| 1918 | October 21 | The National Assembly of Germans in Austria declares independence as a German-Austrian state. |
| October 24 | Austro-Hungarian forces dissolve before a renewed Italian offensive on the River Piave. |
| October | A movement for annexation to Switzerland is launched in the province of Vorarlberg. Opponents of the movement are also adverse to union with Austria but instead favor annexation to Wurttemburg where the same dialect of German is spoken. |
| | A movement favoring annexation to Germany is launched in the former Crown lands of Salzburg. |
| November 3 | The Austro-Hungarian high command signs an armistice with the Italians at Villa Giusti and orders an immediate cessation of hostilities. |
| November 4 | The Villa Giusti Armistice enters into force. Karl I Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary resigns as Commander in Chief of Austro-Hungarian armed forces. |
| November 11 | Germany signs an armistice ending World War I. Bavarian troops cease efforts to prevent formation of an Allied southern front in Austria. |
| | Karl I renounces his right as Emperor to participate in the affairs of government. He dismisses the last Imperial Government but refuses to abdicate. |
| November 12 | The National Assembly proclaims the establishment of the German-Austrian Republic and appoints a provisional cabinet. |
| November 20 | Italian troops halt their advance into the Tyrol. |
| 1919 | |
| January | The Provisional Government of the German-Austrian Republic delivers a note to the Vienna diplomatic corps requesting recognition by all civilized nations. |
| | The Volkswehr (people’s defense force) is organized under control of the Social Democratic Party. February 16 |
| | A National Constitutional Assembly is elected by universal suffrage. |
| | Party - % of Votes Cast - Seats Won |
| | Social Democrats-SDAP - 40.8 - 70 |
| | Christian Socialists--CSP - 35.9 - 64 |
| | German People's Party-GDVP - 20.8 - 23 |
| Others - 5 | |
| March 15 | Doctor Karl Renner (Social Democrat) is appointed Chancellor and Minister of Interior. |
| March 24 | Emperor Karl I, Empress Zita and their children are exiled to Switzerland. |
| April 3 | The Habsburg Law abolishes all Austrian titles of nobility. All members of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine refusing to renounce their royal prerogatives are expelled from Austria and their possessions expropriated. |
| May | A referendum in the province of Vorarlberg favors union with Switzerland by an 81 to 19% margin. Switzerland declines to entertain the proposal. |
| June 15 | Communist demonstrations in Vienna are suppressed. |
| July | The Minister of the Hungarian Soviet Government is expelled from Austria. |
| August | Volkswehr membership totals 180,000 officers and men. |
| September 10 | The Treaty of Saint Germain ends the state of war existing between Austria and the Allied Powers. Under its provisions: |
| | Austria accepts fully responsibility for debt and reparations owed by the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and its successor states. |
| | The territory of Austria is defined as the former imperial provinces of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Northern Tyrol, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia and Vorarlberg and the German speaking districts of western Hungary (Burgenland). |
| | The union of Austria with Germany is prohibited without the unanimous consent of the Council of the League of Nations and the “German-Austrian Republic” must drop the word “German” from its formal title. Conscription is prohibited and Austrian armed forces are limited to 30,000 officers and men. Austrian air forces are to be demobilized within two months and the manufacture of aircraft or parts thereof is prohibited for six months following ratification of the treaty. |
| December 27 | The Minister of Railways orders a halt to passenger service for one week due to lack of coal. |
| 1920 | |
| January 31 | A census of the new Austrian Republic numbers the population at 6,067,430 a drop of 227,209 from the prewar census of 1910. Vienna’s population drops by 189,493. |
| February 15 | A draft of the proposed constitution is published. Austria is to become a federal republic, Vienna separated from Lower Austria to form a new state, executive power vested in a president elected by the federal assembly, legislative power vested in a bicameral federal assembly consisting of a National Council elected by direct proportional vote and the Federal Council elected by the legislatures of the states. |
| April 22 | Chancellor Renner announces that following ratification of the Treaty of Saint Germain, Austria will ask permission to enter the League of Nations in order to facilitate unification with Germany. |
| June 11 | The Renner cabinet resigns in the face of charges from the Left that it is trying to impede investigation of police actions at a demonstration in Epatz. The police fired on a crowd protesting against food profiteers killing several people. |
| June 20 | President Seitz publicly declares in favor of union with Germany. |
| June 22 | The National Assembly adopts a resolution calling for unification with Germany and votes to schedule a referendum on the question for October 17. |
| July 7 | Christian Socialist Michael Mayr forms a minority Government. The Nationalists agree to support it in the National Assembly but refuse to participate in the cabinet. |
| September 10 | Mass demonstrations in favor of union Germany are held in Vienna to mark the first anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Saint Germain. |
| September 11 | A Vienna newspaper comments on the preceding day’s protests; “Yesterday’s demonstrations must not be ignored by the parties who are directing the Entente. In signing the peace Dr. Renner expressed the general Austrian opinion in saying it was a grievous peace but a peace nevertheless. It was possible to entertain at that time certain illusions but the last 12 months have shattered them. No doubt now remains as to the impossibility of continuing to live under the terms of a treaty which has deprived Austria of her rights and cut her communications with the sea. The Austrian population will never consider the Treaty of Saint Germain as a political status governing all her future destiny.” |
| October 1 | The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Austria takes effect. |
| October 10 | A plebiscite held under terms of the Treaty of Saint Germain in heavily Slovene Zone A of Carinthia ends in favor of remaining part of Austria by a 59 to 41% margin as a result no vote is conducted in the predominantly German speaking Zone B. |
| October 17 | General election - resulting distribution of seats in the National Assembly: Christian Socialists 82, Social Democrats 66, German Nationalists 20, Peasants League 6, Bourgeois party 1. |
| December 9 | Socialist writer Michael Hainisch is elected Federal President by the National Assembly. |
| December 16 | Austria is admitted to membership in the League of Nations. |
| December 31 | Exchange rate: 2000 kroner = £1 sterling vs the prewar rate of 24 to 1. |
| During the Year | The cost of living index climbs to 5570 from 1914 base 100. |
| | The government budget deficit amounts to 7,267,353,283 kroner. |
| 1921 | |
| January 11 | The Government informs the Allied Powers that it has exhausted its resources and will turn administration of the country over to the Reparations Commission unless relief is forthcoming. |
| April 14 | Allied representatives threaten to withdraw financial relief proposals unless agitation for union with Germany is suppressed. |
| May 29 | Union with Germany is favored by 90% of voters in a Salzburg advisory referendum. |
| June 21 | Johann Schober succeeds Micheal Mayr as Chancellor. |
