| Republican Protection League | |
|---|---|
| Republikanischer Schutzbund | |
 Emblem of the Schutzbund | |
| Founders | Social Democratic Party of Austria |
| Foundation | 1923 |
| Dissolved | 1934 |
| Headquarters | Vienna |
| Active regions | Austria |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Left-wing Factions: Far-left |
| Status | Defunct |
| Size | 100,000 (peak in 1925)[2] |
| Opponents | |
| Part of a series on |
| Anti-fascism |
|---|
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The Republikanischer Schutzbund (German: [ʁepubliˈkaːnɪʃɐ ˈʃʊtsˌbʊnt] , "Republican Protection League") was an Austrian paramilitary organisation established in 1923 by the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria to defend the Austrian Republic[3] in the face of rising political radicalisation after World War I. The Schutzbund, whose membership peaked at about 100,000 men in 1925, was armed and organised on military lines. In the July Revolt of 1927 it worked with government authorities to try to prevent the spread of violence, but it largely sat out the Pfrimer Putsch in September 1931 because it had failed so quickly.
Under the Austrofascist government of Engelbert Dollfuss, the Schutzbund was banned on 31 March 1933,[4] and the Austrian police began arresting its members and searching for weapons. When they attempted to enter the Social Democrat's headquarters in Linz on 12 February 1934 to look for arms, local Schutzbund members opened fire and sparked the Austrian Civil War. The Schutzbund was quickly defeated by the superior numbers and weaponry of the police and Austrian Army. Many Schutzbund members were arrested and nine men were executed, a number of whom were prominent in the Schutzbund. The Social Democratic Party was banned, and with it the Republikanischer Schutzbund came to an end.
- ^ McLoughlin (1990): 29, 38, 60, 103, 373f.
- ^ McLoughlin (1990): p. 43
- ^
Compare:
Kitchen, Martin (2015) [1980]. "The Schutzbund". The Coming of Austrian Fascism. Routledge Library Editions: Racism and Fascism. Routledge. ISBN 9781317389279. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
On 12 April 1923 the statutes of the Schutzbund were formally approved by the federal Ministry for Internal Affairs and Education. In the statutes the purpose of the Schutzbund was clearly stated. Its aim was to defend the constitution, to help the authorities maintain law and order and to protect the government against any attempted putsch, to provide assistance in the event of natural catastrophes and to protect meetings held by republican organisations. The statutes further claimed that the Schutzbund was a non-military organisation devoted to the development of the minds and bodies of its members, placing a particular emphasis on marches and band music [...]. [...] Through the means of a complex organisational structure the Schutzbund was gradually to become the private army of the Social Democratic Party [...].
- ^ "DöW - Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance". braintrust.at. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2015.