Anschluss
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| Anschluss | |
|---|---|
 Heinrich Hoffmann · Public domain · source | |
| Name | Anschluss |
| Caption | March 1938 plebiscite poster, Vienna |
| Date | March 1938 |
| Location | Austria, Germany |
| Result | Annexation of Austria into the German Reich |
Anschluss Anschluss refers to the 1938 annexation of Austria into the German Reich, a pivotal episode in the interwar period that reshaped Central European borders and precipitated further Nazi expansion. It involved key actors such as Adolf Hitler, Kurt Schuschnigg, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, and organizations including the Nazi Party, Schutzstaffel, and Wehrmacht. The event intersected with treaties like the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and influenced later decisions at the Munich Conference and the Potsdam Conference.
Background and Causes
Longstanding cultural and political currents tied to German nationalism, Austro-German identity, and the aftermath of World War I provided the backdrop. The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye left Austria reduced and economically strained, feeding support for union with Germany among factions linked to the German National Movement, Pan-German League, and parts of the Social Democratic Workers' Party. The Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, enforced by the League of Nations and influenced by the Allied Powers such as the United Kingdom and France, prohibited union, while fringe paramilitary groups like the Freikorps and later the Sturmabteilung engaged in cross-border agitation. Economic crises following the Great Depression amplified political radicalization, benefiting the Austrian National Socialists and fascist currents like the Fatherland Front and leaders including Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt Schuschnigg.
Political Developments in Austria and Germany
Austrian politics in the 1920s and 1930s featured conflict among the Christian Social Party, the Social Democratic Workers' Party, and Austrian National Socialists supported by the NSDAP in Munich and Berlin. Dollfuss's authoritarian measures, modeled in part on Benito Mussolini's Italy and the Fascist Grand Council, led to the outlawing of the NSDAP in Austria and to the July 1934 failed coup tied to SS and SA elements, which prompted assassination attempts and a temporary rapprochement with Fascist Italy. After Dollfuss's assassination, Kurt Schuschnigg led the Fatherland Front but faced persistent pressure from Adolf Hitler, the German Reichstag, and Nazi propaganda organs including the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and publications tied to Joseph Goebbels. German diplomatic maneuvers used institutions such as the Reich Ministry of Foreign Affairs and figures like Joachim von Ribbentrop to press Vienna, while clandestine networks and émigré organizations provided local support to Anschluss advocates.
The 1938 Anschluss Events
In early 1938 escalating pressure culminated when Hitler demanded concessions and Schuschnigg scheduled a plebiscite. On 11 March 1938, under threat from the Wehrmacht and with coordination by the Reich Ministry, German troops crossed the border; in Vienna and other cities, SA and SS units and Nazi Party cadres seized control of municipal institutions. Chancellor Schuschnigg resigned and appointed Arthur Seyss-Inquart, a figure acceptable to Hitler and linked to the Austrian Nazi movement, who immediately invited German forces and facilitated incorporation. A controlled plebiscite and popular demonstrations, orchestrated by propaganda ministries and local Nazi networks, followed, as did the dissolution of Austrian political bodies and the absorption of administrative structures into Reich ministries.
International Reaction and Legal Status
Responses varied: the governments of the United Kingdom, France, and Italy issued statements and engaged in diplomacy through ambassadors in Vienna and Berlin, while the League of Nations and the United States reacted cautiously. The Munich Conference delegates later that year addressed related territorial demands but initially the Anschluss provoked limited practical resistance, influenced by appeasement policies and by the absence of immediate military guarantees from the Western powers. Legally, the annexation contravened provisions of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and raised questions under the Covenant of the League of Nations, with subsequent Allied declarations at the Cairo Conference and the Yalta Conference treating the Anschluss as nullified by Nazi aggression.
Impact on Austrian Jews and Minority Populations
The Anschluss accelerated persecution orchestrated by the SS, Gestapo, and organizations like the Reich Chamber of Culture and the Reich Association of German Jews. Jewish communities in Vienna, Graz, Linz, and other municipalities faced violent pogroms, property expropriations facilitated by entities including the Reichsbank and the Office for Jewish Emigration, and discriminatory laws modeled on the Nuremberg Laws. Roma and Sinti populations, political dissidents, and religious minorities such as Jehovah's Witnesses experienced arrests, deportations to concentration camps like Dachau and Mauthausen, and violence perpetrated by SA brigades and police forces. Thousands sought refuge via immigration channels involving consulates and humanitarian agencies, while many were denied visas due to quotas in nations like the United States and the United Kingdom.
Integration into Nazi Germany and Administration
Following incorporation, Austrian provinces were reorganized into Reichsgaue under Gauleiters loyal to the Nazi Party and overseen by ministries in Berlin including the Interior Ministry and the Four Year Plan apparatus. The Austrian Federal Chancellery and Parliament were dissolved, and civil administration, police structures, and education systems were synchronized with Nazi institutions such as the Hitler Youth and the Reich Labor Service. Economic integration involved state banks, industrial conglomerates like Vereinigte Stahlwerke, and policies directed by figures such as Hermann Göring and Walther Funk. Cultural assimilation was enforced by the Propaganda Ministry and Reichskulturkammer, while resistance persisted in underground networks including socialist, communist, and conservative Catholic groups.
Legacy and Postwar Consequences
The Anschluss had lasting implications for European order, contributing directly to events like the Sudeten crisis and World War II. After 1945, Allied occupation, decisions at the Potsdam Conference, and the Austrian State Treaty addressed sovereignty; the Moscow Declaration and the Austrian State Treaty framed Austria's postwar independence and the denazification process overseen by occupation authorities from the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France. War crimes trials, restitution debates, and historiographical disputes involved institutions such as the International Military Tribunal and the Austrian National Council. The memory of the annexation shaped Austrian politics, identity, and debates over neutrality and membership in organizations like the United Nations and the European Union.