Nationalism's Impact On Smaller Austrian National Groups

Nationalism was a significant issue in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with the German-speaking population of the Empire expressing nationalist sentiments and advocating for close ties with Germany. This movement, known as German nationalism, favoured the idea of a Greater Germany that would incorporate Austria. The conflict between supporters of an Austrian national identity and those rooted in German nationalism created divisions within political parties and groups. The Austrian nationalist faction, which included conservative and undemocratic elements, ultimately overthrew the democratic republic in 1934 and established a regime rooted in Austrofascism. This introduction sets the context for exploring how nationalism affected smaller national groups in Austria, particularly in the context of the competing ideologies and power struggles between German and Austrian nationalists.

The conflict between those who supported an Austrian national identity and those rooted in German nationalism

On the other hand, supporters of an Austrian national identity were conservative and largely undemocratic, including former Imperial bureaucrats, army officers, priests, aristocrats, and members of the Christian Social Party. Historian A.J.P. Taylor described the two groups as follows: "The democrats were not 'Austrian'; the 'Austrians' were not democrats." These two factions squabbled throughout the first decade of the First Republic, with the Austrian nationalists ultimately overthrowing the democratic republic in 1934 and establishing a regime rooted in "Austrofascism" under the protection of Fascist Italy.

Austrian nationalism has been challenged not only by German nationalism but also by Bavarian nationalism, which emerged after the defeat of Austria-Hungary in World War I and proposed that Austria should join Bavaria. The Compromise of 1867 guaranteed equality to the nations within the Austrian legal framework, but in practice, speakers of non-German languages occasionally struggled to gain full equality in education, the judicial system, and administration.

The German nationalist democrats and the Austrian nationalist conservatives

German nationalism in Austria is a political ideology and historical current in Austrian politics. It arose in the 19th century as a nationalist movement amongst the German-speaking population of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. German nationalism favours close ties with Germany, which it views as the nation-state for all ethnic Germans, and the possibility of the incorporation of Austria into a Greater Germany.

Austrian nationalism has been challenged internally by German nationalism and Bavarian nationalism. Bavarian nationalism challenged the new Austrian Republic with proposals for Austria to join Bavaria.

At the turn of the 20th century, nations became an important mode of group-building, as nationalist activities and state policies promoted identification with a nation. Nationalisms were able to mobilise the middle classes, and also an increasing number of workers and peasants.

The Greater German People's Party and the agrarian Landbund

The Greater German People's Party was a German nationalist and antisemitic party formed in 1920. It supported the unification of Austria with Germany and free trade. The party was supported by students, teachers and bureaucrats, but was not well-organised. With the rise of the Austrian Nazi Party in the early 1930s, the Greater German People's Party lost many members, and eventually merged with the Nazis in 1933-34.

The Landbund was an agrarian group, founded in 1893 by farmers and agricultural interests in response to the farm crisis of the 1890s. It was specifically protesting the low-tariff policies of Chancellor Leo von Caprivi, including his free trade policies. The Landbund was similar in orientation to the Greater German People's Party, and from 1927 took their position as coalition partner. Chancellor Johann Schober was not a member of the party, but was considered close to the German nationalists.

The Third Camp

After the Compromise of 1867, the Austrian legal framework guaranteed equality to all nations, while in Hungary, which defined itself as a nation-state, laws protected the linguistic rights of non-Hungarian nationalities. However, in practice, Hungarian nationalists increasingly tried to restrict minority languages and Magyarise the population. In the Austrian part of the monarchy, speakers of non-German languages occasionally struggled to gain full equality in education, the judicial system, and administration.

At the turn of the 20th century, nations became an important mode of group-building, as nationalist activities and state policies promoted identification with a nation. Nationalisms were able to mobilise the middle classes, as well as an increasing number of workers and peasants. The struggle between the many ethnic groups of the Empire and German-speakers defined the social and political landscape of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the 1870s until its dissolution after the First World War.

Austrian nationalism has been challenged by German nationalism and Bavarian nationalism, which proposed that Austria should join Bavaria after the defeat of Austria-Hungary in World War I. Those who supported an Austrian national identity, separate from Germany, were conservative and largely undemocratic in persuasion, including former Imperial bureaucrats, army officers, priests, aristocrats, and members of the Christian Social Party. Ultimately, the Austrian nationalist faction overthrew the democratic republic in 1934 and established a regime rooted in "Austrofascism" under the protection of Fascist Italy.

The response of the Germans and Hungarians to demands for political and cultural equality

In the 1920s and early 1930s, Hungarian politicians and public figures vilified the leader of the German Kulturverein, Jacob Bleyer, even though Bleyer demanded only cultural rights and though he and his organisation supported Hungarian revisionism. The Hungarian government continued its assimilationist campaign: it closed down German schools or merged them with Hungarian ones, prevented the publication of German papers, harassed German community leaders, infiltrated ethnic organisations and forced upwardly mobile Germans to change their names.

In response to these demands, a strong Hungarian nationalist political movement rose in the second half of the century to assimilate German-speaking citizens and their economic power into Hungarian culture.

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