July Revolt of 1927
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The July Revolt of 1927 (also known as the Vienna Palace of Justice fire, German: Wiener Justizpalastbrand) was a major riot starting on 15 July 1927 in the Austrian capital Vienna. It culminated in the firing by police forces into the outraged crowd, killing 84 protesters,[1] while five policemen died. More than 600 people were injured.
Events
The clash was the result of conflict between the Social Democratic Party of Austria and a right-wing alliance including wealthy industrialists and the Catholic Church. Many paramilitary forces had been formed in Austria during the early 1920s, among them the Nationalist Frontkämpfervereinigung Deutsch-Österreichs under Col. Hermann Hiltl and the Social Democratic Republikanischer Schutzbund. A clash between those groups during a gathering in Schattendorf, Burgenland on 30 January 1927 resulted in the death of a World War I veteran and an eight-year-old boy. Three Frontkämpfer were indicted at a Vienna court in July for shooting them from ambush. Defended by lawyer Walter Riehl pleading self-defense, they were however acquitted in a jury trial.
This "Schattendorf Verdict" led to a general strike which had the aim of bringing down the government headed by Christian Social chancellor Ignaz Seipel. Massive protests began in the morning of July 15, when a furious crowd tried to storm the main building of the Vienna University on Ringstrasse. The protesters devastated a nearby police station and a newspaper building, before the proceeded to the Austrian Parliament Building. Forced back by police forces, they arrived in the square in front of the Justice Palace. About twelve noon, protesters entered the building by smashing the windows, demolished the furnishing and began to inflame files. Soon the building was set ablaze; the fire quickly spread out as the Vienna fire brigade was attacked by several demonstrators, who also cut fire hoses, and could not be brought under control until the early morning.
The former (and later) Austrian chancellor Johann Schober, then Vienna chief of police, suppressed the protests with force. He urged the Social Democratic mayor Karl Seitz to call for the Austrian Armed Forces, which Seitz rejected, as did the Christian Social defence minister Carl Vaugoin. In turn, Schober supplied the police troops with army rifles and publicly announced to clear the premises by force, after Seitz and Schutzbund councillor Theodor Körner had vainly tried to persuade the crowd to surrender. The police opened fire, which resulted in 89 deads.
Remembrance
A memorial of the victims was erected in the Vienna Zentralfriedhof, a palque at the Palace of Justice was unveiled by President Heinz Fischer in 2007. Several artefacts like singed court papers, Schutzbund and Frontkämpfer uniforms are on display at the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum.
References
- ^ Brook-Shepherd, Gordon (December 1996). The Austrians : a thousand-year odyssey. HarperCollins. p. 260. ISBN 0-00-638255-X.
- G.R.E. Gedye, Fallen Bastions (London, 1939)
- F. Carsten, Fascism in Austria (London, 1977)
