Germany's Annexation Of Austria: A Historical Perspective

On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. This event is known as the Anschluss, which in German means connection or joining. The annexation was the first act of territorial aggression and expansion by the Nazi regime, and it was widely popular in both Germany and Austria. The Anschluss resulted in an outburst of public violence against Austria's Jewish population.

The Anschluss

The Background

The idea of a unified Austria and Germany dated back to the 19th century, and the formation of a "Greater Germany" was a concept that gained support after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918. The new Republic of German-Austria attempted to unite with Germany, but the Treaty of Saint Germain and the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, expressly forbade this. The treaties also stripped Austria of some of its territories, leaving it economically vulnerable.

The Rise of Nazism in Austria

In the 1920s and early 1930s, the Austrian Nazi Party was weak and divided. However, by 1931, the bulk of Austrian Nazis recognised Hitler as their leader. The Austrian Nazi Party gained more supporters as Hitler's popularity in Germany increased, especially after he became Chancellor in 1933. Austrian politics at the time was characterised by infighting and political violence, and the rise of the Nazis further destabilised the situation.

The Nazi Terror Campaign in Austria

From May 1933, Austrian Nazis, encouraged and funded by Germany, carried out a propaganda and terror campaign against the government of Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. They staged disruptive protests, brawls, and bombings, and the German government imposed economic sanctions on Austria. In June 1933, the Dollfuss regime banned the Austrian Nazi Party, but the party continued to operate illegally, and many members fled to Germany, where they formed a paramilitary unit.

The Failed Coup and Diplomatic Isolation

On July 25, 1934, Austrian Nazis attempted a coup, during which Dollfuss was assassinated. The coup failed, but it further isolated Austria diplomatically. Austria's allies, such as Italy's Benito Mussolini, began to draw closer to Nazi Germany, and by the winter of 1937-1938, Austria was facing an increasingly aggressive Nazi Germany with little international support.

The Berchtesgaden Agreement

On February 12, 1938, Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg (who had taken over after Dollfuss) met with Hitler, who demanded that Austria's foreign and military policies be coordinated with Germany's, that Austrian Nazis imprisoned by the Austrian government be amnestied, and that Austrian Nazi Arthur Seyss-Inquart be placed in charge of policing and security matters. Schuschnigg gave in to these demands, signing the Berchtesgaden Agreement, which undermined Austrian sovereignty and independence.

The Annexation

On March 9, Schuschnigg attempted to reassert Austrian independence by calling a plebiscite (referendum) for March 13. Hitler was infuriated and demanded that Schuschnigg cancel the plebiscite, resign, and appoint Seyss-Inquart as the new chancellor. On March 11, Schuschnigg gave in to Hitler's demands, announcing his resignation in a radio address and instructing Austrians not to resist German troops.

On March 12, German troops crossed the Austrian border and were greeted by cheering Austrians. Hitler travelled to Linz and then Vienna, receiving an enthusiastic welcome. On March 13, Seyss-Inquart signed the "Reunification of Austria with Germany" law, and Austria became a province of Nazi Germany. A plebiscite held on April 10, 1938, officially recorded a support of 99.7% of the voters.

Aftermath

Austria's Nazi Party

Austrian Nazism, or Austrian National Socialism, was a pan-German movement that took shape in the early 20th century. The German Workers' Party (DAP) was established in Austria in 1903, with its secretariat in Aussig (now Ústí nad Labem in the Czech Republic). The DAP changed its name to the Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei (DNSAP) in 1918, adding the swastika as its symbol in 1920.

The Austrian DNSAP split into several factions in 1923 and 1926, including the Deutschsozialer Verein (German-Social Association) led by Dr Walter Riehl, the Schulz-Gruppe, and the NSDAP-Hitlerbewegung. After 1930, most former DNSAP members became supporters of the German NSDAP led by Austrian-born Adolf Hitler. They were a key element in the pro-Nazi coup in 1938 that brought about the annexation of Austria with Germany, known as the Anschluss.

