Kurt Schuschnigg
Encyclopedia
Kurt Alois Josef Johann Schuschnigg (until 1919 Kurt Alois Josef Johann Edler von Schuschnigg, 14 December 1897 – 18 November 1977) 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
, (Anschluss
), in March 1938. He was opposed to Hitler’s ambitions to absorb Austria into the Third Reich. After his efforts to keep Austria independent had failed he resigned his office. After the invasion he was arrested by the Germans, kept in solitary confinement and eventually interned in various concentration camps. He was liberated in 1945 by the advancing American Army and spent most of the rest of his life in academia
in the United States.
, now in Trentino, Italy
, but then part of Austria-Hungary
. He was the son of the Austrian General Artur von Schuschnigg. The young Schuschnigg received his education at the Stella Matutina
Jesuit College in Feldkirch
. During the First World War he was taken prisoner by the Italians who held him captive until September 1919. Subsequently, after graduating from Innsbruck University, where he is member of the catholic fraternity A.V. Austria Innsbruck, he practiced as a lawyer in Innsbruck
.
in 1927. In 1932 Dollfuss appointed him his Minister of Justice and later Minister of Education. After Dollfuss was assassinated, Schuschnigg was appointed Chancellor and he continued to govern by dictate. His policies were not much different from the policies of his predecessor. He had to manage the economy of a near-bankrupt state, had to maintain law and order in a country which was forbidden by the terms of the 1919 Peace Agreement to maintain an army in excess of 30,000 men and at the same time had to cope with armed paramilitary forces in Austria, which owed their allegiance not to the state but to various rival political parties, and he also had to be mindful of the growing strength of the national-socialists (Nazis) within the country, who supported Hitler’s ambitions to absorb Austria into the Third Reich. His overriding political concern was how to preserve Austria’s independence within the borders imposed on it by the terms of the 1919 Peace Treaty
. His policy of counterbalancing the German threat by aligning himself with Austria’s southern and eastern neighbours, Italy
and Hungary
, was doomed to failure after Hitler’s ascendance and the increasing military might of the Third Reich. He adopted a policy of appeasement toward Hitler. In July 1936 he signed the Austro-German Agreement, which, among other concessions, allowed the release of Nazis imprisoned in Austria and the inclusion of National Socialists in his Cabinet. However, the National Socialists gained ground in Austria and relations between the two countries deteriorated further.
in an attempt to smooth the worsening relations between their two countries. To Schuschnigg‘s surprise, Hitler presented him with a set of demands which, in manner and in terms, amounted to an ultimatum, effectively demanding the handing over of power to the Austrian National Socialists. The terms of the agreement, presented to Schuschnigg for immediate endorsement, stipulated the appointment of Arthur Seyss-Inquart
as minister of security and Dr Hans Fischböck
as minister of finance to prepare for economic union between Germany and Austria. A hundred officers were to be exchanged between the Austrian and the German armies. All imprisoned Nazis were to be amnestied and reinstated. In return Hitler would publicly reaffirm the treaty of 11 July 1936 and Austria’s national sovereignty.
“The Fuhrer was abusive and threatening, and Schuschnigg was presented with far-reaching demands…” According to Schuschnigg’s memoirs, he was coerced into signing the ‘Agreement’ before leaving Berchtesgaden. The key clause in the memorandum was the appointment of the National Socialist Dr. Seyss-Inquart to the post of Minister of Public Security, with full and unlimited control of the police forces in Austria. The President, Dr. Wilhelm Miklas
, was reluctant to endorse the Agreement but eventually he did so. Then he, Schuschnigg and a few key Cabinet members considered a number of options:
In the event, they decided to go with the third option.
On the following day, February 14, Schuschnigg reorganised his Cabinet on a broader basis and included representatives of all former and present political parties. Hitler immediately appointed a new Gauleiter
for Austria, a Nazi Austrian army officer who had just been released from prison in accordance with the terms of the general amnesty stipulated by the Berchtesgaden agreement.
On 20 February, Hitler made a speech before the Reichstag
which was broadcast live and which for the first time was relayed also by the Austrian broadcasting network. A key phrase in the speech was: “… The German Reich is no longer willing to tolerate the suppression of ten million Germans across its borders.”
