Gravesite of the Executive for the victims of the Civil War in 1934. On a small lawn there are stones with names of the fallen, behind them a wall with an angel holding up a lifeless-looking body.
In March 1933, then-Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß shut down Parliament. In the course of a controversial vote, all three presidents of the National Council had resigned, so the session was suspended and could not continue. A few days later, with the help of the police, the government prevented any attempt to resume it. Parliamentary democracy was thus abolished. Chancellor Dollfuß and his ministers ruled with the help of the 1917 War Economy Enabling Act. They severely restricted the rights of citizens. Political opponents were disbanded or banned. On February 12, 1934, a raid on the premises of the Social Democratic Republican Protection League resulted in resistance. This was the beginning of the three-day Austrian civil war, in which hundreds were killed and injured.
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