The Austrian Nazi Party was initially weak, divided, and ineffective in the late 1920s and early 1930s. However, by 1931, the majority of Austrian Nazis recognised Hitler as their leader, and the party gained supporters as Hitler's popularity in Germany grew. Austrian Nazis waged a propaganda and terror campaign in 1933, encouraged and funded by Germany, which aimed to undermine the Dollfuss regime. In response, the Dollfuss government banned the Austrian Nazi Party and its affiliates in June 1933. Despite this, Austrian Nazis continued to operate illegally, and thousands fled to Germany, forming the paramilitary Austrian Legion.

In July 1934, Austrian Nazis attempted a coup, during which Chancellor Dollfuss was assassinated. However, the majority of Austrians remained loyal to the government, and the coup failed. Kurt von Schuschnigg became the new chancellor and continued Dollfuss' authoritarian policies.

In February 1938, Hitler met with Schuschnigg and bullied him into implementing measures favourable to Austrian Nazism. Schuschnigg, however, attempted to assert Austrian independence by calling a plebiscite for March 13, 1938. Hitler responded by mobilising the 8th Army and demanding Schuschnigg's resignation, which he was coerced into accepting on March 11.

On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria, receiving the enthusiastic support of most of the population. Hitler appointed a new Nazi government, and on March 13, the Anschluss was proclaimed. Austria became a federal state of Germany, and the process of Nazification began, with Austrian civil servants, soldiers, and police officers taking an oath to Hitler.

Hitler's Mein Kampf

In his 1925 book, Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler wrote about his birth country, Austria:

> 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 was the first step in his plan to redraw the map of post-World War I Europe. He considered the international borders of the time to be unfair and illegitimate, claiming that Germans had been denied the right of self-determination. In Mein Kampf, he wrote that the reunification of Germany and Austria was a "life task to be carried out by all means".

Hitler's desire for an Austro-German union was also reflected in the first point of the Nazi Party Platform (1920), which stated:

> We demand the union of all Germans in a Greater Germany (Großdeutschland) on the basis of the right of national self-determination.

Hitler's annexation of Austria was the first act of territorial aggression and expansion by Nazi Germany. It was widely popular in both Germany and Austria, with most Austrians considering themselves ethnically German. However, it also resulted in an outburst of public violence against Austria's Jewish population.

Austrian resistance

On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. This event is known as the Anschluss. The annexation of Austria was the first act of territorial aggression committed by Nazi Germany. The Austrian resistance was launched in response to the rise of fascism across Europe and, more specifically, to the Anschluss and the resulting occupation of Austria by Germany.

The Austrian resistance groups were often ideologically separated and reflected the spectrum of political parties before the war. In addition to armed resistance groups, there was a strong communist resistance group, groups close to the Catholic Church, Habsburg groups, and individual resistance groups in the German Wehrmacht. Most resistance groups were exposed by the Gestapo and their members were executed.

The most spectacular individual group of the Austrian resistance was the one led by the priest Heinrich Maier. This resistance group sought to re-establish a Habsburg monarchy after the war. It played a large role in providing the Allies with information on the production sites of the V-1, V-2 rockets, Tiger tanks, and aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet. The intelligence they provided, later uncovered by the Gestapo, was necessary in enabling the Allies to conduct precise airstrikes, minimizing civilian casualties. The group maintained contact with Allen Dulles, head of the U.S. OSS in Switzerland, and their information contributed to key operations such as Operation Crossbow and Operation Hydra, both of which were precursors to Operation Overlord. The Maier group was also one of the earliest to report the mass murder of Jews, utilizing contacts at the Semperit factory near Auschwitz.

In addition to armed resistance, numerous individuals provided support to Jewish families during the Holocaust. These efforts included hiding individuals, managing or exchanging their property to generate funds, and aiding their escape from Nazi persecution. These actions carried immense personal risk, as assisting Jews was punishable by imprisonment or death in Nazi concentration camps. Among these individuals were Rosa Stallbaumer and her husband, Anton. Arrested by the Gestapo in 1942, they were sent to the Dachau concentration camp. Although Anton survived, Rosa Stallbaumer did not; transferred to Auschwitz, she died there at the age of 44.

One major league of 200–300 fighters called the Koralmpartisanen. Their activities extended from 1944 to Western Styria. They began to attack in the districts of Leibnitz and Deutschlandsberg (Styria) infrastructure facilities such as municipal offices and gendarmerie. They also sabotaged militarily important facilities such as bridges and railways.

