Austrian 'Civil War' 1934

[Peter H]

Has anyone got details on the Dolfuss Government and its punitive action against the Social Democrats,in Vienna,in February 1934?

From Corbis;captured Social Democrats.




'Workmen's Flats' in Vienna,scene of the most bitter fighting.

[Peter H]

Austrian army units involved:

...elements of the Vienna based 2nd Brigade (Brigade Wien Nr. 2) under Generalmajor Theodor Haselmayr were the main government forces in action. The brigade consisted of the following:

Infanterieregiment Nr. 3
Infanterieregiment Nr. 4
Feldjägerbataillon zu Rad Nr. 2
Feldjägerbataillon zu Rad Nr. 4
Selbständiges Artillerieregiment
Wiener Dragonerschwadron Nr. 2
Pionierbataillon Nr. 2
Wiener Telegraphenkompagnie Nr. 2
Wiener Kraftfahrkompagnie Nr. 2
Wiener Fahrkompagnie Nr. 2

[Petterson]

Bruno Kreisky`s memoir tells something about Dolfuss Government`s punitive actions against the social democrats. Kreisky himself was a social democrat so therefore ha was arrested by the secret police. Kreisky told that Goverment`s troops used an artillery againts social democrats outside Vienna.

[Orok]

Another picture showing the aftermath of artillery fire.

Photo copyright © Bettmann/CORBIS

Best Regards!

[Petterson]

Bruno Kreisky`s memoir tells something about Dolfuss Government`s punitive actions against the social democrats. Kreisky himself was a social democrat so therefore ha was arrested by the secret police. Kreisky told that Goverment`s troops used an artillery againts social democrats outside Vienna.

The original title of Bruno Kreisky`s memoir is "Zwischen den Zeiten-Erinnerungen aus fuenf Jahrzehnten".

[Petterson]

According to Bruno Kreisky the "Civil War" in Vienna started when policemen and Heimwehr`s men began to make house searchs in the boroughs dominated by social democrats. Soon some started to resist these actions - by using weapons.

As far as I can remember that Kreisky himself did not take part in fighting. But he did hear shooting all over the workers boroughs.

[maxxx]

actually, the civil war started not in vienna, but in linz, when heimwehr und bundesheer tried to confiscate the guns of the schutzbund in "hotel schiff" and a firerfight begun.

some centers of the fighting in vienna were floridsdorf (21st), margareten (5th), and karl-marx-hof (19th district).

[Petterson]

actually, the civil war started not in vienna, but in linz, when heimwehr und bundesheer tried to confiscate the guns of the schutzbund in "hotel schiff" and a firerfight begun.

some centers of the fighting in vienna were floridsdorf (21st), margareten (5th), and karl-marx-hof (19th district).

But how the fighting did extend from Linz to Vienna?

[maxxx]

actually by telephone.

dont forget the social democratics had been a huge party with several hundreds of thousand party members. after the party was forbidden, their structure just went on illegally. A lot of schutzbund-weapons was hidden by "Vertrauensleuten" (credible members) . As many of them had been officals of schutzbund before the ban they were well known to their enemies. When the rebellion started, these men were arrested first. SO most weapons just stayed where they were hidden...
Another problem was, a general strike was one of the first thing to be started bei the Social Democrats, when the fighting begun. But now they had neither telephone to communicate with their comrades nor electricity to print their posters and manifests. The Heimwehr and the army just had to block every district border to seperate the rebells from each others. messages had to be delivered by bicycle, many messangers were captured or shot.

[Petterson]

actually by telephone.

dont forget the social democratics had been a huge party with several hundreds of thousand party members. after the party was forbidden, their structure just went on illegally. A lot of schutzbund-weapons was hidden by "Vertrauensleuten" (credible members) . As many of them had been officals of schutzbund before the ban they were well known to their enemies. When the rebellion started, these men were arrested first. SO most weapons just stayed where they were hidden...
Another problem was, a general strike was one of the first thing to be started bei the Social Democrats, when the fighting begun. But now they had neither telephone to communicate with their comrades nor electricity to print their posters and manifests. The Heimwehr and the army just had to block every district border to seperate the rebells from each others. messages had to be delivered by bicycle, many messangers were captured or shot.

Well, Social Democrats (SDP) are a huge political party also in here Finland.

What kind of weapons Social Democrats had in 1934?

[maxxx]

well , i am no weapon freak, so i cannot tell you details, but

mostly regular army carabines of WWI -vintage, revolvers, some MGs (also WWI-relicts), hand made grenades (so called "Schmierbüchsen", something like "molotow-cocktails")

Most of their strongpoints in the communal housings were dominated by a single tripod or wheeled machine -gun. But they had few ammunition and even fewer experienced gunners for that. When in Floridsdorf a single mg-gunner was killed by a army sniper, nobody was left who was able to handle the mg.

[Petterson]

Some of the Austrian Social Democrats moved to Soviet Union via Czechoslovakia after the fighting ended. Soviet authorities even permitted them to organize a parade in Moscow.

[maxxx]

The soviet union was a hope for the former social democrats- at first. Many of them wer put in jail and/or killed by Stalin later..

[Petterson]

This is amazing! Adolf Hitler actually criticized Dollfuss`harsh measures against the social democrats. Hitler stated that his own measures caused much less victims than Dollfuss` goverments measures in 1934. Well, this was - after all - propaganda.