Patriotic Front (Austria)

The Vaterländische Front (VF, English: Patriotic Front) was a right-wing Austrian political party. It was founded in 1933 by Engelbert Dollfuss to collect all "loyal Austrians" under one banner. After the prohibition of all other political parties, the VF held a monopolistic position in Austrian politics. It had both a civilian and military divisions.

In spite of the efforts of Dollfuss, the VF never became a mass movement. By the end of 1937 it had 3 million members (with 6.5 million inhabitants of Austria), but only a few party loyalists held genuine allegiance; it could not win the support of its political opponents (from the circles of the SDAPÖ and the NSDAP).

The symbol of the VF was the crutch cross (Kruckenkreuz), and its official greeting was Front heil!.

See also

• Austrofascism