian People's Party
Austrian 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...
) colours correspond to which party led the federal government (Bundesregierung, abbreviated as "Govern."). The last names of the respective chancellors are shown, the Roman numeral stands for the cabinets
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
.
Literature
- Autorenkollektiv: Die Kommunistische Partei Österreichs. Beiträge zu ihrer Geschichte und Politik Globus-Verlag. Wien 1989
- Walter Baier und Franz Muhri: Stalin und wir Globus-Verlag, Wien 1991, ISBN 3-901421-51-3
- Heinz Gärtner: Zwischen Moskau und Österreich. Die KPÖ - Analyse einer sowjetabhängigen Partei. In: Studien zur österreichischen und internationalen Politik 3 - : Braumüller, Wien 1979
- Helmut Konrad: KPÖ u. KSC zur Zeit des Hitler-Stalin-Paktes Europa-Verlag, Wien München Zürich 1978, (Veröffentlichung des Ludwig Boltzmann Inst. f. Geschichte d. Arbeiterbewegung)
- Manfred Mugrauer: Die Politik der KPÖ in der Provisorischen Regierung Renner Studien-Verlag (erscheint im September 2006), ISBN 3-7065-4142-4
- Wolfgang Mueller: Die sowjetische Besatzung in Österreich 1945-1955 und ihre politische Mission Boehlau Verlag, Wien 2005, ISBN 3-205-77399-3
- Wolfgang Mueller, A. Suppan, N. Naimark, G. Bordjugov (Ed.). Sowjetische Politik in Österreich 1945–1955: Dokumente aus russischen Archiven ISBN 3-7001-3536-X http://www.austriaca.at/3536-X