| June | The cost of living index climbs to 11000 from 1914 base 100. |
| October | Exchange rate climbs to 3400 kroner = $1 US vs a prewar rate of 5 to 1. |
| | Press dispatches report growing Tyrolian support for establishing an independent republic allied with Barvaria and the presence of Bavarian troops in the province. |
| | The Swiss government declares that should Austria lose the Tyrol, Vorarlberg should have the right to decide its own destiny. |
| | The Italian foreign minister brokers a deal between Austria and Hungary to allow a plebiscite to determine the future of the disputed district of Ödenburg. |
| November 18 | The Austrian Statistical Bureau reports annual inflation rate at 578% |
| During the Year | The government budget deficit totals 12,539,000,000 kroner. |
| | The foreign trade deficit totals 687,000,000 gold kroner. |
| 1922 | January 1 | The Ödenburg district of Burgenland is ceded to Hungary following a plebiscite. |
| | The exchange rate climbs to 10,000 kroner = $1 US. |
| | A new issue of 17,000,000,000 kroner is put in circulation. |
| April 1 | Deposed Emperor Karl I dies on the Portuguese island of Madeira. |
| May 24 | The Schober cabinet resigns after the National Assembly turns down a 120,000,000,000 kroner appropriation for civil service salary increases. |
| May 31 | Christian Socialist Ignaz Seipel forms a coalition cabinet with German Nationalists who are given key portfolios in the Justice, Interior and Commerce ministries. |
| May | The cost of living climbs 25% during the month. |
| | The United States agrees to a 25 year postponement of Austrian payments for wheat purchases. |
| August | An Italian note to the governments of Germany, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Romania declares that the union of Austria with Germany or an alliance with the Little Entente composed of the latter 3 countries would be considered cause for war. |
| August 21 | Chancellor Seipel meets with Czechoslovak Premier Benes seeking advice on resolution of Austria’s economic difficulties. Benes advises his counterpart to seek aid from the League of Nations rather than an alliance neighboring countries. |
| August 24 | Chancellor Seipel confers with the Italian foreign minister and a delegation of economic advisors. They agree to further talks on Italian aid to Austria and formation of an Austro-Italian economic union. |
| September 6 | Chancellor Seipel appears before the Council of the League of Nations to appeal for aid. The Council appoints a committee to prepare plans for Austrian relief. The Chancellor moves on to Berlin where his appearance renews Allied fears of a union with Germany. |
| September 27 | The League of Nations adopts a plan for Austrian financial reconstruction including a loan of 650,000,000 gold kroner. Italy, Britain, France and Czechoslovakia each agree to guarantee 20% of the loan. The League appoints a committee composed of a Commissioner General and one representative of each guarantor country to oversee Austrian expenditures. Austria agrees not to alienate her independence. |
| November 1 | The exchange rate climbs to 74,600 kroner = $1 US. |
| November 26 | The National Assembly approves the League of Nations reconstruction program. Social Democrats oppose the measure declaring it, “20 years of foreign control” but abstain in sufficient numbers to assure the two thirds majority required for passage. December |
| | The cost of living index falls 3% during the month. |
| | One in five workers is unemployed and 15% are working only part time. |
| During the Year | The foreign Trade deficit totals 444,000,000 gold kroner. |
| 1923 | |
| January | Noted Berlin pathologist, Professor Hirschfeld, offends anti-Semites during the course of his lecture in Vienna. The lecture hall is set ablaze and the audience is attacked as it flees into the streets. |
| February 21 | The Allied Reparations Commission renounces all right to Austrian property and revenues owed under terms of the Treaty of Saint Germain. |
| March | Anti-Semites derail streetcars carrying Jews and rough up passengers. |
| April 3 | A Vienna riot leaves three workers dead. |
| April 6 | Austrian authorities fail to respond to an Allied note requesting the break up of an anti-Semitic organization and expulsion of foreign anti-Semitic agitators. |
| May 4 | A street brawl between Communists and Fascists leaves 20 injured in Vienna. |
| May 16 | A stone throwing mob attacks a car carrying Chancellor Seipel following an announcement of mass layoffs by the railways. The Chancellor escapes injury. |
| July 19 | Oesterreichische Bundesbahnen (Austrian Federal Railways) is organized to manage the Austrian State Railways in accordance with sound business principles and act as trustee for the government. Railway operations currently account for half the budget deficit. |
| October 20 | General election: Christian Socialists retain their small lead over Social Democrats in the National Assembly. The pro-anschluss Greater German People’s Party suffers major losses. |
| October 31 | 50,000 civil servants have been dismissed during the first year of the League of Nations sponsored economic reconstruction program. |
| November 19 | The University of Vienna is closed following attacks on Jewish students. The university senate had refused demands by Nationalists that the number of Jews in the schools be limited. |
| November 22 | Income taxes are doubled, taxes on stock shares quadrupled and transaction taxes tripled. |
| November | The cost of living index rises 6% during the month. |
| During the Year | The government budget deficit totals 2,400,000,000,000 kroner ($22,700,000 US). |
| | The foreign trade deficit totals 814,000,000 gold kroner. |
| | Radio Hekaphon broadcast a series of test programs. |
| | Frizt Pregl is awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his invention of the method of micro-analysis of organic substances". |
| 1924 | February 25 | Austria informs the Soviet Union that it is willing to resume diplomatic relations. |
| June 1 | Chancellor Seipel is shot and seriously wounded by a member of the opposition Social Democratic Party. The SDP denies responsibility for the attempted assassination which coincides with a party sponsored demonstration in which school children were marched through the streets shouting, “down with Seipel”. |
| February | The cost of living index climbs to a new postwar high. |
| April 8 | The National Assembly passes a budget after Social Democratic demands for increased taxation in lieu of further cuts in expenditure are accepted. |
| September | 60,000 metal workers strike for higher wages, payment for overtime and guarantee of a continued 8 hour work day. |
| October 1 | Österreichische Radio-Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft AG (Austrian Radio Transmission Company) begins regularly scheduled radio broadcasts from studios in the Ministry of Armed Forces. The company is the sole producer and transmitter of radio programs until March 1938. |
| November 17 | Chancellor Seipel resigns rather than give in to demands of striking railway workers. |
| November 20 | Rudolf Ramek is appointed Chancellor. The Christian Socialists retain power. |
| During the Year | The Austrian schilling replaces the kroner as the basic unit of currency. |
| | Austrian fiscal policy is strongly criticized by Dr. Zimmerman, the League of Nations’ Commissioner General for financial reconstruction. Zimmerman calls for lower taxes, further cuts in government spending and higher interest rates. He is particularly critical of hefty salary increases awarded to civil servants. The government budget deficit is cut to the equivalent of $1,860,000 US. |
| | Conservatives and Social Democrats battle for control of the Vienna police. |
