German nationalism in Austria Austria falls and is swallowed up by Germany will mark the beginning of European chaos." The Austrofascist party, Fatherland Front, would echo the sentiments of Mussolini, and continue to struggle for an independent Austria. Nazis in both Germany and Austria intended that the German Reich would quickly annex Austria, the homeland of its leader, Adolf Hitler. They attempted to bribe many low-ranking Heimwehr leaders, and also attempted to bring Starhemberg into their fold, in effect merging the Heimwehr with the Nazi Freikorps. Gregor Strasser, an early, prominent Nazi figure, was charged with this effort. When Starhemberg, a fervent believer in
Serbs in Austria real number of ethnic Serbs in Austria is estimated to be much higher – e.g. the membership of "Serbische Gemeinschaft in Österreich" ("Savez Srba u Austriji"), an ethnic Serb association in Austria, exceeds 250,000 people. The common estimation is a total of 300,000. The Österreichisch Serbische Gesellschaft (Austrian Serbian Society) was founded in 1936 as "Österreichisch-Jugoslawischen Gesellschaft". Serbs were a notable minority of the Habsburg Monarchy, having settled Central Europe following the Ottoman conquest of Serbia. The Serbs with the aid of Austrian troops occupied Serbia in 1686–91, established the Kingdom of Serbia (1718–39), and occupied it again in 1788–92.