Volksdeutsche movement in Liechtenstein

The Volksdeutsche Movement in Liechtenstein (VDBL) was a National Socialist political party that was active in the Principality of Liechtenstein during the 1930s .

ideology

The aim of the VDBL was the integration of Liechtenstein into the Greater German Reich , which it represented particularly emphatically after the annexation of Austria in 1938, among other things through its party newspaper Der Umbruch . Furthermore, the party intended to undermine the loyalty of the Liechtenstein people to the ruling Prince Franz Josef II in a populist way with its slogan «Liechtenstein to the Liechtensteiners!» .

history

On March 24, 1939, the National Socialists attempted a coup in Liechtenstein . Border police chief Joseph Schreieder from the Bregenz border police then had to attend a meeting with the Liechtenstein head of government Josef Hoop , together with the district administrator in Feldkirch Ignaz Tschofen and the provincial governor of Vorarlberg , because SA units from Vorarlberg wanted to advance to Liechtenstein. The three Germans had to promise to prevent this.

With the thwarting of the VDBL's participation in the 1939 elections through an agreement by the major parties to keep the exact election date secret (so-called silent elections ) and the drastic loss of sympathy for the ethnic German movement after the outbreak of World War II , the Liechtenstein National Socialists lost their entire political life Influence, which eventually led to the dissolution of the party.

Trivia

A later very prominent member of the VDBL was the founder of the Hilti Group, Martin Hilti , who was a volunteer in the Waffen SS during the Second World War . Hilti acted as the "editor" of the VDBL-Kampfblatt Der Umbruch .

See also

• Liechtenstein in the time of National Socialism

literature

• Peter Geiger : A time of crisis: Liechtenstein in the 1930s, 1928–1939. Historical Association for the Principality of Liechtenstein, Vaduz. Chronos, Zurich 2000.
• Peter Geiger: The role of Feldkirch and Vorarlberg for Liechtenstein 1938/39. In: Rheticus. Quarterly publication of the Rheticus Society . Feldkirch 1998 ( online , PDF; 108 kB).

Web links

• Wilfried Marxer: Volksdeutsche movement in Liechtenstein (VDBL). In: Historical Lexicon of the Principality of Liechtenstein .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See Peter Geiger: The role of Feldkirch and Vorarlberg for Liechtenstein 1938/39 .
2. ^ Refuge on installments - Liechtenstein and the Jews