| 1925 | February | Austrian Secretary of State Deutch and German Reichstag President Paul Loebe address a rally of Pan-Germanists in Magdeburg. Both express hope that Austria will become an integral part of Germany soon. The rally concludes with a huge bonfire fueled by boundary posts that formerly marked the border between Austria and Germany. |
| July 1 | The silver content of new coins is reduced from 80 to 64% to prevent hoarding. |
| July 17 | Members of the anti-Semitic Hakenkreuzler attack Vienna’s Stuttgart Casino and wreck several Jewish coffee houses. The rioters cause $4,000,000 damage before police restore order. They were demanding cancellation of a Zionist World Congress scheduled to be held in Vienna on August 16th. |
| September 10 | The League of Nations releases control of Austrian state finances. |
| During the Year | A surplus in the government’s budget permits tax reductions. Five alpine hydro-electric stations are completed reducing dependence on imported coal. A national electric grid is formed. |
| | Deposits in savings banks rise from next to nothing in 1924 to $65,000,000 US. |
| | The government budget surplus totals the equivalent of $10,920,000 US. |
| | The foreign trade deficit is reduced from $212,000,000 to $134,000,000 US. |
| 1926 | |
| June 16 | Education Minister Emil Schneider is forced to resign after granting groups opposed to the Government’s education reform program permission to set up their own schools. The action was taken without consulting the Chancellor. German Nationalists in the governing coalition had joined the Social Democratic Opposition in attacking the proposed reforms as too clerical and reactionary. Socialists and Communists stage a mass demonstration in Vienna calling for the ouster of the Ramek Government. |
| August 31 | The Ramek Government defeats an attempt to impeach it on a straight party line vote in the National Assembly. Infuriated Social Democrats initiated the impeachment after learning that the Government had lent the Central Bank der Deutscher Spakassen (Central Bank for German Savings) $9,000,000 to stem a run by depositors without consulting the Assembly. Ramek contended that there was insufficient time for consultation. Later investigation finds links between the Government and the management of the Bank and that the Bank was $14,000,000 in debt at the time the loan was granted. |
| October 15 | The Ramek Government resigns after failing to negotiate a salary settlement with civil service workers. |
| October 20 | Ignaz Seipel forms a new Christian Socialist-German Nationalist coalition cabinet. |
| December | Chancellor Seipel comes under attack for his perceived coolness towards union with Germany and friendly relations with Mussolini. Social Democrats accuse Seipel of spurring Germany in favor of Italy because his Roman Catholicism would mix more easily with Italy and than Protestant dominated Germany. Note: Seipel was an ordained Catholic priest. |
| During the Year | The Ramek Government imposes a 25% tariff increase in response to the protectionist demands of farmers’ and in retaliation for high duties imposed by central European and Balkan countries. Romania’s 600% duty on imported metal products had seriously injured the Austrian industry. Franz von Hoefft founds Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft fŸr Höhenforschung (The Scientific Society for High Altitude Research), the first space related society in Western Europe. |
| 1927 | February | A Government raid on a Vienna arsenal results in seizure of over a thousand firearms allegedly stockpiled by Social Democrats. The SDP threatens a general strike and mobilization of the Republikanischer Schutzbund. A last minute compromise finally averts civil war. |
| | Successful opposition to the Government’s old age and disability pension scheme forces an early dissolution of the National Assembly. |
| March | The governing coalition’s electoral campaign focuses on allegations of Social Democratic mismanagement of Vienna’s municipal finances. Expenditures by the civic administration for social welfare programs including construction of 40,000 rent subsidized apartments are characterized as extravagant. |
| April 24 | General election: The governing coalition captures 60% of the vote and retains its majority in the National Assembly. The Communist vote totals 70,000 a drop of 20,000 from the previous election. Resulting distribution of seats: |
| | Christian Socialists 73 |
| Social Democrats 71 | German Nationalists 12 |
| Peasants 9 | |
| July | Three defendants charged in the murder of two Social Democrats in Burgenland are acquitted. Announcement of the verdict incites riots in Vienna. The Justice Ministry and several other government buildings are destroyed or damaged and hundreds are injured. The Government arms the Heimwehr, a reactionary paramilitary group established shortly after the war, to counter the Social Democrats’ Schutzbund. Vienna police whose swords prove ineffective against the rampaging mob are here after equipped with revolvers. |
| During the Year | Serious disturbances and attacks on Jews and Social Democrats (often one and the same) take place at the University of Vienna. Vienna police break with centuries of tradition and enter the campus to restore order. |
| | Julius Wagner-Jauregg is awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine “for his discovery of the therapeutic value of malaria inoculation in the treatment of dementia paralytica" |
| 1928 | February 23 | Chancellor Seipel and members of the Government denounce Italian repression of the German speaking population in Tyrolia. Mussolini denies the charge. Il Duce declares, “the Brenner Pass essential to Italian security and will be defended to the last drop of blood”. The Italian dictator closes his remarks with a disparaging comment on the relative strength of Austria to Italy and hints that any future reply will come in the form of deeds rather words. The Italian ambassador withdraws from Vienna for the next four months. |
| March | Social Democrats lose the election for Vienna police commissioners. |
| October 7 | The Styrian Heimatschutz marches through Wiener Neustadt. The Schutzbund counters the first public display of Heimwehr power in a working class Social-Democratic stronghold with a march of its own. The Government dispatches 10,000 Army regulars to keep the warring parties separated. |
| December 10 | National Assembly President Wilhelm Miklas is elected President of Austria. Chancellor Seipel’s attempt to amend the constitution to permit President Hainisch’s reelection to a third term fails. During the Year |
| | Guido von Pirquet publishes his concepts of space travel in Die Möglichkeit der Weltraumfahrt (The Possibility of Space Travel). |
| 1929 | |
| February | Christian Socialist workers in Vienna form an unofficial militia opposed to the dictatorial tendencies of the Heimwehr and announce they will side with the Social Democratic Schutzbund should the Heimwehr attempt to seize power. |
| | The number of unemployed workers receiving benefits totals 264,148 |
| February 24 | The Government masses troops and police at strategic locations in Vienna to prevent clashes during simultaneous marches by the Heimwehr and the Schutzbund. |
| April 3 | Ignaz Seipel resigns the chancellorship ending a rift within the Christian Socialist Party provoked by criticism of his dual role as Roman Catholic priest and state official. |
| May 4 | Christian Socialist Ernst Streeruwitz forms a new cabinet in coalition with the German Nationalist and Peasants’ parties. Six of the ministers are pledged to promote anschluss with Germany and the others are favorable to the proposal. |
| June 17 | Aristade Briand tells the League of Nations that Austria’s armed militias constitute a threat to neighboring countries. A League committee delegated to remove Allied military control reports that Austria is secretly rearming in violation of the Treaty of Saint Germain. Austria denies all charges. |
