July Revolt of 1927

During the Austrian July Revolt of 1927 (also known as Black Friday - 15 July 1927) Austrian police forces killed 84 protesters,^[1] while four policemen died. More than 600 people were injured.

The clash was the result of conflict between the Social Democrats and an alliance including wealthy industrialists and the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. Many paramilitary forces had been formed during the early 1920s: Two of them were the right-wing Frontkämpfervereinigung and the left-wing Republikanischer Schutzbund. A clash between those groups in Schattendorf, Burgenland, on 30 January 1927 resulted in the death of a man and a child. Right-wing veterans were indicted for those deaths at a court in Vienna in July, but acquitted in a jury trial. This led to a general strike which had the aim of bringing down the government headed by Chancellor Ignaz Seipel. Massive protests resulted in a fire at the Justizpalast in Vienna. Police minister Johann Schober attempted to suppress the protests with force, which resulted in 89 deaths.

References

1. ^ Brook-Shepherd, Gordon (December 1996). The Austrians : a thousand-year odyssey. HarperCollins. pp. 260. ISBN 0 00 638255 X. 

• G.R.E. Gedye, Fallen Bastions (London, 1939)
• F. Carsten, Fascism in Austria (London, 1977)