Born on a farm in the south of Austria, Dollfuss came from an unassuming background. Brought up by his mother and stepfather, he – like Hitler – never knew his father. These humble beginnings made his rise to the top of Austrian politics all the more remarkable.

But it was this humble farm upbringing that helped him make his name: first as an agrarian expert on the Economic Committee of the League of Nations, then as the Austrian Minister of Agriculture. Few were surprised when he was named Chancellor in 1932.

As Dollfuss came to power, Hitler was eighteen months into his own regime. After securing authoritarian control in Germany, Hitler had begun looking at expansion abroad, his priority Austria, the country of his birth.

Regardless of democracy, it was Hitler’s vision to unite the German-speaking nations, but Dollfuss stood in his way.