Among scholars, neither the First Republic nor the Austro-Fascist state has attracted as much interest as the imperial or the National Socialist eras of Austrian history. In her doctoral thesis, Julie Thorpe has filled important historiographical gaps for the politically and economically turbulent years 1933–38. She does so by analyzing public discourses, as well as juridical, administrative, and political activities related to pan-German nationalism. Issues covered in the study include: the relationship between German-speaking Austrians on the one hand and all other ethnic groups conceptually separated from the “German” or “Aryan” Austrians (like Jews and minorities of Slavic descent) on the other hand; the significance of “borderlands” for identity formation; minority politics and the support of German-speaking Austrians living in foreign (especially neighboring Slavic) countries; immigration legislation and treatment of refugees in the “Fortress Austria”; and censorship of the press. The book focuses mainly on pan-German nationalism, as well as on the self-image of the Austrian state and the attitudes and activities of its representatives. It also studies the interdependence between state and society, including the influential and powerful Catholic Church.

Furthermore, and not least, Thorpe emphasizes that widespread anti-Semitism, inflamed by pan-German nationalism, and pervasive among a vast majority of the country's population, aimed “to reduce Jewish representation in public life and ensure the professional existence of Jews was dependent upon the Jewish community alone” (165). The Austro-Fascist state, for its part, undertook several efforts “to legalize the boundaries between Jews and non-Jews” (178). Given what she sees as a clear tendency to segregate Jews from the “Aryan” Austrians, the author explicitly warns the reader not to underestimate the impact of anti-Semitism in comparison with the Third Reich: “The absence of physical violence and deportations should not lead us to conclude that anti-Semitism in the Austrofascist state was ‘moderate’” (168). In any event, the German-nationalist press and the legislation and propaganda of the Austro-Fascist state created an atmosphere and structures that resulted in fatal discrimination and stigmatization of Jews and ethnic minorities. This certainly facilitated the unequaled outburst of anti-Semitic violence after the Anschluss in March 1938.

It is not only Austrian anti-Semitism that lends itself to comparison with other European countries. Making repeated references to contemporary currents beyond Austrian borders in fields such as press policy or population management, Thorpe draws connections to comparable developments of the pre-Anschluss era elsewhere, particularly in Fascist Italy and National Socialist Germany. From these apparent similarities, she concludes that Austro-Fascism has to be conceived as the result of “a process of creating a fascist state in Austria before 1938” (6). This categorical assessment excludes divergent perceptions of Austrian history in the period under study, such as the clerical-Fascist regime or the authoritarian corporatist state. It also ignores the existence of lingering political traditions and influences emanating from the Catholic Church and agrarian pressure groups like the paramilitary Heimwehren. Likewise, the assessment ignores the establishment of a neo-corporatist system of political representation, and contemporaries' nostalgia with regard to the Habsburg Empire and monarchy. Instead, Austria is presented as both a passive and an active partner in the “process of fascistization sweeping across Europe in the interwar years” (233).

Thorpe identifies pan-Germanism as the driving force behind this process. This phenomenon, ranging from a vague attitude to a specific ideology, is considered as an all-embracing “identity matrix” (16) that interlinked conservative Catholics, Socialists, and German nationalists of the extreme political right. The author insists that “pan-Germanism was the unifying creed of all Austrians before 1938” (17). Notably she rejects the outdated view that the chancellors Engelbert Dollfuß and Kurt Schuschnigg were a heroic bulwark against Fascist movements in Austria. In fact, her book unveils an outspoken consistency and convergence between pan-Germanism and Austro-Fascism. From a historiographical point of view, however, it would be misleading to blot out all differences among Austrians as the quotation above might suggest. Perceiving pan-Germanism as the overarching ideology runs the risk of masking substantial differences in attitudes toward an Anschluss. The Fatherland Front and representatives of the state administration, for example, espoused the independence of Austria on the basis of commitment to German culture and Christian belief alike, while devotees of German nationalism and National Socialism yearned for the political unification of the Ostmark with Hitler's Germany. Thus, there remained sharp differences in their relationships with the Third Reich, and Thorpe rightly underlines occasionally that internal differentiation among Catholics, pan-German nationalists, and Jews has to be taken into account.

The significance of German nationalism and anti-Semitism for Austrian society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is not particularly new in historical research; neither is the unequivocal characterization of the Austrian state between 1933 and 1938 as a Fascist one. Nevertheless, Thorpe's book is a valuable invitation to assess the relevance of pan-Germanism in light of comparative historiography. Furthermore, it enriches our knowledge of political culture in an era highly radicalized in Austria as elsewhere.

The author's thorough examination of press and propaganda material, combined with the study of other historical sources including archival materials, offers insights into the tight alliance between pan-German nationalism and the Austro-Fascist state. It might be interesting to investigate more systematically to what extent this alliance was motivated primarily by socioeconomic factors or by traditions of political thinking since imperial times.