Anschluss of Austria (1938)

Anschluss of Austria (1938)
Name	Anschluss of Austria (1938)
Date	12 March 1938
Location	Austria, Vienna, German-Austrian border
Participants	Adolf Hitler, Austrofascism, Kurt Schuschnigg, Austrian Nazi Party, German Wehrmacht, Franz Joseph II

Anschluss of Austria (1938)

The Anschluss of Austria (1938) was the political annexation of the First Austrian Republic into Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler. It followed a campaign of diplomatic pressure, covert subversion by the Austrian Nazi Party, and a swift Wehrmacht entry that culminated in a manipulated plebiscite and formal incorporation into the German Reich. The event reshaped Central European borders, influenced the policies of Benito Mussolini, Édouard Daladier, Neville Chamberlain, and accelerated the path to the Second World War.

Background and Political Context

In the 1920s and 1930s the First Austrian Republic faced crises involving Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Great Depression, Christian Social Party, and the rise of competing movements such as Austrofascism, Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria, and the Austrian Nazi Party. International constraints from the Treaty of Versailles era and the League of Nations limited Austrian sovereignty while neighboring developments in Weimar Republic, the Saar status referendum, and the growth of National Socialism in Germany pressured Austrian politics. Key figures included Kurt Schuschnigg, Engelbert Dollfuss, Franz von Papen, Adolf Hitler and opponents like Otto von Habsburg and members of the Austrian Social Democrats.

Nazi German Planning and Pressure

Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, and the Abwehr coordinated propaganda, intelligence, and paramilitary support for Austrian Nazis such as Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Alfred Frauenfeld, and Josef Leopold. German policymakers referenced the Stresa Front collapse, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, and diplomatic shifts involving Benito Mussolini and Pietro Badoglio to exploit Austrian vulnerabilities. Economic measures, threats via the German Foreign Office, and covert links with the SS and the SA were used to destabilize Austria while planning for a rapid occupation modeled on operations such as the Occupation of the Rhineland and the earlier Anschluss (1918–1919) aspirations of pan-German nationalists. Military planning involved the OKW and commands within the Wehrmacht to ensure swift, largely unopposed movement.

Events of March 1938

On 9 March Kurt Schuschnigg attempted to resist by announcing a plebiscite; pressure culminated when Adolf Hitler summoned Schuschnigg to Berghof and forced his resignation. On 11–12 March German troops crossed the Austrian–German border in coordinated entries involving units of the Heer, supported by Luftwaffe overflights, while key cities including Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, and Salzburg were occupied. Austrian Nazis led by Arthur Seyss-Inquart formed a provisional administration and proclaimed union, while Joseph Goebbels orchestrated celebrations documented in party organs and newsreels featuring Leni Riefenstahl-style spectacle. Events mirrored earlier rapid annexations such as the Sudetenland crisis, though Austria lacked the ethnic minority pretexts used elsewhere.

International Reaction and Diplomacy

Responses ranged from tacit acquiescence to formal protest. Benito Mussolini, who had previously championed Austrian independence at Brenner Pass policy points, shifted toward conciliation with Adolf Hitler, reflecting the Rome–Berlin Axis trajectory. Édouard Daladier and Neville Chamberlain in France and the United Kingdom issued admonitions but avoided military intervention, influenced by domestic politics, memories of the Battle of Verdun and First World War, and the priority of appeasement. The League of Nations and diplomats like Gustav Stresemann were sidelined; other capitals such as Moscow and Washington, D.C. registered concern while pursuing cautious bilateral responses. The international environment mirrored earlier crises such as the Remilitarization of the Rhineland and foreshadowed the Munich Agreement.

Annexation and Integration into the Third Reich

Legal and administrative steps rapidly assimilated Austrian institutions into the Third Reich framework: the dissolution of the Austrian Parliament, incorporation into Reichsgau structures, and the appointment of Ostmark administrators. Currency, customs, and legal instruments were harmonized with measures resembling the Nuremberg Laws implementation across annexed territories. Cultural and institutional absorption affected entities such as the University of Vienna, the Austrian National Bank, and media outlets now subordinated to the Reich Ministry of Propaganda. The staged plebiscite of April 1938 delivered an officially reported endorsement, echoing the orchestrated legitimations used in other Nazi expansions.

Domestic Response in Austria

Reactions inside Austria were mixed: enthusiastic public demonstrations in parts of Vienna and Lower Austria contrasted with resistance by figures linked to the Austrian Social Democrats, conservative Catholics, and segments of the Jewish community centered in districts like Leopoldstadt. Persecution escalated against Jews, political opponents, and dissidents through actions by the Gestapo, SS, and newly empowered Austrian Nazi affiliates. Prominent Austrians such as Sigmund Freud and Egon Erwin Kisch sought exile, while some industrialists and clergy adapted or collaborated. Rural provinces and aristocratic families, including members of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire elite, displayed varied accommodation, opposition, or flight.

Legal and Postwar Consequences

The annexation's legality was disputed under interwar treaties like the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and later addressed during the Nuremberg Trials and the Allied occupation of Austria. After World War II, the Moscow Declaration and the Austrian State Treaty (1955) influenced Austria's restoration as the Second Austrian Republic and clauses on sovereignty and neutrality. Postwar prosecutions, denazification programs, and restitution debates implicated institutions such as the International Military Tribunal and occupying authorities from the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and France. Historical memory remains contested in scholarship by historians like Ian Kershaw, Timothy Snyder, Christopher Browning, Eric Hobsbawm, and institutions such as the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service.

Category:Austria