| July | Arbeiter Zeitung publishes documents purportedly stolen from Heimwehr headquarters in Graz indicating a secret liaison between that militia and the Speil ministry. |
| August 18 | Street brawls between Heimwehr and Schutzbund members leave 62 injured. |
| September 25 | The Streeruwitz cabinet is forced to resign following its refusal to support a plan by the Heimwehr for constitutional revision aimed at crippling Vienna’s Social Democratic municipal administration. |
| September 26 | Johann Schober forms a new cabinet. The Chancellor bans parades and mass marches by both Heimwehr and Schutzbund militia and pledges to keep any constitutional revision with in the realm of democratic practice. |
| November | The Schober Government proposes constitutional amendments strengthening the power of the President and Federal authorities at the expense of Vienna’s municipal administration. Foreign Minister Arthur Henderson informs Austria that the British Government is gravely concerned that adoption of anti-parliamentary measures will threaten the stability of Europe. |
| December 7 | Constitutional amendments are enacted. Vienna remains a state over Heimwehr objections but is required to transfer a portion of its revenues to the adjoining state of Lower Austria. The Social Democratic militia in Vienna is to be absorbed by the state police. Direct election of the Federal President is introduced. The President’s general powers are restricted to prevent dictatorship. Presidential emergency powers are increased. |
| During the Year | Herman Potocnik works out a detailed technical design of a space station and publishes it in a book titled Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums - der Raketenmotor (The Problem of Space Travel - The Rocket Motor) under his pen name Hermann Noordung. |
| 1930 | |
| January | The Hague Reparations Conference relieves Austria from further payment obligations until 1943. The Allied Reparations Commission ends control of Austria’s foreign borrowing. |
| February | Chancellor Schober signs a treaty of friendship and conciliation with Italy during a state visit to Rome. The signing raises suspicion on the part of Yugoslavia and Hungary and Pan-Germanists at home who consider it another obstacle to anschluss. |
| April 12 | Chancellor Schober begins the first post-war state visits to Paris and London by an Austrian chancellor. |
| May | Chancellor Schober agrees to disarm the political militias after British Foreign Secretary Arthur Henderson and other European leaders threaten to embargo further loans to Austria. |
| May 21 | The Schutzbund agrees to disarm. The Heimwehr refuses unless the Chancellor agrees to; disarm the Schutzbund with the aid of the Heimwehr, to replace the Minister of Interior with a Heimwehr nominee and to appoint a new police chief for Vienna. |
| May 22 | Chancellor Schober rejects the Heimwehr ultimatum and introduces a bill to transfer control of privately owned firearms and ammunition from state to federal authorities and increase penalties for violation of existing firearms laws. |
| June 13 | The National Assembly enacts the firearms bill. Social Democrats oppose the measure as a subterfuge to allay foreign fears without disarming the Heimwehr. |
| June 15 | Heimwehr chief of staff Major Waldemar Pabst, a German national, is arrested and expelled as an undesirable alien. |
| September 24 | Minister of War and Christian Socialist Party president Karl Vaugoin, a Heimwehr supporter, resigns from the cabinet in a dispute over the appointment of a new manager of state railways. The Christian Socialist agriculture minister joins him. |
| | The split in Christian Socialist ranks between Schober’s moderate conservatives and Vaugoin’s radical clericals brings down the Government. |
| September 30 | Karl Vaugoin forms a minority government after Peasants and German Nationalists refuse to join the cabinet. Ignaz Seipel is appointed Foreign Minister and Heimwehr leader Ernst Rudiger von Starhemberg, a veteran of Hitler’s failed Beerhall Putsch, Interior Minister. Vaugoin refuses to present his cabinet to National Assembly. |
| October | Foreign Minister Seipel endeavors to unite Christian Socialist and the Heimwehr in crushing the Social Democrats once and for all. The Heimwehr rejects Seipel’s scheme and enters its own slate of candidates in the next general election. |
| October 2 | The Heimwehr issues a communiqué threatening to impose a fascist dictatorship if Social Democrats prevail in the upcoming general election. |
| October 8 | Interior Minister von Starhemberg lifts the ban on Major Pabst’s entry to Austria. |
| October 15 | 145,000 workers are collecting unemployment compensation an increase of 60,000 from the previous year. |
| November | The Vienna correspondent of Frankfurter Allgemeine reports plans for a November 2 putsch by the monarchist wing of the Styrian Heimwehr. |
| November 4-5 | The Social Democratic Schutzbund is disarmed by the Heimwehr under direction of Interior Minister von Starhemberg. The Interior Minister declares that he will not surrender his office regardless of the election result. |
| November 9 | General election – resulting distribution of seats in the National Assembly: Social Democrats 72, Christian Socialists 66, Schober Bloc (Peasants and German Nationalists) 19, Heimwehr independents 8. |
| November 12 | President Miklas declares the election a clear decision of the Austrian people in favor of democracy. |
| November 19 | A Christian Socialist Party meeting repudiates efforts to amend the constitution by violent methods, expresses dissatisfaction with Vaugoin and von Starhemberg, demands formation of a constitutional government and invites the Schober Bloc to enter negotiations for formation of a coalition government. |
| November 29 | Chancellor Vaugoin resigns. |
| December 4 | Christian Socialist Otto Ender forms a coalition government with the Schober Bloc. Johann Schober is appointed Foreign Minister. |
| During the Year | Imports decline at an annual rate of 17.6%, exports by 15.2%. |
| | Karl Landsteiner is awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine "for his discovery of human blood groups". |
| 1931 | |
| March 21 | Preparations for an Austro-German Customs Union are announced. France withdraws short term credits to Austrian banks. |
| March | The number of unemployed workers climbs to 304,083. |
| April 22 | Direct radio telegraph service to the United States is inaugurated. |
| May 11 | A $14,000,000 government loan prevents the immediate collapse of Credit-Anstalt, Austria’s oldest private bank which controls 70 to 80% of the country’s banking resources and industry. |
| May 14 | The National Assembly authorizes the Government to borrow $14,500,000 to put Credit-Anstalt’s finances in order. French bankers refuse to participate in the loan unless Austria abandons the customs union with Germany. June 16 |
| | The Creditors Committee agrees not to withdraw credits from Credit-Anstalt for two years provided the Austrian Government guarantees all of the bank’s liabilities. The Peasants’ Party opposes the bailout and withdraws from the governing coalition. |
| June 17 | The Bank of England loans Austria $21,000,000 without guarantee. British creditors hold $135,000,000 of Credit-Anstalt’s $375,000,000 foreign debt and stand to lose everything in the event of a collapse. |
| June 20 | Karl Buresch, Governor of Lower Austria, forms a new cabinet after failed attempts by Chancellor Ender, former Chancellor Ignaz Seipel and Finance Minister Guertler. |
| June 26 | The Austrian Government guarantees all $450,000,000 of Credit-Anstalt’s foreign and domestic liabilities. |
