Germany's Annexation Plans: Austria's Fate In Wwii

On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. The annexation, known as the Anschluss, was the culmination of years of political tension and economic stagnation in Austria, as well as the rise of Nazi influence and propaganda in the country. The German invasion was met with little resistance, and Austria was incorporated into Germany the next day. A plebiscite held in April 1938, which was manipulated to show that about 99 percent of Austrians supported the union with Germany, retroactively approved the German annexation.

The Anschluss

By the 1920s, the proposal for a union had strong support in both Austria and Germany, particularly from Austrian citizens of the political left and centre. However, popular support for unification faded with time. After Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, the desire for unification was associated with the Nazis, for whom it was an integral part of their "Heim ins Reich" concept.

In early 1938, Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg announced a referendum on a possible union with Germany, to be held on the 13th of March. Hitler threatened an invasion and pressured Schuschnigg to resign. On the 12th of March, the German army crossed the border into Austria, unopposed by the Austrian military. A plebiscite was held on the 10th of April, which resulted in 99.7% approval for the Anschluss. However, the ballot was not secret, and threats and coercion were employed to manipulate the vote. While the true opinions of the population are unknown, it has been estimated that about 70% of Austrians would have voted to preserve Austrian independence.

The Austrian chancellor resigns

On March 9, 1938, Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg called a national vote to resolve the question of Anschluss, or "annexation," once and for all. However, before the plebiscite could take place, Schuschnigg gave in to pressure from Hitler and resigned on March 11. In his resignation address, under coercion from the Nazis, he pleaded with Austrian forces not to resist a German "advance" into the country.

Schuschnigg had been working to maintain Austria's independence, but he faced increasing pressure from pro-unification activists and Hitler's threats of invasion. On February 12, 1938, Hitler invited Schuschnigg to Germany and forced him to agree to give the Austrian Nazis a free hand in his cabinet and full political rights. Schuschnigg, fearing a German takeover, called for the plebiscite to let Austrians decide on their nation's future. However, Hitler decided to invade Austria immediately to prevent the vote.

By March 11, Schuschnigg was aware of the imminent invasion and offered to resign to avoid bloodshed. He urged the Austrian Army not to resist the Germans. Hitler, however, demanded that the Austrian President, Wilhelm Miklas, appoint an Austrian Nazi leader, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, as the new chancellor. Miklas initially refused, but eventually gave in, and on March 12, German soldiers crossed the border into Austria.

The Nazis justified their invasion by claiming that Austria had descended into chaos and circulated fake reports of rioting and street fights caused by Communists. They also printed a phony telegram supposedly from the new chancellor, Seyss-Inquart, requesting German military aid. The next day, Austria's parliament formally approved the annexation, and Austria ceased to exist as a nation, becoming a province of Germany.

Hitler's Mein Kampf

In his 1925 book, Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler wrote about his intentions to annex Austria, his country of birth, into the German Reich. He wrote:

> German-Austria must return to the great German motherland, and not because of economic considerations of any sort. No, no: even if from the economic point of view this union were unimportant, indeed, if it were harmful, it ought nevertheless to be brought about. Common blood belongs in a common Reich. As long as the German nation is unable even to band together its own children in one common State, it has no moral right to think of colonization as one of its political aims. Only when the boundaries of the Reich include even the last German, only when it is no longer possible to assure him of daily bread inside them, does there arise, out of the distress of the nation, the moral right to acquire foreign soil and territory.

Hitler's annexation of Austria, known as the Anschluss, took place on March 12, 1938, when German troops marched into the country. The annexation was the culmination of years of Nazi propaganda, economic stagnation, and political dictatorship in Austria. Hitler's actions violated the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain, which expressly forbade the unification of Austria and Germany.

Hitler had long expressed his desire for an Austro-German union. In Mein Kampf, he wrote about his vision for the future relationship between the two countries:

> [t]he reunification [of Germany and Austria] is a life task to be carried out by all means! German-Austria must be restored to the great German Motherland...People of the same blood should be in the same REICH.

