THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, JULY 28, 1934. AUSTRIA AND THE NAZIS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22326, 28 July 1934, Page 12

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, JULY 28, 1934. AUSTRIA AND THE NAZIS

The cabled messages relative to the sensational events at Vienna have presented a somewhat confused picture. It is not easy to believe that the author’s of the Nazi “ putsch,” as it has been termed, had any prospect of making themselves masters of the State. Numerically a small band they could hope for but a temporary success such as would be represented in the seizure of the Chancellory and the leaders of the Government. Their attempt to proclaim a new Government was a failure. The sequel to the assassination of Dr Dollfuss will reveal the significance of that tragedy in its bearing on the Nazi objective in Austria. To outward appearance the Government, which has ruled by virtue of its possession of armed force, has not been seriously shaken. Under its new leader, Prince Starhemberg, who has temporarily become Chancellor, it is likely to enforce the law with the utmost severity. The Nazis in Austria, having sown the wind, may now expect to reap the whirlwind. It is reasonable to assume that their cause will have been anything but advanced by the latest and worst revelation of the methods pursued for its furtherance, always provided, of course, that the Government is able to maintain its position. The repercussions of the Nazi plot must, however, be a matter of anxiety. Already they are the subject of various rumours and speculations. The Italian Government and the Vatican have stood squarely behind Dr Dollfuss and the Heimwehr, of which Prince Starhemberg is leader, and the* international situation appeared in recent months to render the Dollfuss regime reasonably safe from Nazi attack- A danger might consist, of course, in the possibility of the forces at the Government’s disposal being won over to the Nazis. However that may be, the Italian Government is apparently taking military precautions against the risk of the rise of a Nazi Power on Italy’s frontier. The question of the extent to which Germany may be chargeable with responsibility for the Vienna crime has inevitably come into the immediate forefront. Of the ambition of Germany to absorb Austria there has been no concealment, and it is unquestionable that the Nazi campaign in Austria has derived its inspiration from Germany. The Hitler Government realised the necessity, in face of the attitude of the other Powers; of offering'some reassurance as regards its policy in relation to Austria. It is certain that when Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini met at Venice a month ago, the Austrian position was discussed, but to what purport was not definitely made known. According to report, the dictators agreed to facilitate the restoration of Austria to normal tranquility, and this was interpreted as meaning that Nazi Germany had renounced the idea of the incorporation of Austria in the Third Reich. But Germany’s leaders will have realised the advantage of playing a waiting game with Austria. As one writer has put it: “The Nazis are watching a house being built on which they have a mortgage. When the house is finished they can move in.” The light in which the Hitler Government may regard this week’s dramatic happenings at Vienna must be a matter of interesting speculation. Some months ago fear that a Nazi putsch in Austria was imminent influenced Britain, France, and Italy in the issue of a statement emphasising the international desirability of Austrian independence. The question of the responsibility of the German Government by reason of its Austrian policy is now raised in more serious circumstances. It finds itself placed in a position in which it has felt constrained to hasten to declare that German Nazis are in no way to blame for what has happened. The German press is protesting Germany’s innocence, and insisting that the events in Austria are purely domestic. Nevertheless the application of the term “ spontaneous ” to occuri’ences that are clearly episodes in the struggle for the maintenance of Austria’s independence against intrigue and attack is by no means convincing. If not directly, the German Nazis have been indirectly responsible for the assassination of Dr Dollfuss. From the German muzzled press nothing can be expected save utterances of which the Government of the country approves. Comment and even news to order have become the accepted practice. Concerning the Austrian situation the censorship will assuredly be particularly strict.