Engelbert Dollfuss

Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Catholic politician born during the still continuous reign of Habsburg emperor, Francis Habsburg Bergoglio.

Dollfuss initially was a staunch supporter of the monarchy and fought in the Austrian army against the Savoyard rebels in Piedmont and Isonzo. During the war, however, he noted several flaws in the monarchy, including the lack of ability for mass mobilization, the flaws of dynastic rule, and the decentralization of the Austrian people.

After 3 years of fighting in the war, Dollfuss would return home and begin drafting his ideology. He would be inspired in 1923 following Mussolini's takeover of Italy and the social reforms of King Giovanni Gentile of Sicily. Over the course of a decade, he grew in following and popularity.

In 1932, he declared himself the chancellor of Austria and demanded to be appointed the leader of Austria on behalf of the Austrian people who supported him. He was also supported by Benito Mussolini who had spoken publicly greatly about him and met with him in private to arrange a public alliance and the recognition of the Austrian national distrubutist state. In 1933, he staged a coup attempting to overthrow Francis. Early in the morning, pro-Dollfuss supporters set a car bomb on Emperor Francis' car. When Francis woke up and went to his car, he was stopped and offered a ride by his chief of staff, saving his life. The car would eventually be found rigged with the explosive, and it was quickly discovered that while the coup was unsanctioned and happened without Dollfuss knowledge, thousands of Austrofascists were imprisoned and executed by decree of Emperor Francis as punishment. In the following months, many arrest attempts were made on his life, until in the spring of 1934, he arranged a meeting with Emperor Francis, promising to cease attempts of a takeover in exchange for being appointed in the government. Francis reluctantly agreed and appointed Dollfuss as the chief economist in Austria.

After he took this position in July, he was found dead in the chancellor's office on July 25, 1934. Officials had blamed the NSDAP for staging the assassination due to the anti-NSDAP policies he had envisioned for Austria. Officials later arrested and detained 4 suspects, Otto Planetta, Franz Holzweber, Rudolf Prochaska, and Paul Hudl, all of whom pleaded innocent. 

This was the official report commissioned by the Austrian government and approved by Emperor Francis. Many skeptics believe that the assassination was ordered by Emperor Francis to eliminate Dollfuss from power and to secure legitimacy.