Hitler's plans for Austria were part of his larger goal to redraw the map of post-World War I Europe, which he considered unfair and illegitimate. He aimed to unite all Germans in a Nazi German empire and acquire Lebensraum ("living space") in Eastern Europe. The annexation of Austria was the first step in this process.

The idea of the Anschluss was not new and had gained support in both Austria and Germany after World War I. Many Austrians believed that their country was not economically viable without the lands previously held by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, the peace treaties that ended World War I expressly forbade the unification of Austria and Germany, and subsequent international agreements reinforced Austria's independence.

Despite his public statements against annexation, Hitler worked behind the scenes to gain control of Austria. He supported a failed coup attempt by pro-Nazi groups in July 1934, which resulted in the assassination of Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. Hitler then appointed a German Nazi to bring the Austrian Nazi Party in line and increase their influence in the country. In February 1938, Hitler met with Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg and demanded that he appoint members of the Austrian Nazi Party to his cabinet. When Schuschnigg called for a plebiscite to assert Austrian independence, Hitler decided to invade immediately to prevent the vote. On March 11, 1938, Schuschnigg cancelled the plebiscite, resigned, and pleaded with Austrian forces not to resist the German "advance." The next day, German troops crossed the border into Austria, encountering no resistance.

Hitler's annexation of Austria was widely popular in both Germany and Austria, with many Austrians relieved that bloodshed had been avoided and hopeful for economic improvements under Nazi rule. However, it also sparked widespread antisemitic actions and political violence, with Jews being attacked, humiliated, and expelled from the country's economic, social, and cultural life.

German troops enter Austria

On the morning of March 12, 1938, German troops crossed the border into Austria. The 8th Army of the German Wehrmacht was met by cheering Austrians who greeted them with Nazi salutes, Nazi flags, and flowers. The Austrian government had ordered the Austrian Bundesheer not to resist, so the invasion was an easy feat for the Germans.

The German invasion was the first big test of the Wehrmacht's machinery. Although the invading forces were badly organized and coordination among the units was poor, the Austrian government's order not to resist meant that this was not an issue.

That afternoon, Hitler, riding in a car, crossed the border at his birthplace, Braunau am Inn, with a 4,000-man bodyguard. In the evening, he arrived in Linz and was given an enthusiastic welcome by 250,000 Austrians. The enthusiasm displayed toward Hitler and the Germans surprised both Nazis and non-Nazis, as most people had believed that a majority of Austrians opposed the annexation.

Hitler had originally intended to leave Austria as a satellite state with Seyss-Inquart as head of a pro-Nazi government. However, the overwhelming reception caused him to change course and absorb Austria directly into the Reich. On March 13, Seyss-Inquart announced the abrogation of Article 88 of the Treaty of Saint-Germain, which prohibited the unification of Austria and Germany, and approved the replacement of the Austrian states with Reichsgaue.

The Third Reich

Hitler's first step was to call for new elections, which were held on 5 March 1933. The Nazis used the power they now possessed over the state apparatus to launch a campaign of intimidation against other parties. The Enabling Act, passed on 23 March 1933, allowed Hitler and his cabinet to pass laws without the consent of the president or the Reichstag. This act served as the legal foundation for the dictatorship the Nazis established.

The Nazis seized the assets of the Social Democrats, banned them, and soon did the same to their former coalition partners, the German National People's Party. All civilian organisations had their leadership replaced with Nazi sympathisers or party members, and either merged with the Nazi Party or faced dissolution. Hitler's government also abolished the symbols of the Weimar Republic, such as the black, red, and gold tricolour flag, and adopted reworked symbolism, such as the swastika flag of the Nazi Party.

The Nazis' early foreign policy was characterised as "peaceful annexations", including the seizure of Austria in the Anschluss of 1938. Hitler also demanded and received the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, and in March 1939, he demanded the return of the Free City of Danzig and the Polish Corridor. Hitler's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 began World War II in Europe.

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