Page - 166 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

166 chapter 4 threeGermancountriesshouldbecreated–anInnerAustrian,GermanCzech, andaSudetenGermanterritory–andreturnedtothehomecountry.108Indeed, aproposal for this typeof reorganisationalreadyappeared inTheQuestionof Nationalities as an alternative tonational autonomy. For Bauer – as for Ren- ner– the ideaofAnschlusshadanationaldimension(communityof culture, bloodties),butalsopolitical,economic,andrevolutionaryaspects. It ismainly for these reasons that hewould obsessively revisit this idea – even after the Anschlussproposalhadbeenrejected in theTreatyofSaint-Germain-en-Laye of 1919. In 1923,Bauercontinuedtoseetwopossibilities: ‘Supranational feder- ationoftheDanubianpeoplesornationalunityoftheGermans;restorationof theHapsburgMonarchyorfusion[Anschluss]withtheGermanRepublic’.109 Abriefcommentmightservetosumuptheseobservations.Theproposalsput forwardbeforeWorldWari(national-culturalautonomy,culturalassimilation) andduringthewar(Anschluss)reflectedthetransformationofAustrianSocial Democracy towardsnationalist positions. Because thesepositions effectively meantadenial of the right tonational self-determination, theydidnotmeet theexpectationsofthesubordinatenationsofAustria-Hungary.Ultimately,the solutiontothenationalitiesquestionwasdecidedbytherespectivecountries’ long-time efforts to rebuild their statehood, the defeat of theAustrian army on thewar front, and the desire of themasses to end thewar and national conflicts.110 It isworthshedding lightonaparticularbelief thatwas intrinsic toBauer’s position: national objectives, when pursued by the proletariat, can become theproletariat’s overridingobjectives (wewill examine this inmoredetail in 108 It is necessary to emphasise the fundamental difference between Bauer’s andHitler’s understandingofAnschluss, theannexationofAustriatoGermany.Bauerdidnotpropose a simple incorporation of Austria into the Reich, but rather the creation of a body of Germanstates (basedmainlyoncommoneconomicand financialpolicies) inwhichall stateswouldretainfar-reachingautonomyindomesticquestions. 109 Bauer1925,p.282. 110 AsanticipatedbyBauer, independentnationstateswereformed.Yetquestionsofpeace- ful co-operationbetweenthese states in thecapitalist eraof competitionover salesand labourmarkets have lost noneof their relevance. Today, there is nodoubt that Bauer’s suggestionsforreconcilingthenationsaremainlyofhistorical interest.However, Imain- tainthatnational-culturalautonomyremainsthemosteffectivewaytodefendminorities against the centralisationofpower in anation state. ThedemandsofHungarianpoliti- cians inSlovakia,who in 1996called for the introductionof autonomy in the spheresof cultureandeducation, testify tothis.Thesameis trueforSilesians inPolandwhodonot identifywiththePolishnation.