Political party in Austria
The
Greater German People's Party
(
German
Großdeutsche Volkspartei
, abbreviated GDVP) was a
German nationalist
and
national liberal
political party
during the
First Republic of Austria
, established in 1920.
Foundation
[
edit
]
After
World War I
and the dissolution of
Austria-Hungary
, the German nationalist and "German-Liberal" camp, which was fragmented into many splinter parties and factions, formed the largest group in the Provisional National Assembly of
German Austria
with 102 representatives, ahead of the
Socialists
and the Catholic
Christian Socials
. In 1919, the 17 different groupings and clubs formed a federation, the Greater German Association (
Großdeutsche Vereinigung
),
[1]
led by the former
Linz
mayor Franz Dinghofer. As delegate of the Provisional Assembly, Dinghofer was elected one of its three presidents on 21 October 1918, together with the Socialist
Karl Seitz
and the Christian Social politician
Jodok Fink
. Under his presidency, the assembly voted for the accession to the
German Reich
and declared German Austria a republic.
[
citation needed
]
On a 1920 convention in
Salzburg
, the Greater German Association was transformed into a single party, the German nationalist and
antisemitic
Greater German People's Party.
[4]
[6]
[7]
[8]
The only nationalist parties which did not join were the
German Workers' Party
and the rural
Landbund
. The party did not have a strong organisation but instead was supported by people who were nationalistic but not generally involved or interested in politics.
[3]
The party received strong support from students, teachers and bureaucrats.
[9]
Ideology
[
edit
]
1923 election poster:
"And if the world were full of devils! The German people must arise! Away from Internationalism! Vote Greater German!"
The party supported the creation of a
Volksgemeinschaft
or people's community. They called for the unification of Austria with
Germany
and
free trade
.
[3]
Support
[
edit
]
During the First Republic the party never won more than 17% in elections. However, from 1921 to 1932, it was the junior partner of the
Austrian Federal Government
, in a
coalition
with the Christian Social Party,
[10]
providing the
Vice-Chancellors
in the cabinets of
Johann Schober
,
Ignaz Seipel
and
Rudolf Ramek
. From 1927, the similar oriented Landbund took the Greater Germans' position as coalition partner.
[
citation needed
]
Chancellor
Johann Schober
(in office 1921?22, 1930?31), although not a party-member, was considered to be close to the German nationalists. With the rise in support for the
Austrian Nazi Party
in the early 1930s, the Greater German People's Party lost numerous members to the Nazis and the paramilitary
Heimwehr
forces. On 15 May 1933, the party's radicalised remnants formed an action group (
"Kampfgemeinschaft"
) with the National Socialists and eventually merged with the Nazi party during 1933?34.
[11]
With the implementation of the
Austrofascist
dictatorship of the
Federal State of Austria
in 1934, all parties were banned. Upon the 1938
Anschluss
to
Nazi Germany
, many former members joined the German
Nazi Party
.
[
citation needed
]
Legacy
[
edit
]
The Greater German People's Party represented the Austrian "Third Camp" (
Drittes Lager
) which traditionally has embraced pan-German nationalists and national liberals (in Austria "German-Liberals"). The Third Camp was revived after
World War II
in form of the
Federation of Independents
and later the
Freedom Party of Austria
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Jelavich, Barbara (1987).
Modern Austria: Empire and Republic, 1815-1986
. Cambridge University Press. p.
151
.
ISBN
0-521-31625-1
.
Modern Austria.
- ^
Jelavich, Barbara (1987).
Modern Austria: Empire and Republic, 1815-1986
. Cambridge University Press. p.
168
.
ISBN
9780521316255
.
Modern Austria.
- ^
a
b
c
Pauley, Bruce F (1998).
From Prejudice to Persecution: A History of Austrian Anti Semitism
. UNC Press. pp. 180?81.
ISBN
0-8078-4713-5
.
- ^
a
b
"Großdeutsche Volkspartei"
.
Austria-Forum.org
. Graz University of Technology
. Retrieved
28 January
2021
.
- ^
Franz Schausberger
:
Deutschnational waren sie irgendwie alle ? Die Rolle der osterreichischen Parteien vor dem ?Anschluss" 1938.
In:
wienerzeitung.at
. 7 March 2018, retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^
Enderle-Burcel, Gertrude; Reiter-Zatloukal, Ilse (10 September 2018).
Antisemitismus in Osterreich 1933-1938 [Antisemitism in Austria 1933-1938]
. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 292?93.
ISBN
9783205201267
. Retrieved
28 January
2021
.
- ^
"Being Jewish in Vienna"
.
Germanics.Washington.edu
. Dept of Germanics, University of Washington
. Retrieved
28 January
2021
.
- ^
Pauley, Bruce F (1998).
From Prejudice to Persecution: A History of Austrian Anti Semitism
. UNC Press. pp. 140?41, 180?81.
ISBN
0-8078-4713-5
.
- ^
Jelavich, p. 168.
- ^
Bukey, Evan Burr (2002).
Hitler's Austria: Popular Sentiment in the Nazi Era, 1938-1945
. UNC Press. p. 9.
ISBN
0-8078-5363-1
.
- ^
Morgan, Philip (2003).
Fascism in Europe, 1919-1945
. Routledge. p.
72
.
ISBN
0-415-16942-9
.
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