Austrian National Socialism

[J. Duncan]

I was re-reading Bruce Pauley's good book "Hitler and the Forgotten Nazis" and was quite surprised by the fanaticism and zeal of these "forgotten" Nazis of Austria. They seemed much more revolutionary than their German counterparts (bombings, plots, and assassinations). Hitler repeatedly ignored them when it served his interests to do so (for example, disavowing any connection to the Dollfus murder to curry favor with Mussolini). Much like he later did when ignoring the Iron Guardists in Rumania and favoring the iron fist of Ion Antonescu. The anti-semitic nature of Austrian NS was also more vehement than it was with the German NS. What more, NS itself really began in Austria and not Germany.
Their roots began in the 1918 period with Dr. Walter Riehl and Anton Rintelen. In 1920, a congress was held in which National Socialists from Germany and Austria met in Salzburg to decide a common policy. Nothing was really achieved, but Anton Drexler attended it, so many Austrians learned about the successes then occuring in Germany.
Later on, certain personalities began to come into fore, namely Joseph Leopold, a former WWI veteran. Much like Pfeffer von Salomon, he didn't get along to well with the German Nazi top brass and was considered too much of a rebel. Theo Habicht and Alfred Frauenfeld were also rising luminaries in this movement. Dollfuss, a reactionary dictator, had many of these men locked up in "concentration camps" and even had a few of them executed for terrorist activity. These men are largely forgotten. Leopold and Habicht were later demoted and both died on the eastern front as soldiers.
After the Anschluss, others would take their place and would achieve notoriety during the war years: Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Odilo Globocnik, Adolf Eichmann, and Friedrich Rainer.
I can see many parallels between this Austrian NS group and the Fascist Iron Guardists of Rumania. In Rumania, King Carol acted very much like Dollfuss when dealing with these extremist groups. I was surprised by how much more fanatical these Austrian Nazis were when compared to the German. Is there any way to collect some 'viewtopics" under this thread? I am interested in learning more about some of the personalities mentioned above and to concentrate some of them here so they can be easily referenced.

Two other good books on this subject are Parkinson's "Remembering the Past" and Andrew Whiteside's valuable but hard to find book "A History of Austrian National Socialism before 1918".

[Marcus]

Does anyone have any information on the military career of Josef Leopold in the Bundesheer where he reached the rank of Hauptmann and Wehrmacht?

/Marcus

[Phil Nix]

Here are the two govenments pre and post Anschluss
Phil Nix

[Jolly Man]

The first Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei (DNSAP) banner. Pre-dates Hitler's NSDAP design by several months.


Summer 1920

studie_kl.jpg (13.68 KiB) Viewed 1836 times

One of the first National Socialist Postcards 1920 (Czech)

[Jolly Man]

Austrian DNSAP and NSPDOe items from my personal collection. Extremely rare!

1.NSPDOe Membership card 1923

2.DNSAP metal embossed sign

3.Austrian National Socialist symbols in the form of:

a.Membership Abzeichen (pin)
b.DNSAP sign (close-up)
c.Membership card logo (close-up)

[just]

Hello
very nice
Thanks Jolly Man !!

cordially
Didier

[Jolly Man]

Thank you Didier, sorry to just seeing your post today.

Here is another early Austrian National Socialist membership pin. This one is extra special (on the right) as it is only one of two known to exist, sitting next to a standard membership badge on the left. The one on the right is the Honor Party Membership Badge of the NSPDOe in Austria.

It was a difficult badge to find, in fact, I had to travel two years into the future to purchase it.

[Jolly Man]

The Ehrenzeichen der Nationalsozialistische Partei Deutsche Oesterreiches, circa 1920-1924.

The maker is Gosel, Wien, Oesterreich

[J. Duncan]

Just saw what you posted over a period of time...these are fascinating items. What did you mean by "travel 2 years into the future"?
I don't get it (curious).

[Jolly Man]

the time stamp on the fotos say 2019. lol

[J. Duncan]

Oh boy....I'm not very observant. Thanks.

[Georges JEROME]

Does anyone have any information on the military career of Josef Leopold in the Bundesheer where he reached the rank of Hauptmann and Wehrmacht?

/Marcus

7.10.1910 join k.u.k. Infanterie-Regiment "Freiherr von Hess" n° 49
1913 Feldwebel
1914 - 1915 Zugkommandant in K.u.K. Inf. Rgt 49
1.8.1915 - 1.18 P.O.W. in Russia
2.18 released and return to his regiment
1918 Recruiting instructor at Wien then up to 1920 Zugkommandant im Volkswehrbataillon 9
1.7.20 Inf. Rgt 9 Krems
1920 - 1923 Kdrt zur Heereschule Wien
1923 - 1925 Ausbildungsoffizier beiM I.R. 6 (Krems)
1927 vorprüfung für den Hôheren militarischen Dienst then zur Gebirgs-Haubitzen-Batterie abg.
1929 kdrt z. Kraftfahrkurs für Offiziere
1930 kdrt z. Kp-Kommandanten Kurs
27.1.1931 Hauptmann
1931 - 1933 Kdr des Feldjägerbataillon 1
31.8.1933 released from Bundesheer and put retired position

1.9.1939 Freiwilliger*1.4.1940 Bataillon kdr einer Ersatz Bat for the french campaign
1941 Oberstleutnant der Reserve and Bataillon kdr on East Front.