In February 1934, Austria descended into civil war, pitting the Austrofascist regime of dictatorial chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss against the weak Social Democratic Party. The regime put down the left’s resistance in a few short, bloody days; the Social Democrats were subsequently outlawed. Bruno Kreisky – the man who would become Austria’s first and only Jewish chancellor in 1970 – then faced a choice: head into exile, or stay and join the resistance. It was a decision that would shape the rest of his life.
