A probable explanation of the stronger anti-Semitic policy on the part of the Heimwehr, Austria’s private nationalistic militia, is seen in the revelation by M. Zangl, president of the Austrian Landowners’ Association, that the Heimwehr leaders had once sought the financial support of Baron Louis de Rothschild in financing an anti-Socialist putsch in Austria.
The revelation, which is made in connection with the change in the leadership of the Heimwehr, indicates that Baron Rothschild declined to have anything to do with the proposed coup d’etat, pointing out that he would do nothing contrary to the government’s wishes. M. Zangl says that Major Waldemar Pabst, the exiled Heimwehr chieftain, had himself unsuccessfully approached Baron Rothschild. Heimwehr. leaders had also sought to enlist the aid of the Vienna Jewish community which refused to have anything to do with the scheme, since the community holds itself completely aloof from party politics.
M. Zangl’s sensational story shows that Baron Rothschild’s refusal to support the Heimwehr saved Austria from a putsch under Heimwehr leadership.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