In Austria the speech was met with concern and by demonstrations by both pro and anti-Nazi elements. On the evening of 24 February, the Austrian Federal Diet was called into session. In his speech to the Diet Schuschnigg referred to the July 1936 agreement with Germany and stated that “…Austria will go thus far and no further.” The speech was received by disapproval from the Austrian Nazis and they began mobilising their supporters. The headline in The Times of London was "Schuschnigg’s Speech – Nazis Disturbed." The German press found the phrase “Thus far and no further” ‘disturbing’.
To resolve the political uncertainty in the country and to convince Hitler and the rest of the world that the people of Austria wished to remain Austrian and independent of the Third Reich, Schuschnigg, with the full agreement of the President and other political leaders, decided to proclaim a plebiscite to be held on 13 March. But the wording of the referendum which had to be responded to with a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’ turned out to be controversial. It read:
"Are you for a free, German, independent and social, Christian and united Austria, for peace and work, for the equality of all those who affirm themselves for the people and Fatherland?"
But there was another issue which drew the ire of the National Socialist. Although members of Dr Schuschnigg’s party (the Fatherland Front) could vote at any age, all other Austrians below the age of 24 were to be excluded under a clause to that effect in the Austrian Constitution. This would shut out from the polls most of the Nazi sympathisers in Austria, since the movement was strongest among the young.
The German reaction to the announcement was swift. First Hitler insisted that the plebiscite be cancelled. When Schuschnigg reluctantly agreed to scrap it, Hitler insisted that Seyss-Inquart be appointed Chancellor. This demand President Miklas was reluctant to endorse but eventually, under the threat of immediate armed intervention, this too was endorsed, Schuschnigg resigned on 11 March and Seyss-Inquart was appointed Chancellor, but it made no difference – German troops flooded into Austria and were received everywhere by enthusiastic and jubilant crowds.
When, on the morning after the invasion, the London Daily Mail’s correspondent asked the new Chancellor, Seyss-Inquart, how these stirring events came about he received the following reply: “The Plebiscite that had been fixed for tomorrow was a breach of the agreement which Dr. Schuschnigg made with Herr Hitler at Berchtesgaden, by which he promised political liberty for National Socialists in Austria.”
On 12 March 1938 Schuschnigg was placed under house arrest.
For a transcript of telephone conversations on 11 March 1938 between Goering and Seyss-Inquart and other Nazis in Vienna concerning various procedural aspects of the Anschluss, found by the Allies in the ruins of the Reichkanzlei in Berlin, see the Appendix in Schuschnigg’s Austrian Requiem.
Headquarters he spent the remainder of the war in two different concentration camps, Dachau and Sachsenhausen
. In late April 1945 Schuschnigg was, together with other prominent concentration camp inmates, transferred to Tyrol
where the SS guards abandoned the prisoners. He was liberated by American
troops on May 5, 1945.
, Schuschnigg emigrated to the United States
, where he worked as a professor
of political science
at Saint Louis University
from 1948 to 1967.
In 1959 he lost his second wife, Vera Fugger von Babenhausen née Countess Czernin, whom he married by proxy in Vienna on the 1st June 1938. His first wife had perished in a car accident on 13 June 1935. Schuschnigg died at Mutters
, near Innsbruck
, in 1977.
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of the First Austrian Republic
First Austrian Republic
The Republic of Austria encompasses the period of Austrian history following the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye of September 1919, the settlement after the end of World War I which put an end to the Republic of German Austria, continuing up to World War II...
, following the assassination of his predecessor, Dr. Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government...
, in July 1934, until Germany’s invasion of 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...
, (Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
), in March 1938. He was opposed to Hitler’s ambitions to absorb Austria into the Third Reich. After his efforts to keep Austria independent had failed he resigned his office. After the invasion he was arrested by the Germans, kept in solitary confinement and eventually interned in various concentration camps. He was liberated in 1945 by the advancing American Army and spent most of the rest of his life in academia
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
in the United States.
Early life
Schuschnigg came into a Tyrolean family of Carinthian Slovenian descent. The spelling of the family name in Slovenian is Šušnik. Schuschnigg was born in Riva del GardaRiva del Garda
Riva del Garda is a town and comune in the northern Italian province of Trentino. It is also known simply as Riva. The estimated population is 15,151.- History :...
