Will Otto's dream come true

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November 20, 1939

Archduke Otto of Austria celebrated his 27th birthday in Brussels. It may be his last birthday celebrated in exile. Otto was only a child when his father, Emperor Karl I was forced to leave Austria after the end of the world war in 1918.

"By a freak of European tumult," the Habsburg dynasty "may regain its place in this war," reports United Press. "If it does it can thank the Allied powers, which 25 years ago were drawn into a war against Austria, as Germany's ally."

The plans to restore Otto have been "a matter as quiet as the king making plots of the Renaissance," as the idea hinges entirely on an Allied victory.

British and French leaders have discussed "the partition of Germany into a number of small principalities."

The idea is to stabilize South Central Europe, and to create a "Danubian federation" that would include Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, Rumania, Yugoslavia, possibly Bulgaria, and -- if the Allies win a smashing victory -- even Bavaria."

The countries would be linked by a customs union and by "close political ties."
Archduke Otto would "occupy the throne of Austria and possibly Hungary as well."