Srovnání krize parlamentarismu v Německu a Rakousku, 1930–1934

Abstract

The main goal of the article is to compare the crisis of the role of the German Reichstag und Austrian Nationalrat in the early 1930’s and how the relationship parliament-government/president was influenced in that respect. We argue that the German system of emergency decrees of the President (Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution) systematically undermined the German parliament in favour of state bureaucracy and a technocratic government. In Austria, since March 4, 1933 Dollfuss coalition of the right wing of Political Catholicism with the Heimwehr implemented a degree law with the War Economy Empowering Act (KWEG) as a tool to govern without parliament. The period of the Chancellors H. Brüning (1930–1932, presidential government) and E. Dollfuss (April 1932 – March 4th, 1933, parliamentary government Dollfuss) constitute the first stage of the weakening of the parliamentary system. In the second stage in Germany since June 1932, the reactionary anti-parliamentary option of the Chancellors F. v. Papen and K. v. Schleicher (presidential dictatorship) created a power vacuum without any viable alternative. We found comparable anti-Marxism aspects of Austrian and German administrations. The difference was the final “totalitarian result” of the analysed period. In Germany the Nazis won, and Adolf Hitler was appointed German chancellor on January 30th, 1933. In contrast, Dollfuss withstood the onslaught from Austrian Nazis in the critical time 1933/1934, and established so called “Estates state”, conservative oriented dictatorship.