German nationalism in Austria an independent Austria, rejected his merger proposal, Strasser said "Don't talk to me about Austria. There is no Austria ... there was once a living corpse which called itself Austria ... that this Austria collapsed in 1918 was a blessing ... particularly for the German people, who were thereby given the chance to create a Greater Germany." After this, tensions between the Nazis and Austrofascists worsened, culminating in the July Putsch of 1934, when Nazis attempted to overthrow the government. Whilst they managed to assassinate chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss, the putsch was quickly crushed by the police, army, and Heimwehren. In
John Clarke (socialist politician) John Clarke (socialist politician) John Smith Clarke (4 February 1885 – 30 January 1959) was a British lion tamer, politician, poet, newspaper editor and art expert. John Smith Clarke was born in Jarrow, the 13th of 14 children, whose father was a ticket and poster writer, living in Heaton Park Road South. Clarke had a great interest in a local circus, and by the age of seventeen would visit the lion tamer and enter the lion's cage, a practice he continued for the rest of his life. While mostly a writer, he also became a sailor, and was able to