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this proposal. 53
    The party’s anti-Semitism was more extreme after the World War than it had been before 1914. A headline in the DAP in October 1920 put Juden-herrschaft (Jewish domination) at the top of a list of those things the Nazis opposed. Further down the catalogue were laziness, luxury, and gluttony. 54
    Walter Riehl also continued to stress the need for a temporary dictatorship. A strong leader, who did not have to worry about criticism or popularity, was needed to lead Austria out of its present malaise. But the masses should not be denied their rights indefinitely. 55
    32 ■ Hitler and the Forgotten Nazis
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    Propaganda and Progress
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    These ideological tenets formed the basis of much of the Nazis’ propaganda in the early years of the Austrian Republic. Current events, of course, were another source of propaganda material. The Treaty of Saint-Germain was denounced, quite understandably, because it left even more Germans under alien rule than did the Treaty of Versailles. German Austria was an impossible creation consisting of a huge world city and a few Alpine valleys. Its existence would lead to a catastrophe in the long run. Mustafa ttemal of Turkey was viewed as a nationalist hero whose exploits in throwing out foreign invaders and tearing up the Treaty of Sevres ought to be emulated in Austria and Germany. All that was needed was a strong national will. Such determination had been displayed in the Soviet Union and Italy, both of which had defied the West.
    Newspaper articles were by no means the only method of Nazi propaganda in the early years of the new Republic. The Nazis held their first large rally in Vienna in February 1922. Special groups were organized to put up posters advertising the demonstration; another group, the Ordnertruppen (the predecessor of the SA) was used to protect the meeting. The rally was climaxed with a speech by Hitler. Communists (or alleged Communists) tried to storm the rostrum while Hitler was speaking, but were stopped by the Ordnertruppen. 5 ® Such clashes between Marxists and Nazis soon became commonplace in both Austria and Germany and were always given ample headlines in the Nazi press, especially when some of the Nazi participants were killed or wounded.
    Austria’s dire circumstances in the early postwar years should have aided an extremist and militant party like the Nazis. Nevertheless, the growth of the DNSAP was disappointing, though on a per capita basis it was far better than that of the German Nazis. Much of the problem can be attributed to the existence of various other extremist groups: paramilitary formations like the Heimwehr (Home Guard), Frontkampfervereinigung (Front Fighters’ Association), and numerous other movements and secret organizations. 57 The Nazis’ anti-Semitism and demand for an Anschluss were far from unique even among the more moderate Austrian parties.
    In the first postwar elections held in February 1919 the Nazis could muster only 0.78 percent of the almost 3 million votes cast. 58 Most of the Nazis’ 27,690 votes came in urban areas. In October the Nazi vote increased to just

     
    |    Nazis and Proto-Nazis • 33
    I •
    1     under 34,000 with the biggest increases coming in Vienna and Lower Austria.
    I    But the party still had no parliamentary mandates. 59 And the “victory” merely
    I     caused a rift to grow between the party’s relatively moderate leaders and
    ![     some of its more radical rank-and-file members who demanded an accelerated
    |;    propaganda drive. 60
    i     The party’s growth in 1922 and 1923 was a little more encouraging. The
    |;    number of registered members tripled between August 1922 and August 1923
    I     when it stood at 34,000. During the same period the number of Ortsgruppen
    |    doubled to 118. In municipal elections held in Linz in June 1923 the Nazis
    jl    won a surprising 7.85 percent of the vote and four seats on the city council. 61
    !;    The