Military resistance in the Wehrmacht: Robert Bernardis, Heinrich Kodré, group around Major Carl Szokoll (including Operation Walküre / Operation Valkyrie) Major Karl Biedermann, Hauptmann Alfred Huth, and Oberleutnant Rudolf Raschke joined the resistance group of Austrian members of the Wehrmacht, led by Major Carl Szokoll, within the Wehrkreiskommando XVII. In the spring of 1945, this planned the "Operation Radetzky" whose goal was to assist the Red Army in the liberation of Vienna and to prevent major destruction. Biedermann should have occupied with his troops key positions in the city and prevented the blowing up of bridges. But the planned for April 6, 1945, "Operation Radetzky" was betrayed. Robert Bernardis, Heinrich Kodré, Karl Biedermann, Alfred Huth, and Rudolf Raschke were sentenced to death by the German "People's Court" (Volksgerichtshof) and executed the same day. In 1967 a barrack was named "Biedermann-Huth-Raschke barracks" (1140 Vienna, Penzing), in remembrance of these three Austrian officers of the German Wehrmacht.

The symbol and voice of Austrian resistance was Crown Prince Otto von Habsburg who, had the monarchy been re-established, would have been Kaiser of Austria. Otto von Habsburg denounced Nazism, stating:

> I absolutely reject [Nazi] Fascism for Austria ... This un-Austrian movement promises everything to everyone, but really intends the most ruthless subjugation of the Austrian people ... The people of Austria will never tolerate that our beautiful fatherland should become an exploited colony, and that the Austrian should become a man of second category.

He strongly opposed the Anschluss and, in 1938, requested Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg to resist Nazi Germany and supported an international intervention, even offering to return from exile to take over the reins of government in order to repel the Nazis. Following the German annexation of Austria, Otto (who had been allowed to come back to Austria to publicly campaign against the Anschluss) was sentenced to death by the Nazi regime; Rudolf Hess ordered that Otto was to be executed immediately if caught, as ordered by Adolf Hitler. The leaders of the Austrian legitimist movement, i.e. supporters of Otto, were arrested by the Nazis and largely executed.

Austrian antisemitism

Antisemitism in Austria has a long history, with evidence of Jewish communities in the geographical area covered by modern-day Austria dating back to the 12th century. In the mid-to-late 19th century, Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were granted civil rights and, later, full citizenship rights. However, this progress was undermined by rising antisemitism, which ultimately resulted in the murder of tens of thousands of Austrian Jews.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire faced both commercial and religious antisemitism. Commercial antisemitism arose from professional groups who resented the success of Jews in various industries, while religious antisemitism was fuelled by the influx of Hassidic Jews from Galicia, whose dress, customs, and religious practices were seen as strange. This period also saw the rise of political antisemitism, with antisemitic politicians like Karl Lueger, mayor of Vienna, exploiting anti-Jewish sentiment to gain votes.

In the early 20th century, antisemitism became increasingly prevalent in Austrian politics. The Christian Socialists' manifesto in 1918, for example, called for a "defensive struggle against the Jewish peril". By the 1930s, the Austrian Nazi Party was gaining support, and in 1933, they launched a propaganda and terror campaign, staging disruptive protests and even setting off explosives in public places and Jewish-owned businesses.

The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938, known as the Anschluss, marked a devastating turning point for Austrian Jews. The Nazis' expansion into Austria was met with little resistance, and was even welcomed by many Austrians. Almost immediately, Austrian Jews became the targets of violent attacks, forced labour, and restrictive laws. They were robbed of their property and civil rights, and their businesses were forcibly "Aryanised".

The Nazis' antisemitic policies and propaganda were embraced by many Austrians, who helped to carry out the Nazification of their country. Austrian civil servants, soldiers, and police officers adopted Nazi ideas and implemented Nazi policies, expelling Jewish members and firing Jewish employees.

Even after World War II, antisemitism continued to be a part of Austrian political life and culture, particularly in political parties and the media. While Jews constituted only 0.1% of the Austrian population, antisemitism was strongest in areas where Jews no longer lived and among people who had little to no personal contact with Jews. Antisemitic incidents in Austria continue to be reported in the 21st century, including vandalism, desecration of Jewish graves, and physical attacks.

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