Page - 34 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

34 chapter 1 Inasense, thisadversebalanceof forces,whichneither the leadershipnor therank-and-filemembershipofthepartywereeverfullyawareof,hadalready dictated thedefeatof SocialDemocracy fromthebeginning.However, itwas a great surprise for party leaders in 1927. While it had been an electorally successful year, it nonetheless saw thedefeat of theparty’s strategic line and a crisis for democracy. Thebeginningof the crisiswasmarkedby a skirmish between theRepublicanProtectionLeagueand theFrontFighters’Unionon 23 January 1927,where theeight-year-old JosefGrössingand thedisabledwar veteran Matthias Csmarits were killed. In response to the acquittal of the perpetrators on 14 July 1927, theworkers of Vienna staged a demonstration the followingday, and therewasa caseof arsonat thePalaceof Justice. This fierce epidemic of workers’ protest can be attributed to the following: the sdap’s defensive attitude regarding the acquittal of the killers; poverty and unemploymentintheranksoftheproletariat inspiteoftheeconomicupturn; lenient court sentences inmurder caseswhere thevictimswere left-wingers; and the sdap’s inability to take advantage of its electoral successes. In the course of fighting between theprotesters andpolice under the commandof JohannSchober,89people lost their lives–amongthem, fivemembersof the sdap executive and four police officers. 491were injured.75 Thedaybecame amilestone on the path towards the authoritarian state order as desired by ChancellorSeipel,who,accordingtoRenner,countedon‘theideaofmurdering citizens as political principle’.76 The freedom to protest had been infringed, andthetimehadtrulyarrivedfor the ideasofLinztobeput intopractice.Yet thesdap leadershipwithBauerat itshelmlimited itself toaone-daygeneral strikeandastatementproposing that theSocialDemocratsparticipate in the government coalition, which was not a timely suggestion in consideration of the political situation. The sdap also refused to arm protesters.77 15 July exposed the flawsof theparty leadership, its lackofwill anddecisiveness to makeuseofthespontaneityoftheworkingmasses.Addinginsulttoinjury,the protestorswerereprimandedforbreakingpartydisciplineat theOctober1927 party congress.78 Furthermore, theparty’s poor engagementwith themasses 75 Atthetime,Bauer,KarlSeitzandJuliusDeutschengagedintalkswiththechiefofpolice, JohannSchober.SeeLeichter1964,p.53. 76 Ourtranslation,citedafterBraunthal 1976,p.21. 77 In 1927, thepartyhad600,000membersand1.5millionvoters.Becauseof theprevailing belief in its ownstrength, it thought itself safe anddidnot expect that thegovernment woulduseforce. 78 See Protokoll des sozialdemokratischen Parteitages von 1927 under ‘Documents, pro- grammes,protocols’ inthereferencessection.