Linz Program of 1882

The Linz Program of 1882 was a political platform that called for the complete Germanization of the Austrian state. It was created in response to rising Slavic populations and influence within the Austrian-Hungary Dual Monarchy. More rhetorically-oriented than politically organized, the framers of the program were fearful that the Slavs were overrunning the German element of the monarchy.

The Framers

The Linz Program was created by five Austrian intellectuals of German decent:
Victor Adler, an Jewish physician, socialist and founder of the Social Decmocratic Party in Austria. First associated with the liberal German nationalist movement, he later became an activist of the Austrian working class; Georg Schonerer, a politician who became a leading anti-Semite in addition to his associations with the liberal German nationalist movement; Robert Pattai, a lawyer; Heinrich Friedjung, a Jewish historian; and Engelbert Pernerstrofer, a writer.