Hitler and the Forgotten Nazis
in Hungary’s favor if the plebiscite were not canceled. 22 In subsequent years Anschluss passions in Austria cooled but never died completely. The departure of the Social Democrats from the German government in 1923 and the election of the ultraconservative Paul voa Hindenburg as president in 1925 made Germany far less attractive to the Austrian Socialists, but far more appealing to the bourgeoisie. Consequently^the years between 1925 and 1929 continued to be filled with Anschluss demonstrations, including one in Vienna in 1928, which drew some 200,000 participants. A year later a questionnaire distributed to members of the Austrian National Assembly revealed that two-thirds of its delegates still backed the union with Germany. 23
    The Anschluss remained almost the single goal of Austria’s foreign policy until 1933. 24 The Great Depression served only to solidify the conviction that a union with Germany was the one hope for recovery. With its extreme dependence on foreign trade, Austria was harder hit by the Depression than perhaps any other industrialized country in the world. But to imagine that a merger with Germany could cure Austria’s economic ills was wishful thinking. Except for the period 1925-29, Germany was as impoverished as Austria. At best an Anschluss could have produced temporary political and psychological gains for the German and Austrian governments.
    The latter two goals were in fact exactly what the Austrian chancellor, Johannes Schober, had in mind when he secretly negotiated a customs union with Germany in 1930. No other governments had been consulted when the project was suddenly publicized in March 1931. The result was predictable. Although Britain and the United States were sympathetic, France, and the so-called Little Entente countries of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Rumania were bitterly opposed, seeing in the plan a thinly disguised Anschluss. France’s opposition was decisive. Only it had the financial resources to supply Austria with another desperately needed loan; but its price was the cancellation of the customs-union project. The upshot was a diplomatic victory for France and a humiliating defeat for the German and Austrian governments. Moderates in the two German-speaking countries suffered another setback. Only the Nazis benefited. The Austrians, denied the forbidden fruit once again, wanted it more than ever. Not until the Nazis rose to power in Germany would some Austrians begin to reconsider their Anschluss ambitions.
    *
The Austrian Constitution and Parliament
New Beginnings: Walter Riehl and the DNSAP, 1918-1923
34 - Hitler and the Forgotten Nazis
44 - Hitler and the Forgotten Nazis
Hitler and the Party Schism
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    The Austrian Constitution and Parliament
    Adding to the problems of the Austrian Republic were flaws in its constitution. Of course, not even the most perfect constitution can guarantee the success of democracy. In the case of Austria, however, the constitution tended to accentuate already existing political problems.
    Before the war the Austrian people had felt a sense of loyalty to their emperor, their German nationality, and their province. When the object of their first devotion disappeared, the German Austrians fell back on the other two. After the war the new Austrian constitution of 1920 accorded the nine provinces (Upper and Lower Austria, Burgenland, Styria, Salzburg, Carin-thia, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Vienna) a wide degree of local autonomy. Vienna, which had been the capital of Lower Austria as well as the Austrian Empire, was made into a separate province. The Socialists took advantage of Vienna’s new autonomy to push through Western Europe’s most advanced social welfare program. Including such things as subsidized housing, health care, and adult education, the costly program was largely paid for by the taxes of Vienna’s middle and upper classes.
    The decentralizing character of the Austrian constitution could also be seen in the role
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