republic · Germany and Central Europe
Federal State of Austria
Origins
Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss suspended parliament in March 1933 and ruled by decree, banning the Communists and Austrian Nazis. After crushing the Social Democrats in the civil war of February 1934, he proclaimed a new constitution on 1 May 1934, creating the Federal State of Austria based on Catholic corporatist ideas.
Rule and society
The regime ruled through a single party, the Fatherland Front, and corporate bodies in place of a parliament, drawing on the papal encyclical Quadragesimo Anno and on Mussolini's support. Dollfuss was murdered by Austrian Nazis in a failed putsch in July 1934. His successor Kurt Schuschnigg tried to preserve independence while yielding to German pressure under the 1936 July Agreement.
Decline and legacy
In March 1938 Schuschnigg called a referendum on independence, but under German threats he resigned. German troops entered Austria on 12 March 1938, and the country was annexed to Nazi Germany in the Anschluss.
Lineage
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- Federal State of Austria was conquered by Nazi Germany1938 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Federal State of Austria. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/federal-state-of-austria
- MLA
- “Federal State of Austria.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/federal-state-of-austria. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Federal State of Austria.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/federal-state-of-austria.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Federal State of Austria’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/federal-state-of-austria (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