| September 3 | The German and Austrian governments are forced to renounce plans for formation of an Austro-German Customs Union in return for French loans to prevent their impending financial collapse. |
| September 13 | Armed members of the Heimwehr seize public buildings in towns throughout Upper Styria and post proclamations declaring that Walter Pfreimer had assumed power. Pfreimer declares martial law and suspension of the constitution. The Schutzbund mobilizes and warns Chancellor Buresch that they will take action unless the Government proceeds to squash the coup immediately. Federal troops arrive from Vienna and the Heimwehr disband without offering resistance. Three Social Democrats are killed in Kapfenberg. Dr. Pfreimer flees into Yugoslavia. |
| September 14 | Heimwehr leaders including former Interior Minister von Starhemberg are arrested for complicity in the failed putsch and released on bail. |
| September 17 | The Council of the League of Nations advances a $35,000,000 temporary credit to Austria on condition that the Government adopts stringent austerity measures. |
| October 7 | The Government announces that a successor to President Miklas will be elected by the National Assembly rather than by direct vote as prescribed by a 1929 constitutional amendment in order to reduce expenditures. |
| October 8 | The Government restricts foreign exchange transactions by the Bank of Austria to prevent a further drain on the country’s gold reserves. |
| October 9 | The National Assembly elects Federal President Wihelm Miklas to a second term. |
| October 16 | Austria defaults on payments due the Bank of International Settlements and the Bank of England. Both institutions agree to postpone payment. |
| October 19 | The Government dismisses 25 of Credit-Anstalt’s 28 directors. |
| November 3 | Heimwehr leaders agree to cooperate with German Nazis in opposing the Austrian Government. |
| November 12 | Clashes between Social Democrats, Communists and the Heimwehr mar observance of the 13th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic. |
| December 7 | Heimwehr putsch leader Walter Pfreimer returns to Austria and submits to arrest. |
| December 18 | Walter Pfreimer and seven followers acquitted on charges of High Treason by a Graz jury. |
| During the Year | Imports decline at an annual rate of 17%, exports by 28%. |
| | Friedrich Schmiedl launches "Experimental Rocket No. 7", which transports 102 letters from Schöckl near Graz to a small village about 5 kilometers away. The rocket is remotely controlled and the landing is accomplished by a parachute. Schmiedl proposes that postal rocket transports mail between the large capitals around the world. |
| 1932 | |
| January 27 | The Buresch cabinet resigns when a promised $8,500,000 loan from France fails to materialize. French delays in providing the loan are attributed to antagonism towards Foreign Minister Schober’s role in instigating the proposed Austro-German Customs Union. |
| January 29 | Chancellor Buresch forms a new Government without the participation of Johann Schober. |
| February 4 | Gold and foreign exchange backing the schilling fall below the legally required 24% reserve. |
| March 1 | French Premier Tardieu proposes formation of a union of Danubian states based on a preferential tariff system and import quotas to include Austria, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia , and Yugoslavia. Anschluss proponents bitterly attack the plan as a scheme to bring the region under French financial control. |
| April 24 | Austrian Nazis make a strong showing in provincial elections capturing 16% of the vote in Vienna, 18% in Lower Austria and 22% in Salzburg. |
| May 6 | The Buresch Government resigns for lack of a parliamentary majority. |
| May 20 | Engelbert Dollfuss forms a coalition cabinet of Christian Socialists, Agrarians and the Heimwehr. |
| June 13 | British and American bankers advance $70,000,000 in short term credits to Credit-Anstalt but leave before reaching a long term agreement with the Government for stabilization of the situation. The bankers decline Austria’s offer to turn over the bank’s foreign loans in lieu a $25,000,000 payment. |
| June 22 | Austria suspends payments of foreign debt with hard currency and offers schillings instead. |
| July 1 | Austria defaults on payment of the 1923 League of Nations loan. The League’s loan committee responds by refusing to turn over income from customs duties and the tobacco monopoly to the Austrian Government although the revenue amounts to $6,000.000 vs $1,500,000 due on the loan. |
| July 15 | The Council of the League of Nations agrees to guarantee a 20 year international loan to Austria. Austria is required to abstain from seeking close economic cooperation with any single country for the duration of the loan. |
| August 2 | Former Chancellor Monsignor Ignaz Seipel dies at age 62 in Prenitz, Lower Austria. |
| August 17 | The National Assembly accepts the League of Nations’ loan conditions by a vote of 81 to 80. |
| August 19 | Former Chancellor Johann Schober dies at age 58 in Baden, Lower Austria. |
| November | An International Creditors Committee meeting in London approves reorganization plans for Credit-Anstalt. The banks agree to settle claims totaling $100,000,000 for seven yearly payments of $3,000.000. |
| December 24 | Austrian Nazi leader Walter Pfreimer withdraws the party from Hitler’s command. |
| 1933 | January 8 | Arbeiter Zeitung, a Social Democratic daily, publishes reports of an Italian arms shipment including 60,000 rifles and 200 machine guns to the Hirtenberg arms factory in Austria. The news arouses alarm in the Little Entente countries that fear an Italian attempt to arm the Heimwehr and Hungarian fascists. |
| February 2 | Dollfuss responds to British and French inquiries regarding the Hirtenberg arms shipment. The Chancellor states that the arms had been sent to Austria by a private Italian firm for repairs and would be returned to Italy as soon as these are complete. |
| February | The number of unemployed receiving benefits totals 401,321. There are another 100,000 unemployed persons without claim to benefits. |
| March 7 | Dollfuss dissolves parliament, bans political meetings and marches and imposes censorship to prevent dissemination of Nazi propaganda. |
| March 7 | Austria joins Germany, Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands in voting against a French disarmament proposal at the Geneva Conference. |
| April 27 | Foreign creditors of bankrupt financial giant Credit-Anstalt agree to further reorganization of the bank and relieve the Austria Government of its obligations until March 1935. |
| May 13 | Bavarian Justice Minister Doctor Frank and an entourage of German officials arrive in Vienna. They are informed that their presence is, “not particularly desired by the Government.” The Reich responds by imposing an exorbitant visa fee for Austrians entering Germany. |
| May | Chancellor Dollfuss forms the Vaterländische Front (Fatherland Front) to replace existing parties. |
| May 27 | Germany requires citizens intending travel to Austria to pay a 1000 mark exit fee. Germans accounted for 40% of foreign tourists visiting Austria in 1932. |
| June 12 | Austria expels German Nazi leader, Theodore Habicht. |
| June 14 | Germany arrests the Austrian press attaché in Berlin. |
| June 15 | Italy joins British and French representatives to the World Economic Conference at London in announcing release of their shares in the Lausanne Loan to Austria a year early. |
| June 19 | Chancellor Dollfuss outlaws the Austrian Nazi Party and appoints Commissioners of Public Safety to carry out his decrees in each of the states. |
| July 31 | Foreign assets of Credit-Anstalt are taken over by a Monaco based holding company owned by an international consortium of the bank’s creditors. |
