The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, JULY 27, 1934. UPHEAVAL IN AUSTRIA

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19862, 27 July 1934, Page 8

The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, JULY 27, 1934. UPHEAVAL IN AUSTRIA

Nazi excesses, which have resulted in the cold-blooded murder of the Chancellor of Austria, may light a fire which will set Europe ablaze. At the moment, Vienna is the centre of a serious conflict, and the city is under martial law. The Heimwehr at the point of the bayonet, stormed the chancellery and killed Dr. Dollfuss. From the welter of news that has come to hand from the Austrian capital, it is a little difficult to assess the gravity of the development which has resulted in the overthrow of the Government and the ascendancy of hostile armed forces. It is not difficult, however, to appreciate the delicacy of the diplomatic situation. Not unnaturally the Western Powers will not be slow to hold Germany to account for the disturbing incidents that have literally brought Austria to the verge of civil war. It is said that Great Britain is watching the upheaval with deep concern. In the capitals of France and Italy, the greatest excitement prevails. Already Italian troops are moving towards the frontier. It is just as well to recognise the plain facts of the situation in relation to the political relationship between Austria and Germany. Before the advent of the Nazis, under the leadership of Herr Hitler and his co partners in the building up of the National Socialist Party, the aim of the great majority of the Austrians, who are largely Germans, was union with Germany, in the formation of a new federation that would restore the somewhat shattered fortunes of the two countries. But for the activities of certain Powers, who are members of the League of Nations, consent would have been secured by Austria, for the taking of a poll on the question of joining with Germany. The biggest objection was political, and perhaps diplomatic, and the principal opposition came from the nations which dreaded finding themselves as neighbours of a new and powerful grouping of the central European peoples. Moreover, there are racial and cultural interests, to say nothing of financial and military considerations, which would make the union of the two countries quite natural, but for the opposition of the Powers of the West who fear the ascendancy of a Germanic alliance. For some months negotiations have been carried on between Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini, but it is passing strange, in view of the spread of Nazism into the heart of Austria, that Dr. Dollfuss was permitted to continue in office at the peril of his life, in view of the pledges the Nazis had taken to destroy the rule of Dr. Dollfuss and his party, and restore Austria’s political, military and ecclesiastical prestige, and gain the high esteem of the rest of the world. It is interesting to recall that the day before the tragic death of Dr. Dollfuss at the hands of his sworn political foes, the first sentence under the new emergency law, which provides for capital punishment for terrorist crimes, were carried out. Unhappily for Dr. Dollfuss, the first to pay the extreme penalty was a Socialist, aged 22 years, who was sentenced to death for bombing a railway, and was hanged within three hours. The Socialists demonstrated, we are told, as a protest against the execution. The demonstrators declared that the Austrian Chancellor would not da're hang a Nazi, though there were plenty of Nazi outrages which were allowed to go unpunished. Doubtless the Nazis and' the powerfully-armed forces of the Heimwehr have become alarmed at the threats of the Socialists. Whatever the factors which prompted the Nazis to embark upon a campaign of violence, the fact remains that the peace of Europe has been imperilled because the leading people of the West may become involved in a first-class conflict. In Berlin, it is officially declared that the Austrian outbreak is purely spontaneous and is not connected with the German Nazis. Nevertheless the Anstro-German frontier is reported to be closed. The French Government on its part, however, regards the Austrian situation as most grave, and demanding the greatest vigilance, since a free and peaceful Austria is essential to Europe’s welfare. Italy’s attitude is considered to be most important. The answer to the French question comes to hand in a later pronouncement. A message from Rome states that though Italy would not tolerate Germany’s annexation of Austria, “military action in connection with this course is considered to be unlikely,” says the official Italian view, “except by agreement of England and France.” It has yet to be shown that the murder of the Austrian Chancellor and the attempt to place the Nazis in the saddle, is not part of the Hitlerite policy designed to consolidate Nazism as the foundation of a powerful Germanic confederation of immense geographical, commercial and diplomatic importance, involving Germany, Austria, and perhaps Hungary, and stretching across the very heart of Europe.

An optimist is a man who gets married. He purchases his engagement and wedding rings at Dunn's, jewellers. Stafford Street. A pessimist is a man who is just naturally discontented. ...