Dollfuss v. Undesirables

Against the German Nazi racket across the border. Austria's little Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss last week stoutly turned his bottle-shaped back, tried to stuff his ears. A special Hitler propagandist had come to Austria: Bavarian Minister of Justice Hans Frank, with two colleagues. When the three stepped from their plane last fortnight on a Vienna landing field, a police official told them they were "not very desirable." Nevertheless, Dollfuss permitted them to speak non-politically to 30,000 Austrian Nazis at a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the delivery of Vienna from the Turks.* The audience soon gathered that whenever Propagandist Frank said "Turks'" he meant Chancellor Dollfuss and the Jews, knew that by "one country and one people" he meant a Germany-Austria combine. Next day Austrians were primed with a counter-motto, "Austria forever," as the descendant and namesake of the man who delivered Vienna, Prince Ernst Ruediger von Starhemberg, led the Heimwehr battalions into Vienna. Opposite the balcony of Schonbrunn Palace where stood Chancellor Dollfuss, the battalions smartly executed "Eyes! Right!" The eyes went back to "Front!" slowly because little Dollfuss faced them in the black cap, black trousers and green grey tunic of an officer in the Imperial Jager Regiment. Since 1918 no Austrian official had worn that uniform.

None of this pleased Hitler. Last week the first repercussion to the scene at the landing field came with a sharp protest from Hitler to Dollfuss. Without delay Dollfuss snapped back that Hitler's man would do well to apologize for the "Turk"' speech in Vienna before Austria could reconsider its brusqueness to him. Police caught up with Frank and friends, busy on a haranguing tour of Austrian Nazi groups. They were told to leave Austria "rapidly." Then Dollfuss ordered 100 other German Nazis deported. He had already had 2,380 Austrian Nazis arrested for bombarding the Heimwehr with stones, vegetables and eggs filled with ink. He pondered banning Nazi emblems in Austria, dissolving the Austrian Nazis, entirely.

Dollfuss' problem last week lay in the alignment of three potent Austrian parties, backed by three foreign governments: the Christian Socialist, backed by France; the Heimatblock (Heimwehr), backed by Italy; the National Socialists, backed by Germany. Dollfuss does not want the National Socialists (Nazis); he can count on the Christian Socialist (government) party; he needs the Heimwehr too, now holding the balance of power. His wearing of the Jager uniform was romantic bait for the patriotic Heimwehr. More bait was dangled in the rumor that the Austrian Army will soon shuck its dull German field-grey, re-emerge in the gallant blue of the old K.u.K (Kaiserliche und Koenigliche) Armee, long vanished from the modern world except in Hollywood cinemas. Such a uniform, besides snubbing Germany, would remind Hungarians that they had once marched beside Austrians in that uniform, would suggest an Austro-Hungarian combine.

*Known as Kipfeltag, because after that siege baker boys, who had warned the defenders of a Turkish mine being dug under the city walls, opened Vienna's first cafe with coffee captured from the Turks and were given the right to bake Kipfel (crescent shaped rolls), which Marie Antoinette later introduced in Paris.

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