Austria's Nazi Past: How It Happened And Why

On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria, annexing the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. This event, known as the Anschluss, saw the incorporation of Austria into Hitler's Germany, with the enthusiastic support of most Austrians. The unification of the two countries had strong support in Austria, and the Austrian chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, was pressured to resign and appoint several top Austrian Nazis to his cabinet. The next day, Hitler accompanied German troops into Austria, where they were met with cheering crowds. Austria remained part of Nazi Germany until the end of World War II, when the Allies declared the Anschluss void and re-established an independent Austria.

The Anschluss

The unification of Germany left Austria without most of the territories it had ruled for centuries, and amidst an economic crisis. The idea of the Anschluss gained support in the 1920s, particularly from Austrian citizens of the political left and centre, who believed that Austria was not economically viable without its imperial land. However, support for the unification faded over time.

When Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933, the desire for unification could be identified with the Nazis, for whom it was an integral part of their "Heim ins Reich" ("back home to the realm") concept. Hitler, himself an Austrian German, had expressed his desire for a union between the two countries in his earliest writings and speeches.

In the early 1930s, the Austrian Nazi Party was weak and ineffective, but by 1931, the bulk of Austrian Nazis recognised Hitler as their leader. Austrian Nazis gained supporters in 1931-32 as Hitler's popularity in Germany increased, and this was even more noticeable after Hitler was appointed German chancellor in January 1933.

In July 1934, Austrian and German Nazis together attempted a coup, but they were unsuccessful. An authoritarian right-wing government then took power in Austria, keeping perhaps half the population from voicing legitimate dissent. In February 1938, Hitler invited the Austrian chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, to Germany and forced him to agree to give the Austrian Nazis virtually a free hand.

On 9 March 1938, Chancellor Schuschnigg attempted to assert Austrian independence by calling a referendum on the issue, to be held on 13 March. However, Hitler was infuriated by the plebiscite and demanded that Schuschnigg cancel the referendum and resign. On 11 March, Hitler threatened to invade Austria. That evening, Schuschnigg resigned, instructing Austrians and the Austrian military not to resist German troops if they invaded.

On 12 March, German troops crossed the border into Austria, unopposed by the Austrian military. They were greeted by cheering Austrians with Nazi salutes, Nazi flags, and flowers. Hitler himself crossed the border that afternoon, riding in a car. The next day, Austrian Nazi Chancellor Arthur Seyss-Inquart signed the "Reunification of Austria with Germany" law, formally incorporating Austria into Nazi Germany.

A plebiscite was held on 10 April, which was manipulated to indicate that about 99% of the Austrian people wanted the union with Germany. Neither Jews nor Roma were allowed to vote in the plebiscite. The Anschluss was the Nazi regime's first act of territorial aggression and expansion, and it demonstrated Nazi disdain for the post-World War I European order.

The Austrian Resistance

One notable resistance group was led by the priest Heinrich Maier. This group sought to reestablish a Habsburg monarchy after the war and played a significant role in providing the Allies with information on the production sites of weapons and aircraft. The intelligence they provided was necessary for the Allies to conduct precise airstrikes, minimizing civilian casualties. The Maier group was also one of the first to report the mass murder of Jews, using contacts at the Semperit factory near Auschwitz.

In addition to armed resistance, numerous individuals provided support to Jewish families during the Holocaust, despite the immense personal risk. These efforts included hiding individuals, managing or exchanging their property, and aiding their escape from Nazi persecution.

Overall, the Austrian Resistance was small but by no means negligible. Their efforts included issuing counter-Nazi political leaflets, collecting donations for the families of those arrested, and providing crucial information to the Allies.

Nazi Propaganda

The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, also known as the Anschluss, was preceded by a period of intense Nazi propaganda inside the country. The idea of a united Austria and Germany to form a "Greater Germany" had been around since the unification of Germany in 1871, which excluded Austria. This proposal gained support after World War I, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell and Austria was stripped of its imperial land, facing an economic crisis. By the 1920s, the proposal had strong support in both Austria and Germany, particularly from Austrian citizens of the political left and center.