| August 27 | Great Britain, France and Italy release Austria from military limitation clauses of the Treaty of Saint Germain. |
| September 11 | Chancellor Dollfuss announces plans to organize Austria as a constitutionally Catholic, German and Corporatist state. |
| October 3 | Chancellor Dollfuss is slightly wounded in an assassination attempt by an Austrian Nazi Party member. |
| October 15 | A mass demonstration of the Austrian Nazis is broken up by Vienna police. |
| October 16 | A Nazi conspiracy within the Army for seizure of the Linz garrison is foiled by the arrest of 20 alleged plotters. |
| October 21 | German Nazi leader Prince Bernhard von Saschen-Meiningen and his wife are arrested in Klagenfurt and charged with conspiracy against Austria. |
| November 10 | Martial law is imposed throughout Austria to prevent demonstrations by Nazis and Social Democrats on the 15th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic. |
| November 24 | Chancellor Dollfuss issues a further six week ban on political meetings to suppress clashes between the Heimwehr and supporters of the National Corporative Front (a coalition of clergy and peasants’ groups favoring establishment of conservative, Catholic state in which Socialists and Nazis alike would be banned). |
| December 22 | Roman Catholic bishops issue a pastoral letter to be read in all churches enjoining Catholics to support Chancellor Dollfuss in his struggle against the opposition, especially the Nazis. |
| During the Year | Erwin Schrödinger is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his physiological studies of color and discovery of Schrödinger's wave equation. |
| 1934 | February 9 | Heimwehr and government troops raid Social Democratic meeting halls and offices of the party newspaper Arbeiter Zeitung. |
| February 12 | Arbeiter Zeitung, daily newspaper of the Social Democratic Party, is banned. Social Democrats call for a general strike following a Heimwehr raid on party headquarters in Linz. Dollfuss declares martial law and over a thousand people are killed in the ensuing strife which includes the shelling of Vienna’s municipally owned housing cooperatives by government artillery. The SDP and its affiliated trade unions are dissolved on order of the Government. |
| February 25 | Arbeiter Zeitung resumes publication as a weekly printed in Brno, Czechoslovakia and smuggled into Austria. |
| March 17 | The Rome Protocols are signed by Mussolini, Chancellor Dollfuss and Hungarian Premier Gombos. The three leaders pledge to negotiate closer economic and political cooperation between their countries. |
| April 1 | Vienna is placed under a new charter. The Chancellor is empowered to appoint the city’s mayor. The elected council is replaced by an appointive advisory board. |
| April 15 | The Chancellor’s office announces that the Fatherland Front will be expanded to include all “patriotic” forces including the Heimwehr, Catholic and provincial forces. |
| April 30 | A rump session of the National Assembly from which Social Democrats are excluded approves a new constitution and then votes to dissolve. Under the new charter; the National Assembly is replaced by four Councils and a Chamber consisting of a Council of State of 40 to 50 worthy citizens; a Federal Cultural Council of 30 to 40 representatives of churches, educational bodies, sciences and arts; a Federal Economic Council of 70 to 80 representatives of agriculture, industry, commerce and finance and a Provincial Council composed of the governor and a financial representative from each state. All council members are to be appointed. Members of the Councils meeting in joint session will constitute the Federal Chamber which will have a voice in budget and financial matters but no power to initiate legislation. Power to appoint council members put in the hands of a Federal President elected for seven years by the Chamber. |
| May 1 | Heimwehr leader Ernst von Starhemberg is appointed Vice-chancellor. |
| June 15 | All political parties other than the Fatherland Front are formally dissolved. |
| July 11 | Chancellor Dollfuss reorganizes the cabinet and appoints Heimwehr leaders to four of eight portfolios. |
| July 19 | A Munich radio broadcast threatens civil war in Austria if seven Nazis arrested for a Salzburg bombing that killed five persons are executed. |
| July 25 | Eight Nazis seize the studio of Vienna’s radio station and interrupt the afternoon broadcast to announce that the Dollfuss Cabinet has resigned and turned power over to a new Government led by Austrian ambassador to Rome Anton Rintelen. A short time later 154 Nazi storm troopers disguised as Austrian soldiers and policemen attack the Federal Chancellery on the Ballhausplatz where Dollfuss is meeting with his cabinet. Nazi leader Otto Planetta shoots the Chancellor twice, mortally wounding him. Government troops and Heimwehr units led by Justice Minister Kurt Schuschnigg immediately surround the Chancellery. Seven hours later the Nazis surrender in return for a promise of safe conduct to Germany. The promise of safe conduct is revoked upon news of the Chancellor’s death. |
| | Mussolini rushes 40,000 Italian troops to the Austrian border and threatens to intervene if the Nazis gain the upper hand. |
| | Members of the Nazi Legion Österreichische (Austrian Legion) invade Austria from Bavaria and launch a series of attacks near Kollerschalg. Six people are killed in the skirmishes. Police discover the "Kollerschlag document" containing written plans for the Nazi takeover during a subsequent arrest. |
| | Hitler promptly disavows responsibility for the putsch, orders the border with Austria sealed and demobilization of the 30,000 man Austrian Legion. |
| | Nazi sympathizers continue the fight in Styria and Carinthia for several days. After the revolt is crushed, 13 rebels are executed, about 4,000 interned in detention camps, and many flee to Yugoslavia. The battles cost 107 lives on the government side and 140 among the rebels. 500-600 persons were wounded. |
| July 27 | Hitler appoints Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen Minister to Austria. |
| July 29 | Kurt Schuschnigg is appointed Chancellor. |
| July 31 | Putsch leaders Planetta and Holzweber are summarily executed. |
| August | Chancellor Schuschnigg meets with Mussolini in Florence and agrees to continue the close Austo-Italian collaboration inaugurated by Dollfuss. |
| September 4 | King Victor Emanuel and Queen Elena of Italy announce the engagement of their daughter Princess Maria to Otto von Habsburg. The announcement is taken as a show of Italian support for restoration of the Austrian monarchy. |
| September 14 | The Government declares that the return of the Habsburg family even as private individuals is still impossible. |
| September 20 | The Government bans press coverage of a possible Habsburg restoration following numerous monarchist demonstrations. |
| October | Chancellor Schuschnigg begins negotiations for incorporation of the Austrian Nazis into the Fatherland Front against the opposition of the Heimwehr. |
| October 31 | Clerical supporters of Chancellor Schuschnigg are appointed to 20 seats on the State Council, Heimwehr supporters of Vice-chancellor von Starhemberg fill 14 and Fatherland Front members favorably disposed towards the Chancellor fill the remaining 15. |
| November 6 | The German Club, a Nazi propaganda center in Vienna, is permitted to reopen. |
| November 10 | Nazi pamphlets distributed in the Tyrol announce that negotiations with the Government have failed and the storm troopers will resume their activities. |
| December | Police in Upper Austria make several hundred arrests in a bid to block reorganization of the Nazi storm troopers. |
| During the Year | The average number of workers receiving unemployment benefits totals 370,210 or 26.3% of the eligible work force. |
