Engelbert Dollfuss
Encyclopedia
Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austria
n Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman
. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government. 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 regime was maintained through the Stresa Front
until Adolf Hitler
's annexing of Austria
in 1938.
in Lower Austria
to a 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
because (according to The New York Times
) he was only 150 cm (4'11") 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 a prisoner 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 Austria
n 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's, Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang
.) The following year he was named Minister of Agriculture and Forests.
'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 the Heimwehr
, 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. Post-Treaty of Saint-Germain Austria was therefore economically disadvantaged.
Dollfuss's majority in Parliament
was marginal; his government had only a one-vote majority.
(the lower house of parliament) 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.
after Italian fascism
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.
. 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 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.
and others) of Regiment 89 who entered the Chancellery building and shot him in an attempted coup d'état, the July Putsch
. 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 to thwart the putsch. 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. 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 Ernst Rüdiger 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 (Rudi) Dollfuss is alive as of today.
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").
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...
n Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government. In early 1933, he shut down parliament, banned the Austrian Nazi party and assumed dictatorial powers. Suppressing the Socialist movement
Austrian Civil War
The Austrian Civil War , also known as the February Uprising , is a term sometimes used for a few days of skirmishes between socialist and conservative-fascist forces between 12 February and 16 February 1934, in Austria...
in February 1934, he cemented the rule of “austrofascism
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...
” through the authoritarian First of May Constitution. Dollfuss was assassinated as part of a failed coup attempt by Nazi agents in 1934. His regime was maintained through the Stresa Front
Stresa Front
The Stresa Front was an agreement made in Stresa, a town on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Italy, between French foreign minister Pierre Laval, British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald, and Italian prime minister Benito Mussolini on April 14, 1935...
until 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 annexing of Austria
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
in 1938.
Early life
He was born in TexingTexingtal
Texingtal is a town in the district of Melk in the Austrian state of Lower Austria....
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...
to a single and deeply religious mother Josepha Dollfuss by an unknown father. Dollfuss was educated at a Roman Catholic seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
before deciding to study law at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and then economics at the University of Berlin.
Dollfuss had difficulty gaining admission into the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
because (according to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
) he was only 150 cm (4'11") 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 a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in 1918. After the war he worked for the agriculture ministry as secretary of the Farmers' Association and became director of the 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...
n 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
ÖBB
The Austrian Federal Railways is the national railway system of Austria, and the administrators of Liechtenstein's railways...
. (One of the founders of the CS was a hero of Dollfuss's, Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang
Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang
Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang , a journalist, politician and Catholic social reformer, was one of the mentors of the Christian Social movement in Austria-Hungary.-Life:...
.) The following year he was named Minister of Agriculture and Forests.
Chancellor of Austria
In late May 1932, with the resignation of Karl BureschKarl Buresch
Karl Buresch was a lawyer, Christian-Social politician and chancellor of Austria during the First Republic.- Education :...
's Christian-Social government, Dollfuss, age 39 and with only one year's experience in the Federal government, was offered the office of Chancellor
Chancellor 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...
by President Wilhelm Miklas
Wilhelm Miklas
Wilhelm Miklas was an Austrian politician who served as the third President of Austria, from 1928 until its annexation by Nazi Germany in the Anschluss 1938.-Early life:...
, 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
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
between the Christian-Social Party, the Landbund
Landbund
The Landbund was an Austrian political party during the period of the First Republic .-History:The Landbund was founded in 1919 as Deutsche Bauernpartei and represented liberal and protestant farmers in Styria, Carinthia and Upper Austria...
—a right-wing agrarian
Agrarianism
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values...
party—and Heimatblock
Heimwehr
The Heimwehr or sometimes Heimatschutz were a Nationalist, initially paramilitary group operating within Austria during the 1920s and 1930s; they were similar in methods, organisation, and ideology to Germany's Freikorps...
, the parliamentary wing of the Heimwehr
Heimwehr
The Heimwehr or sometimes Heimatschutz were a Nationalist, initially paramilitary group operating within Austria during the 1920s and 1930s; they were similar in methods, organisation, and ideology to Germany's Freikorps...
, a paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
ultra-nationalist group. The coalition assumed the pressing task of tackling the problems of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Much of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's industry had been situated in the areas that became part of 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...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a result of the Treaty of Saint-Germain. Post-Treaty of Saint-Germain Austria was therefore economically disadvantaged.
Dollfuss's majority in Parliament
Federal Assembly of Austria
The Federal Assembly is the name given to a formal joint session of the two houses of the Austrian federal parliament, the National Council and the Federal Council....
was marginal; his government had only a one-vote majority.
Dollfuss as dictator of Austria
In March 1933, an argument arose over irregularities in the voting procedure. The president of the National CouncilNational 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...
(the lower house of parliament) 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
President of Austria
The President of Austria is the federal head of state of Austria. Though theoretically entrusted with great power by the constitution, in practice the President acts, for the most part, merely as a ceremonial figurehead...
Wilhelm Miklas
Wilhelm Miklas
Wilhelm Miklas was an Austrian politician who served as the third President of Austria, from 1928 until its annexation by Nazi Germany in the Anschluss 1938.-Early life:...
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
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...
becoming Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Austrian National Socialists
Austrian National Socialism
Austrian National Socialism was a Pan-German movement that was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. The movement took a concrete form on November 15, 1903 when the German Worker's Party was established in Austria with its secretariat stationed in the town of Aussig...
