863.00/1801
Memorandum by the Consul General at Vienna (Wiley)2
I occasionally see Frau von Schuschnigg, the erstwhile Vera Czernin, bride by proxy of the former Chancellor. She tells me that the treatment that they both received while detained in the Belvedere was indescribable; that they both survived was nothing short of a miracle. They were in the custody of Austrian Legionnaires.
Dr. von Schuschnigg, according to his wife, is now confined in a small room under the roof of the Hotel Metropole, which is the headquarters of the Gestapo. Since his detention there, two months more or less, he has not been out of the room. I asked if it was a former [Page 479] servant’s room in the hotel. She replied “Not even”. He was under guard night and day. There was an average of four Austrian Legionnaires on duty all the time. It was practically impossible for him to sleep, since during the night they whistled, sang and amused themselves in a provocative way. They greatly enjoyed “teasing” him.
Dr. Schuschnigg was not allowed to see any newspapers. The only exception was on July 25th, when the press was devoted to commemoration of the “heroes” who murdered Dollfuss.
As to their treatment in the Belvedere, Frau von Schuschnigg stated that she had carefully prepared a diary containing all details and that this diary was in a safe place.
Frau von Schuschnigg is permitted to see the ex-Chancellor for ten minutes every Friday, but never alone. She is not permitted to write him or to receive letters from him. She is not permitted to receive any money from her husband and is supporting herself and his young son by his previous marriage from her own very limited funds. Moreover, she is not permitted to see her own children from her former marriage. Prince Fugger, her divorced husband, is serving in the German air force in Spain.
She describes the ex-Chancellor’s physical condition as very bad and states that he is utterly crushed. She fears very much for his life. For the state of affairs in general, she blames the Gestapo rather than the Party. Indeed, she has been in touch with high Party officials who are endeavoring to intervene. It is their desire to obtain a declaration of loyalty from the ex-Chancellor, which she states that he is quite willing to give, and to send them to some remote spot in Pomerania east of Stettin where they would live under an assumed name.
Recalling the events of March 11th, Frau von Schuschnigg declared that her husband had not realized how hopeless the situation was. Zernatto and others had been better informed through their spies and had fled at 5:30 in the afternoon. After the Chancellor’s resignation, the Hungarian Chargé d’Affaires had a car ready in order to drive him across the frontier. Dr. von Schuschnigg refused to leave so long as the group of young members of the Patriotic Front who were trapped in the P. F. headquarters were not in safety. Seyss-Inquart assured him that it was not necessary for him to flee; that three motor cars would be at his disposition at any time he wished to leave the country. The ex-Chancellor telephoned to Frau von Schuschnigg, then Countess Czernin, and asked her to meet him at the Belvedere. Seyss-Inquart telephoned at least every hour and kept assuring him that everything was ready for his departure when he wished to leave. On Saturday the telephone calls from Seyss-Inquart ceased. On Sunday, the 13th, one of the ex-Chancellor’s aides came to the Belvedere and said that the motor cars had not materialized [Page 480] from Seyss-Inquart, that the Chancellor should attempt to escape at once. The moment for escape was past; the building was surrounded with a cordon of S. S. men.
The ex-Chancellor had had complete confidence in Seyss-Inquart’s friendship and personal loyalty to him. He is convinced, however, that Seyss-Inquart deliberately betrayed him and held out the promise of transportation and safe conduct across the frontier in order to prevent his taking advantage of other means of escape.
Frau von Schuschnigg added that the ex-Chancellor had always been extremely devout and had derived great inner strength from his faith. His betrayal by Cardinal Innitzer and the latter’s attitude towards the National Socialist Party had completely crushed him. She said that he was no longer devout nor strengthened by faith.
Frau von Schuschnigg is convinced that war is imminent, that it will come in October or November at the latest. I was unable to determine whether this represented information from a reliable source or the forecasts of clairvoyants.
- There is no indication in the files as to how this memorandum reached the Department. The earliest receipt date stamped on the document is August 23.↩