| 1935 | |
| February | Police assisted by the Heimwehr arrest 200 Social Democratic leaders. |
| March | Seventeen defendants convicted of smuggling explosives from Germany shortly before the July 1934 Nazi putsch are sentenced to death by a Salzburg court. |
| May 24 | Heimwehr leader von Starhemberg’s control of militias is extended to the regular Army which is officially incorporated into the Fatherland Front. |
| May 26 | Vice-Chancellor von Starhemberg announces the dismissal of all members of political militias who joined after February 1934. The order is intended to weaken the Sturmscharen who are working in close collaboration with Cardinal Innitzer and the Vatican in support of Chancellor Schuschnigg and the Freiheitsbund formed by Catholic trade unionists committed to restoration of democracy. The order is ignored. |
| April | Twenty one officers of the Social Democratic Schutzbund are convicted of treason and sentenced to prison. |
| July 10 | The Federal Council approves legislation removing the bar to residence by members of the Habsburg family and restoring most of their property. Von Starhemberg urges eventual restoration of the monarchy with himself as regent. |
| July | Social Democrats, Communists and trade unionists agree to form a Popular Front to oppose the Government. |
| October 11 | Austria opposes a League of Nations resolution imposing economic sanctions against Italy in response to Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia. |
| November | Great Britain declines an Austrian request for extension of credits to Credit-Anstalt. |
| November 12 | The Foreign Ministry announces that Austria’s vote against immediate imposition of League of Nations sanctions on Italy has been misunderstood and that Austria now firmly supports League policy. Two Austrian munitions factories are ordered to cease deliveries to Italy. The Government declares that such shipments are a violation of the Treaty of Saint Germain. |
| December 23 | A Christmas amnesty is granted to political detainees. 154 Social Democrats and a few Nazis are released. |
| December | The British dominated International Committee of Creditors of the Credit-Anstalt agrees to accept the Austrian Government’s offer to settle outstanding claims against the bank for 43% payment. During the Year |
| | The average number of workers receiving unemployment benefits totals 348,675 or 23.4% of the eligible work force. |
| 1936 | |
| January | Chancellor Schuschnigg considers restoration of the Habsburg monarchy to counter growing German influence and a perceived weakening of Italian power. The suggestion draws a sharp warning from the Little Entente countries that Habsburg restoration would be considered cause for war. |
| January 17 | Chancellor Schuschnigg meets with Czechoslovakian President Benes in Prague. Benes welcomes increased economic cooperation between Austria and the Little Entente states but reiterates Czech opposition to Habsburg restoration. |
| February 28 | British and French officials express disapproval of Habsburg restoration during Vice-chancellor von Starhemberg’s visit to London for the funeral of King George V. |
| March 22 | Chancellor Schuschnigg meets with Italian and Hungarian officials in Rome. The three countries renew the 1934 Rome Protocols including the Italian guarantee of Austrian independence and agree to remain neutral should war break out between France and Germany. |
| April | The Phoenix Insurance Company declares bankruptcy. Creditors, including 300,000 policy holders in Austria, face losses totaling $50,000,000. The public learns that the company’s reserves have been dissipated in the form of bribes to politicians and parties of all factions in an effort to protect the company from arbitrary action by any future government. |
| April 1 | Austria reintroduces conscription in violation of the Treaty of Saint Germain. All able bodied men between the ages of 18 and 42 are made liable for service in the regular army or labor battalions. |
| | Chancellor Schuschnigg orders all political militias merged in a national militia under control of the Army. The Heimwehr enters the National Militia but refuses to accept Army supervision or to surrender its arms. |
| April 26 | Vice-chancellor von Starhemberg declares that the Heimwehr will only be disbanded over his dead body. |
| April 28 | Chancellor Schuschnigg releases a list of parties and individuals receiving contributions from the bankrupt Phoenix Insurance Company. The Heimwehr, the Nazis and the Monarchist Association are the largest beneficiaries but lesser amounts were given to the Catholic Freiheitsbund militia and even to illegal trade unions. The Chancellor is cleared but von Starhemberg and several other Heimwehr leaders are among the individuals implicated in the scandal. |
| May 1 | The Freiheitsbund stages a May Day march through Vienna to honor publication of Quadragesimo Anno, a Papal encyclical in supporting of workers’ rights. Fist fights erupt between the marchers and Heimwehr supporters along the parade route. Police arrest 70 Heimwehr men who are immediately released on orders from von Starhemberg. |
| May 12 | Vice-chancellor von Starhemberg announces plans to visit Mussolini in Italy and releases the text of a telegram he sent to Il Duce congratulating him, “on the glorious and magnificent victory gained by the Italian Fascist armies over barbarism (in Ethiopia), on the victory of the Fascist self-sacrificing spirit and disciplined determination over demagogic mendacity.” |
| May 14 | Chancellor Schuschnigg forces von Starhemberg to resign from the Government and threatens to crush any Heimwehr resistance with the regular army. At the same time to lessen the threat of a Heimwehr uprising Schuschnigg agrees to appoint another Heimwehr leader to replace the ousted Vice-chancellor who is demoted to Patron of the Fatherland Front’s women’s auxiliary. |
| May 21 | Chancellor Schuschnigg assumes absolute power over the Fatherland Front, the National Militia and the appointive Federal and municipal councils. |
| July 11 | Schuschnigg signs the Juliabkommen (July accord) with Hitler following the Italo-German rapprochement. Germany promises to respect Austrian sovereignty on matters including questions related to Austrian National Socialism and to revoke the 1000 mark exit fee charged Germans leaving for Austria. In return, Austria promises amnesty for imprisoned National Socialists, to follow a foreign policy similar to that of Germany, and to include two representatives of the Nationalist opposition in the Government. |
| July 24 | An amnesty is granted to 10,000 political prisoners. Most of those released are Nazis but some are Social Democrats. |
| July 29 | Mass demonstrations by Nazis mar ceremonies marking the passing of the Olympic torch through Vienna on its way to Berlin. President Miklas and master of ceremonies Ernst von Starhemberg are shouted down with cries of “Heil Hitler!” The Government cancels plans to amnesty an additional 10,000 political prisoners. |
| September | German interests purchase a large share in Alpine Montan Gesellschaft a holding company controlling the Austrian steel and mining industry. |
| | Italy transfers its interest in the Austrian state railways to Germany. |
| September 25 | The Council of the League of Nations approves an Austrian request that League’s representative to the Austrian National Bank be recalled and the post abolished. |
| October 4 | Ernst von Starhemberg tells a gathering in Wiener Neustadt that the Heimwehr will support the Chancellor only as long, “as he proves worthy of it by acts of loyalty toward us.” |
| October 9 | Chancellor Schuschnigg orders the Heimwehr dissolved. |
| October | Mussolini agrees to give Hitler a free hand in Austria. |