(DNSAP) could gain a significant minority in future elections (according to fascism scholar Stanley G. Payne
Stanley G. Payne
Stanley George Payne is a historian of modern Spain and European Fascism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He retired from full time teaching in 2004 and is currently Professor Emeritus at its Department of History. Payne is one of the most famous modern theorists of fascism...
, should elections have been held in 1933, the DNSAP could have mustered about 25% of the votes - contemporary TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
analysts suggests a higher support of 50%, with a 75% approval rate in the Tyrol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
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 AustrofascismAustrofascism
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...
after Italian 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...
juxtaposed to 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"...
corporatism
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
and anti-secularism
Clericalism
Clericalism is the application of the formal, church-based, leadership or opinion of ordained clergy in matters of either the church or broader political and sociocultural import...
, 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
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
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
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, 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 in the security forces provoked arrests of Social Democrats and unjustified searches for weapons of the Social Democrats' already outlawed Republikanischer SchutzbundRepublikanischer Schutzbund
The Republikanischer Schutzbund was a paramilitary organization established in 1923 by the Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs to secure power in the face of rising political radicalization after World War I....
. After the Dollfuss dictatorship took steps against known Social Democrats, the Social Democrats called for nationwide resistance against the government. A civil war
Austrian Civil War
The Austrian Civil War , also known as the February Uprising , is a term sometimes used for a few days of skirmishes between socialist and conservative-fascist forces between 12 February and 16 February 1934, in Austria...
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
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...
districts, where large fortress-like municipal workers' buildings
Gemeindebau
Gemeindebau is a German word for "municipality building". It refers to residential buildings erected by a municipality, usually to provide low-cost public housing....
were situated, and in the northern, industrial areas of the province of Styria, where Nazi agents 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 espousing corporatist ideas (after that of the Portuguese Estado Novo). The session retroactively 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 PlanettaOtto Planetta
Otto Planetta born August 2, 1899 in Vyškov, Austro-Hungarian Empire, now Czech Republic, died by execution on July 31, 1934 in Vienna, Austria. On July 25, 1934 he had murdered Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian Chancellor before the Anschluss. He and the other assassins were members of SS Regiment...
and others) of Regiment 89 who entered the Chancellery building and shot him in an attempted coup d'état, the July Putsch
July Putsch
The July Putsch was a failed coup d'etat attempt against the Austrofascist regime by Austrian Nazis, which took place between 25 – 30 July 1934.- Background :...
. 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 to thwart the putsch. The assassination of Dollfuss was accompanied by uprisings in many regions in Austria, resulting in further deaths. 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...
, a large contingent of northern German Nazis tried to seize power but were subdued by the Italian units nearby. The Nazi assassins in Vienna, after declaring the formation of a new government under Austrian Nazi Anton Rintelen
Anton Rintelen
Anton Rintelen was an Austrian academic, jurist and politician. Initially associated with the right wing Christian Social Party, he later became involved in a Nazi coup d'etat plot....
, previously exiled by Dollfuss as Austrian Ambassador to Rome, surrendered after threats from Austrian military of blowing up the Chancellery using dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
, and were subsequently tried and executed through hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
. Kurt Schuschnigg
Kurt Schuschnigg
Kurt Alois Josef Johann Schuschnigg was Chancellor of the First Austrian Republic, following the assassination of his predecessor, Dr. Engelbert Dollfuss, in July 1934, until Germany’s invasion of Austria, , in March 1938...
, previously Minister of Education was appointed new chancellor of Austria after a few days, assuming the office from Dollfuss' deputy Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg
Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg
Ernst Rüdiger Camillo Starhemberg was an Austrian nationalist and conservative politician prior to World War II, a leader of the Heimwehr and later of the Christian Social Party/Fatherland's Front...
.
Out of a population of 6.5 million, approximately 500,000 Austrians were present at Dollfuss' burial 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...
. He is interred in the Hietzing
Hietzing
Hietzing is the 13th municipal District of Vienna . It is located west of the central districts, west of Meidling...
cemetery in Vienna beside his wife Alwine Dollfuss
Alwine Dollfuss
Alwine Dollfuß , was the wife of former Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß. At the time of his murder, she was in Italy with Benito Mussolini, who allowed her the use of his private plane to hurry back to Austria. She is buried in Hietzinger Cemetery next to her husband, and two of her...
(d. 1973) and two of his children, Hannerl and Eva, all of whom were in Italy as guests of Rachele Mussolini
Rachele Mussolini
Donna Rachele Mussolini was the mistress, wife, and widow of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.-Biography:...
at the time of his death, an event which saw Mussolini himself shed some tears over his slain ally. Dollfuss' son Rudolph (Rudi) Dollfuss is alive as of today.
Stature
Dollfuss was a very short man and his diminutive stature (155 cm = 5'2" 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 colour of the Christian Democratic political faction).In contrast to his own diminutive stature, his personal assistant and secretary Eduard Hedvicek
Eduard Hedvicek
Eduard Hedvicek was born in 1878 in Kojetín, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic, and died 1947 in Vienna, Austria. He was the secretary of Engelbert Dollfuß, the Austrian Chancellor before the Anschluss. On July 25, 1934, he unsuccessfully tried to prevent Dollfuß's assassination by Otto Planetta...
, 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").