, now in Trentino, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, but then part of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. He was the son of the Austrian General Artur von Schuschnigg. The young Schuschnigg received his education at the Stella Matutina
Stella Matutina
The Stella Matutina was an initiatory magical order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional teachings of the earlier Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Originally, the outer order of the Stella Matutina was known as Mystic Rose or Order of the M.R. in the Outer...
Jesuit College in Feldkirch
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
- Schools :* Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch * Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch* Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse...
. During the First World War he was taken prisoner by the Italians who held him captive until September 1919. Subsequently, after graduating from Innsbruck University, where he is member of the catholic fraternity A.V. Austria Innsbruck, he practiced as a lawyer in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
.
Political career
Schuschnigg joined the right-wing Christian Social Party and was elected to the NationalratNational 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...
in 1927. In 1932 Dollfuss appointed him his Minister of Justice and later Minister of Education. After Dollfuss was assassinated, Schuschnigg was appointed Chancellor and he continued to govern by dictate. His policies were not much different from the policies of his predecessor. He had to manage the economy of a near-bankrupt state, had to maintain law and order in a country which was forbidden by the terms of the 1919 Peace Agreement to maintain an army in excess of 30,000 men and at the same time had to cope with armed paramilitary forces in Austria, which owed their allegiance not to the state but to various rival political parties, and he also had to be mindful of the growing strength of the national-socialists (Nazis) within the country, who supported Hitler’s ambitions to absorb Austria into the Third Reich. His overriding political concern was how to preserve Austria’s independence within the borders imposed on it by the terms of the 1919 Peace Treaty
Peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a state of war between the parties...
. His policy of counterbalancing the German threat by aligning himself with Austria’s southern and eastern neighbours, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and 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...
, was doomed to failure after Hitler’s ascendance and the increasing military might of the Third Reich. He adopted a policy of appeasement toward Hitler. In July 1936 he signed the Austro-German Agreement, which, among other concessions, allowed the release of Nazis imprisoned in Austria and the inclusion of National Socialists in his Cabinet. However, the National Socialists gained ground in Austria and relations between the two countries deteriorated further.
The Anschluss
On 12 February 1938, Schuschnigg met Hitler at BerchtesgadenBerchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...
in an attempt to smooth the worsening relations between their two countries. To Schuschnigg‘s surprise, Hitler presented him with a set of demands which, in manner and in terms, amounted to an ultimatum, effectively demanding the handing over of power to the Austrian National Socialists. The terms of the agreement, presented to Schuschnigg for immediate endorsement, stipulated the appointment of Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Arthur Seyss-Inquart was a Chancellor of Austria, lawyer and later Nazi official in pre-Anschluss Austria, the Third Reich and for wartime Germany in Poland and the Netherlands...
as minister of security and Dr Hans Fischböck
Hans Fischböck
Hans Fischböck was an Austrian banker who was the economics minister and minister of finance of Austria and the finance minister of Nazi occupied Holland....
as minister of finance to prepare for economic union between Germany and Austria. A hundred officers were to be exchanged between the Austrian and the German armies. All imprisoned Nazis were to be amnestied and reinstated. In return Hitler would publicly reaffirm the treaty of 11 July 1936 and Austria’s national sovereignty.
“The Fuhrer was abusive and threatening, and Schuschnigg was presented with far-reaching demands…” According to Schuschnigg’s memoirs, he was coerced into signing the ‘Agreement’ before leaving Berchtesgaden. The key clause in the memorandum was the appointment of the National Socialist Dr. Seyss-Inquart to the post of Minister of Public Security, with full and unlimited control of the police forces in Austria. The President, Dr. 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:...
, was reluctant to endorse the Agreement but eventually he did so. Then he, Schuschnigg and a few key Cabinet members considered a number of options:
- 1. the Chancellor resign and the President call on a new Chancellor to form a Cabinet, which would be under no obligation to the commitments of Berchtesgaden.
- 2. The Berchtesgaden agreement be carried out under a newly appointed Chancellor.
- 3. The agreement be carried out and the Chancellor remain at his post.
In the event, they decided to go with the third option.
On the following day, February 14, Schuschnigg reorganised his Cabinet on a broader basis and included representatives of all former and present political parties. Hitler immediately appointed a new Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
for Austria, a Nazi Austrian army officer who had just been released from prison in accordance with the terms of the general amnesty stipulated by the Berchtesgaden agreement.
