Assault Corps

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The Sturmkorps was an Austrian paramilitary organization of the Patriotic Front under Austrofascism .

In the autumn of 1936 the military associations and the voluntary protection corps were dissolved and the Ostmärkische Sturmscharen converted into a cultural organization. After it was also planned to place the front militia under the authority of the federal army and thus to transfer an instrument of state leadership into national defense, the Sturmkorps was founded on June 17, 1937. As the “combative elite of young men”, these “party soldiers” were supposed to protect the Fatherland Front from violent attacks by their opponents. In contrast to the military associations, the members of the storm corps served full-time in the formation.

The militant appearance of the Sturmkorps was modeled on the SS . The uniforms were dark blue and consisted of a shirt, breech pants , high lace-up boots and a storm cap, similar to the former Austrian officer's hats. The motto was "Our will become law."

The supreme leader of the Sturmkorps was Kurt Schuschnigg , led by Richard Alexander. The conditions of admission were "unconditional allegiance to the Federal Chancellor and Frontführer Dr. Kurt von Schuschnigg ”, the“ unreserved commitment to freedom and independence in Austria ”,“ the dissolution of all previous ties and connections with whatever organization ”, a“ perfect state of health ”and a minimum height of 170 cm. The badge was a cross, the vertical bar of which extends upwards and merges into an arrow.

When it was first set up, the organization had 120 members, shortly before the annexation of Austria in March 1938 there were 4800.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d Robert Kriechbaumer : A fatherland picture book: Propaganda, self-staging and aesthetics of the fatherland front 1933–1938 (= Robert Kriechbaumer, Hubert Weinberger, Franz Schausberger [Hrsg.]: Series of publications by the research institute for political-historical studies of the Dr. Wilfried Haslauer-library . band 17 ). Böhlau, Vienna 2002, ISBN 978-3-205-77011-4 , pp. 48 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  2. ^ Emmerich Tálos : The Austrofascist system of rule: Austria 1933–1938 (=  politics and contemporary history . Volume 8 ). 2nd Edition. LIT Verlag, Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-50494-4 , p. 226 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  3. ^ A b Walter Wiltschegg: The Home Guard: an irresistible popular movement? Ed .: Rudolf Neck , Adam Wandruszka (=  studies and sources on Austrian contemporary history . No. 7 ). Verlag für Geschichte und Politik, Vienna 1985, ISBN 978-3-7028-0221-9 , pp. 14 .
  4. ^ Arnd Bauerkämper , Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe (Ed.): Fascism without Borders: Transnational Connections and Cooperation between Movements and Regimes in Europe from 1918 to 1945 . Berghahn Books, New York City 2017, ISBN 978-1-78533-469-6 , pp. 174 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
  5. ^ A b Peter Hauser : Badges of political parties and militant organizations in Upper Austria 1918–1939 . In: Gesellschaft für Landeskunde (Ed.): Yearbook of the ÖO Musealverein . tape 124 . Linz 1979, p. 155 ( online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at - here called "Patriotic Front Storm Corps").