| November | Chancellor Schuschnigg decrees formation of an Industrial Militia of federally controlled volunteers modeled on the U.S. National Guard to replace the banned political militias. |
| November 3 | Heimwehr ministers are ousted from Government in a cabinet reorganization. |
| November 11 | Representatives of Italy, Austria and Hungary confer in Vienna. Austria and Hungary formally recognize Italy’s annexation of Ethiopia in return for a promised share of the economic spoils. |
| December | Chancellor Schuschnigg tells a Klagenfurt audience that Nazism in Austria ranks second only to Communism as the state’s chief enemy. |
| During the Year | Victor Franz Hess is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of cosmic radiation. |
| | Otto Loewi shares the Nobel Prize in Physiology with Sir Henry Hallett Dale of Britain "for their discoveries relating to chemical transmission of nerve impulses" |
| 1937 | February | The government controlled press attacks Germany for interference in Austrian affairs. Schuschnigg attempts to counter growing German pressures by reviving the possibility of a Habsburg restoration. |
| February 22 | German Foreign Minister von Neurath meets with Schuschnigg in Vienna and issues a formal warning against Habsburg restoration. Nazi demonstrations orchestrated to coincide with the Minister’s arrival are broken up by police. Von Neurath departs without obtaining satisfaction of his demands for a no restoration pledge, increased participation of German Nationalists in the Austrian Government and repatriation of the Nazi Austrian Legion in Germany. |
| February 25 | Mussolini’s spokesman Virginio Gayda of the Giornale d’Italia supports German opposition to Habsburg restoration. |
| April 22 | Chancellor Schuschnigg meets with Mussolini in Venice. Il Duce tells him that Italy is no longer prepared to block a German invasion of Austria. He now opposes Habsburg restoration or development of a Danubian economic bloc embracing Austria, Hungary and the Little Entente states. Finally, the Italian urges Schuschnigg to make peace with Germany and admit Nazis into his Government. |
| July 12 | Austria agrees to lift the ban on sales of Mein Kampf and permit circulation of three German newspapers. |
| August 17 | The Emergency Powers Act is revised. The practice of allowing two penalties for the same offense is abandoned. The rights of appeal and habeas corpus are restored. |
| November | Press reports state that Germany owes Austria $11,000,000 for imports it is unable or unwilling to pay for except in the form of armaments or other manufactures that Austria declines to accept. |
| 1938 | |
| January | Vienna police raid the headquarters of a Nazi committee and seize evidence of a plan to create a pretext for a German invasion by staging a fake attack on the German Embassy. Leopold Tavs, a Sudeten German serving as secretary of a semi-official committee charged with incorporation of Austrian Nazis into the Fatherland Front, is arrested and charged with being the ringleader of the plot. |
| February 12 | Chancellor Schuschnigg meets with Hitler at Berchtesgaden. The Fuehrer launches a violent tirade accusing Schuschnigg of betraying the German people by his resistance to Nazi demands in Austria. He insists that Schuschnigg appoint Nazi leader Arthur Seyss-Inquart as Minister of the Interior and of Public Safety. Though not demanding full legalization, he demands that steps be taken to end repression of the Austrian Nazi party. Schuschnigg asserts that only President Miklas can name cabinet minister but agrees to urge appointment of Seyss-Inquart after Hitler threatens an armed invasion. |
| | President Miklas refuses to appoint Seyss-Inquart to the Interior or Public Safety posts which would give the Nazis control of the police and internal affairs but offers to appoint him Minister of Justice. |
| February 15 | Hitler issues an ultimatum, comply with his original demands or German troops will cross the border at midnight. Mussolini spurns the Austrian requests for assistance. Miklas and Schuschnigg are obliged to yield. The cabinet is reorganized that evening. Syess-Inquart is appointed to the Interior and Public Safety portfolios. Nazi sympathizers Guido Schmidt and Ludwig Adamovitch are appointed Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice, respectively. |
| February 17 | The Government proclaims an amnesty for all Austrian Nazis imprisoned for political crimes. Social Democrats are released at the same time in a desperate effort to strengthen Schuschnigg’s hand. The Government announces that the Nazis will not be permitted to form a separate political party but will be allowed to join the Fatherland Front as a unit. |
| | Dissemination of monarchist restoration propaganda is banned. |
| February 24 | Chancellor Schuschnigg tells the Federal Diet that, “Austria must remain Austria” and that he will make no further concessions to Hitler. The Chancellor is informed that Syess-Inquart has received instructions from Berlin to prepare plans for a late summer plebiscite on Austria’s future. Schuschnigg decides to hold the plebiscite as soon as possible before Nazi propaganda further erodes his support. |
| March 9 | Schuschnigg announces that a plebiscite on Austria’s future will be conducted on March 13. The vote will be restricted to persons over the age of 24 thus excluding participation by ardent Nazis in the younger generation. |
| March 11 | Nazi cabinet ministers demand postponement of the plebiscite. Schuschnigg decides to cancel it all together. Another ultimatum follows, Schuschnigg must resign by 6:30 p.m. and permit the formation of a National Socialist Government or face invasion. Schuschnigg’s frantic appeals to Italy, France and Great Britain prove futile. The Chancellor announces that he has chosen to resign rather than plunge Austria into war and ends his radio broadcast declaring, “And so I take leave of you the Austrian people with a German word of farewell uttered from the depths of my heart: God protect Austria.” President Miklas names Syess-Inquart chancellor late in the evening. |
| | Chancellor Syess-Inquart declares Austria, “free and National Socialist” and announces that he has invited German troops into Austria to assist in, “the restoration and maintenance of law and order.” |
| March 12 | German troops enter Austria and German bombers circle over Vienna in the morning. Adolf Hitler follows behind entering Austria at his hometown of Linz where he proclaims fulfillment of his “divine mission” to restore Austria to the German Reich. Former Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg is arrested after declining the opportunity to flee. Schuschnigg declares, “My conscience is clear. I prefer to face my accusers.” |
| March 13 | Austria is proclaimed, “a state of the German Reich”. The Anschluss is enacted in both German and Austrian law and a plebiscite is scheduled for April 10 to ratify the decision. President Miklas is forced to resign and yields his powers to Seyss-Inquart. The League of Nations does not interfere with the annexation. Mexico is the only member to enter a formal protest. |
| March 14 | Hitler concludes his Austrian tour with a triumphal entrance into Vienna. |
| March 15 | Arbeiter Zeitung, the Social Democratic Party weekly printed in exile at Brno, Czechoslovakia, ceases publication. |
| March 29 | A warrant is issued for the arrest of Archduke Otto, the Habsburg pretender, who is safely residing in Belgium at the moment. |
| April 10 | “Do you approve of the reunification of Austria with Germany as accomplished on March 13, and do you vote for the list of our Fuehrer Adolf Hitler?” It is announced that 99.7% of Austrians voting on the question in a plebiscite answer yes. The final tabulation of the ballots is recorded as: Yes 4,273,884 No 11,911 Spoiled Ballots 5125. |