The Nazi Party in Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, rose to power in 1933, and the desire for unification became identified with the Nazis. They cultivated pro-unification tendencies in Austria and sought to undermine the Austrian government, which opposed unification. The Nazis in Austria attempted a coup in 1934, during which Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss was assassinated. The defeat of the coup prompted many leading Austrian Nazis to go into exile in Germany, from where they continued their efforts.

In early 1938, Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg announced a referendum on a possible union with Germany, to be held on March 13. Hitler threatened an invasion and pressured Schuschnigg to resign. On March 12, the day before the planned referendum, the German army crossed the border into Austria unopposed. A plebiscite was held on April 10, in which the ballot was not secret, and threats and coercion were used to manipulate the vote, resulting in 99.7% approval for the Anschluss.

The Nazis used propaganda campaigns with slogans such as "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer" ("One People, One Empire, One Leader") to convince Austrians to advocate for the annexation. The plebiscite result, however, needs to be viewed with caution as it was subject to large-scale Nazi propaganda and the abrogation of the voting rights of around 360,000 people, mainly political enemies and those of Jewish or Romani origin.

The enthusiasm displayed by Austrians towards Hitler and the Germans during the annexation surprised both Nazis and non-Nazis, as it was believed that a majority of Austrians opposed the Anschluss. Many Germans from Austria and Germany welcomed the union as completing the long-awaited unification of all Germans into one state.

The Mauthausen Concentration Camp

The camp was built near an abandoned stone quarry, and prisoners were forced to carry out hard labour in the quarries, working in unbearable heat or extremely low temperatures. They were also used as forced labourers in the arms industry, and in the construction of underground factories. The camp was divided into three principal sections: Camp I, the original protective detention camp; Camp II, the camp workshop area; and Camp III, built to accommodate the influx of Hungarian Jews.

The camp was run by the SS, and the first commandant was SS Captain Albert Sauer. The camp authorities used several methods of killing, including gas chambers, shooting, hanging, mistreatment, and harsh living conditions. An estimated 197,464 prisoners passed through the camp between 1938 and 1945, and at least 95,000 died there. More than 14,000 of these were Jewish.

The Austrian Civil War

The conflict began when Republican Protection League members fired on Austrian police who were attempting to enter the Social Democrats' party headquarters in Linz to search for weapons. The fighting spread from Linz to Vienna and other industrial centres in eastern and central Austria. The Austrian police and Federal Army's superior numbers and firepower quickly put an end to the uprising, with an overall death toll estimated at 350.

The socialists' defeat led to arrests, executions, and the banning of the Social Democratic Party. In May 1934, Austria's democratic constitution was replaced by the Austrofascist constitution of the Federal State of Austria, with the Fatherland Front as the only legal party. The events of the Austrian Civil War and its aftermath significantly weakened Austria's ability to resist National Socialism.

The roots of the civil war can be traced back to the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in October 1918, which led to the formation of the Republic of Austria as a parliamentary democracy. The country's politics were dominated by two major factions: the socialists (represented by the Social Democratic Workers' Party) and the conservatives (represented by the Christian Social Party). The polarised political situation was further exacerbated by paramilitary units such as the Home Guard on the right and the Republican Protection League on the left.

In the late 1920s, political antagonisms escalated, and in 1927, members of the right-wing Front Fighters' Union in Schattendorf shot and killed two people during a demonstration by the Republic Protection League. This incident led to the July Revolt, where the Vienna Palace of Justice was stormed and set on fire. The police responded with armed force, resulting in 89 dead and 1,000 wounded.

On 4 March 1933, Engelbert Dollfuss, the Christian Social chancellor, suspended the Austrian Parliament. The Social Democrats lost their primary platform for political action, and the Christian Socialists began to rule by decree, suspending civil liberties and imprisoning members of the Social Democratic Party. In May 1933, the Communist Party of Austria and the Republican Protection League were banned.

In the lead-up to the civil war, Dollfuss, the Fatherland Front, and the Heimwehr set out to destroy the remnants of the Social Democratic and Marxist-oriented workers' movement. On 24 January 1934, they ordered a search of party buildings and members' homes for weapons belonging to the Protection League. However, the leaders of the Social Democratic Party did not respond, as their cornerstone policy allowed them to fight only if the party were banned, the unions dissolved, or the government of "Red Vienna" suppressed.

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