2021: Dollfuss Fresco Stirs up Public Debate

Throughout the Second Republic, the chancellorship of Engelbert Dollfuss has been the most contentious period in recent Austrian history. Even in recent years it has continued to cause controversy, for example when Gerhard Karner (Austrian People’s Party) was named Interior Minister in 2021. These debates make the material remnants of the Dollfuss cult the target of criticism, for example the dome fresco in the parish church of St. Jakob in the town of Defreggental. It was created by the priest and painter Johann Baptist Oberkofler in 1935—one year after Dollfuss had been murdered by the Nazis.

Public discussions on the fresco were limited to the depiction of Dollfuss. He is painted as part of a group standing next to an oversize central cross that dominates the entire image. Pope Pius XI and Emperor Karl I, among others are depicted alongside him. The other groups in the fresco were not mentioned in the debates. Three of the groups are supposed to represent the peoples of Africa, Asia and America—and draw on racist stereotypes. A fifth group shows Tyroleans marching towards the cross.

The surrounding inscription interprets the image in relation to a psalm (Psalm 72.11): “God reigns from the cross on high, and all kings will bow before him, and all nations will serve him.” From the painter’s point of view, it is beyond doubt that this aim will be realised by the Christian Ständestaat (corporatist state), represented by Dollfuss as the God-given successor to Karl I, together with the Catholic Church. There is an imbalance of power between those depicted that supports the claim: while indigenous peoples crowd around “white” missionaries, Tyroleans have no need of missionary work. The fresco is not a curious anomaly but can be understood as an example of the cultural imperialism of the Dollfuss-Schuschnigg dictatorship.