On 20 February, Hitler made a speech before the Reichstag
Reichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
which was broadcast live and which for the first time was relayed also by the Austrian broadcasting network. A key phrase in the speech was: “… The German Reich is no longer willing to tolerate the suppression of ten million Germans across its borders.”
In Austria the speech was met with concern and by demonstrations by both pro and anti-Nazi elements. On the evening of 24 February, the Austrian Federal Diet was called into session. In his speech to the Diet Schuschnigg referred to the July 1936 agreement with Germany and stated that “…Austria will go thus far and no further.” The speech was received by disapproval from the Austrian Nazis and they began mobilising their supporters. The headline in The Times of London was "Schuschnigg’s Speech – Nazis Disturbed." The German press found the phrase “Thus far and no further” ‘disturbing’.
To resolve the political uncertainty in the country and to convince Hitler and the rest of the world that the people of Austria wished to remain Austrian and independent of the Third Reich, Schuschnigg, with the full agreement of the President and other political leaders, decided to proclaim a plebiscite to be held on 13 March. But the wording of the referendum which had to be responded to with a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’ turned out to be controversial. It read:
"Are you for a free, German, independent and social, Christian and united Austria, for peace and work, for the equality of all those who affirm themselves for the people and Fatherland?"
But there was another issue which drew the ire of the National Socialist. Although members of Dr Schuschnigg’s party (the Fatherland Front) could vote at any age, all other Austrians below the age of 24 were to be excluded under a clause to that effect in the Austrian Constitution. This would shut out from the polls most of the Nazi sympathisers in Austria, since the movement was strongest among the young.
The German reaction to the announcement was swift. First Hitler insisted that the plebiscite be cancelled. When Schuschnigg reluctantly agreed to scrap it, Hitler insisted that Seyss-Inquart be appointed Chancellor. This demand President Miklas was reluctant to endorse but eventually, under the threat of immediate armed intervention, this too was endorsed, Schuschnigg resigned on 11 March and Seyss-Inquart was appointed Chancellor, but it made no difference – German troops flooded into Austria and were received everywhere by enthusiastic and jubilant crowds.
When, on the morning after the invasion, the London Daily Mail’s correspondent asked the new Chancellor, Seyss-Inquart, how these stirring events came about he received the following reply: “The Plebiscite that had been fixed for tomorrow was a breach of the agreement which Dr. Schuschnigg made with Herr Hitler at Berchtesgaden, by which he promised political liberty for National Socialists in Austria.”
On 12 March 1938 Schuschnigg was placed under house arrest.
For a transcript of telephone conversations on 11 March 1938 between Goering and Seyss-Inquart and other Nazis in Vienna concerning various procedural aspects of the Anschluss, found by the Allies in the ruins of the Reichkanzlei in Berlin, see the Appendix in Schuschnigg’s Austrian Requiem.
Prison and Concentration Camp
After initial house arrest followed by solitary confinement at GestapoGestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
Headquarters he spent the remainder of the war in two different concentration camps, Dachau and Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
. In late April 1945 Schuschnigg was, together with other prominent concentration camp inmates, transferred to Tyrol
Transport of concentration camp inmates to Tyrol
The Transport of Inmates of German Concentration Camps to Tyrol happened in late April 1945 and led to the only time such prisoners were liberated by German troops.- Transfer and liberation:...
where the SS guards abandoned the prisoners. He was liberated by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
troops on May 5, 1945.
Later life
After World War IIWorld 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...
, Schuschnigg emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he worked as a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
from 1948 to 1967.
In 1959 he lost his second wife, Vera Fugger von Babenhausen née Countess Czernin, whom he married by proxy in Vienna on the 1st June 1938. His first wife had perished in a car accident on 13 June 1935. Schuschnigg died at Mutters
Mutters
Mutters is a municipality in the Innsbruck-Land district and is located south of Innsbruck. The village was first mentioned in 1100 but settlement already began app. 3000 years ago. Mutters received connection with Innsbruck thanks to the Stubaitalbahn in 1904. It has 2000 inhabitants and six...
, near Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
, in 1977.
Works
- My Austria (1937)
- Austrian Requiem (1946)
- International Law (1959)
- The Brutal Takeover (1969)
- Im Kampf gegen Hitler. Die Überwindung der Anschlussidee (1969)
Further reading
- G. Ward Price: Year of Reckoning, Cassell 1939, London
- Schuschnigg's career as Austrian Chancellor (Accessed 9 September 2009)