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| 1919 |
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| The larger part of the year was one of confusion, marked particularly by Communist disorders, the difficult process of negotiating peace, and the shattered economy. | 1 |
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| Feb. 16 |
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| Election of a constituent assembly. The Socialists secured 72 seats, the Christian Socialists (agrarian, clerical) 69, the German Nationalists 26. | 2 |
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| April 17 |
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| A Communist-led demonstration resulted in street fighting and the burning of the parliament. Order was restored when units of the newly created Volkswehr and Social Democratic leaders took control. The incident demonstrated that the army would stand by the legal government against revolutionary action. | 3 |
| The government, under pressure from the Socialists, also attempted to secure working-class loyalty between 1918 and 1921 by introducing much social welfare legislation. The eight-hour day was made standard, and regulations were issued concerning vacations, social insurance, and the employment of women and children. | 4 |
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| Sept. 10 |
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| Austria signed the Treaty of Saint-Germain (See 1919, Sept. 10), in which union with Germany was expressly forbidden. The name of the state had to be changed from German-Austria to Republic of Austria. | 5 |
| The republic, with a population almost entirely German, was the most unfortunate creation of the peace conference. Of less than 8 million population, 2 million lived in Vienna, a great industrial center, which was cut off from the former territories of the monarchy and shut in by the high tariff walls of the new neighbors. The economic viability of the country was in question from the outset. Despite the principle of self-determination, Austria was forbidden to unite with Germany for political reasons. The history of the country after the peace treaty centered on the conflict between the countryside (conservative and clerical) and the metropolis, controlled by the Socialists; on the question of union with Germany (Anschluss); and on the question of subsistence. | 6 |
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