Von Papen and the Legion

"How fortunate it was that von Papen did not walk behind the bier of the murdered Dollfuss. It would have been unbearable for the hundreds of thousands of mourners to see in the cortege the representative of the regime that is guilty of the death of our beloved Chancellor."

These words in the Vienna Reichspost, newsorgan of Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg, showed the real feelings of the new Austrian Government which last week finally accepted as persona grata Chancellor Adolf Hitler's new Minister to Austria, Lieut.-Colonel Franz von Papen.

So far so good, but Minister von Papen did not go to Vienna last week. He was said to be insisting that his presence in Austria would be worse than useless so long as Germany supported the so-called "Austrian Legion" of Nazis who have escaped from Austria but intend to dash back for a coup at the first favorable moment. For days von Papen was reported bickering with Hitler over the Legion. Then the big guns of the German Ministry of Propaganda & Public Enlightenment fired a salvo of announcements that the Austrian Legion had been dissolved, added touching details of how its former members were hungrily looking for work.

In Vienna dynamic young Vice Chancellor Prince Ernst Riidiger von Starhemberg remained totally unimpressed. "I know that the Austrian Legion has been moved back into Germany away from our frontier," said he, "but I know on the other hand from reliable reports from Germany that every preparation is being made so that they can be brought to the frontier again without loss of time when required. ... I am quite convinced that we shall have to face another Nazi Putsch, probably before the end of the year."

Dallying in Berlin last week Minister von Papen sought to jack up his personal kudos by letting it be known that his appointment bears "the last signature of the sainted Feldmarschall von Hindenburg." This announcement he closed with a "Heil Hitler!"

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.