863.00/885: Telegram
The Minister in Austria (Earle) to the Secretary of State
[Received 12:20 p.m.]
39. I have just returned from tour of the districts of Vienna involved in the uprising and questioned many eyewitnesses. While it is impossible for me to interview the leaders of the uprising I have seen and heard enough to obtain a fairly clear picture of the situation.
The cables sent by Kliefoth during the uprising I thoroughly approve. He was one of the few who kept his head. Also the observations of Colonel Shallenberger were accurate and unemotional at all times.
At the last election held in 1930 the Social Democratic Party polled 1,500,000 votes. Out of a total population of 6,500,000 not more than 20,000 Left Wing Socialists took part in the uprising.
The difference between the Right and Left Wings of the Socialist Party is the difference between moderate liberalism and communism.
In the midst of negotiations by Chancellor Dollfuss to win over to him the Moderate Socialists who are a great majority of that party [Page 22] the Heimwehr leaders learned of the heavy importation of rifles and machine guns from Czechoslovakia and the placing of these in strategic positions by the small militant communist element of the Socialist Party.
Fearing an attempted putsch the Heimwehr and Government forces initiated a series of raids to seize these arms. This was the immediate cause of the uprising. That only a very small fraction of the Socialist Party was in sympathy with resistance of any kind to the Government is clearly demonstrated by the refusal of the great majority of labor to respond to the call for a general strike issued as the fighting began.
Military operations by soldiers and police were conducted in a most humane manner. Women and children were warned again and again to leave affected buildings and areas hours before shelling began. Only during the first night was the issue in any doubt. After that the disaffected areas were mopped up efficiently in rapid succession. The clemency shown by the Chancellor is amazing. The relief and aid given to the insurgents’ families by Dollfuss is almost unparalleled in Europe. He bitterly regrets the necessity of the use of artillery against the semi-fortified machine nests in workers houses. However, had the Government given the insurrectionists longer time to organize the Nazis would have started a simultaneous attack and Austria would now be under Hitler’s control in actuality if not in name. Because of the demonstration of strength of the military forces of the Republic which brought fear of death to the Nazis and because of the efficiency and unswerving loyalty of the police and soldiers to the Government in this crisis, I believe Dollfuss’ position is stronger than ever and that conditions are less threatening and more stable than at any time since my arrival last September. This opinion is directly contradicted by foreign press representatives who unanimously agree that Dollfuss is greatly directly weakened by the loss of Socialist support, lukewarm though it was.
Taking outside Socialist figures the total dead is 102 of the Government forces, 153 Socialists, and 40 civilians. The total property damage over all Austria will not exceed $200,000.
An interesting side light is that a few nights ago the Soviet radio in Leningrad vilified the Austrian Socialists for their failure to support the uprising.
Dollfuss’ real weakness was the attacks against him in the foreign press which have now let up.
If he had given way to these attacks the blame for establishing Hitlerism in Austria would have rested on the foreign correspondents who grossly misrepresented the situation.