Hitler's Soft Spot: Austria-Hungary's Allure

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, Hitler did not like the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was a staunch German nationalist from a young age. He despised the multiculturalism of the empire and the fact that it allowed non-German ethnic groups to hold prominent positions. He also hated the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and was influenced by pan-German nationalism. When World War I broke out, Hitler refused to fight for Austria-Hungary and instead moved to Munich to avoid the draft. He later joined the German army and fought for the German Empire. After the war, Hitler remained in Germany and rose through the ranks of the Nazi Party, eventually becoming chancellor. As chancellor, he annexed Austria and made it a part of Germany, rather than attempting to reform or rebuild the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Hitler's hatred of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Hitler had no desire to serve the Habsburg monarchy. His move to Munich was partly an effort to dodge the Austro-Hungarian military draft, for which he was arrested in 1914 but ultimately judged unfit for service. He instead enlisted in the German army upon the outbreak of World War I, winning the Iron Cross.

Hitler's adoration of his native Linz, as well as Vienna, was based on his view of them as German cities that happened to be in a state called Austria, rather than Austrian cities. He believed that Austria was full of ethnic Germans and should be part of a German nation state. He felt that Austria's unification with Hungary, rather than Germany, was a mistake and that the empire was weak and artificial.

Hitler's ideology was influenced by the German nationalism of the Habsburg Empire, which saw the rise of a political movement combining classical liberalism, constitutionalism, and nationalism. He was also influenced by Georg Schönerer, leader of the All-German movement, and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels, who advocated for the unification of German peoples and the subjugation of other peoples they had the right to rule over.

Hitler's Austrian-German identity

Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna in the first decade of the 1900s before moving to Germany in 1913. Hitler was Austrian by birth but considered himself ethnically German. He despised the multiculturalism of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the fact that it allowed non-German ethnic groups to have a prominent place within the empire. He also believed that the empire was a decaying force, weakened by the influence of non-Germans.

Hitler's adoration for his native Linz and Vienna was for them as German cities that happened to be in a state called Austria, not as Austrian cities. He was influenced by pan-German nationalism from a very early age, partly under the tutelage of his teacher Leopold Poetsch. Hitler's nationalism was also shaped by his experiences in the First World War, in which he served in the German Army. He was decorated during his service, receiving the Iron Cross.

Hitler's nationalism was further influenced by the peculiar German nationalism of the Habsburg Empire. In the 19th century, the Austrian state was pretty multiethnic, but parts of it were majority German. The Austrian-German nationalists of the Habsburg Empire wanted to unite all Germans in a Nazi German empire and acquire Lebensraum ("living space") in Eastern Europe. Hitler shared these goals. He wanted to unite all Germans in a Greater Germany and saw Austria as part of this.

Hitler's nationalism was also anti-Habsburg. He despised the House of Habsburg and their multi-ethnic empire. He saw the Habsburgs as traitors to Germany and believed that their empire was an artificial nation. He believed that the disclusion of Austria from the unification of Germany in 1871 was a mistake. However, he did not want to reform the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He wanted to unite Austria with Germany and get rid of any traces of a separate Austrian identity.

Hitler's invasion of Austria

Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria, and grew up in the country. Despite this, he did not like the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was influenced by pan-German nationalism from a young age. He despised the multiculturalism of the empire and the fact that it allowed non-German ethnic groups to have prominent positions. Hitler's adoration for his birth country was as a German state, not as an Austrian one.

Hitler rode into Austria with a 4,000-man bodyguard, crossing the border at his birthplace, and arrived in Linz to an enthusiastic welcome. On March 13, Austria's parliament formally approved the annexation, and the country became a province of Germany. A plebiscite was held on April 10, with 99.7% of voters supporting a union with Germany.

Hitler's Austrian supporters

Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna in the first decade of the 1900s before moving to Germany in 1913. Hitler's father, Alois, was illegitimate. For a time, he bore his mother's name, Schicklgruber, but by 1876 he had established his family claim to the surname Hitler. After his father’s retirement from the state customs service, Hitler spent most of his childhood in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. It remained his favourite city throughout his life, and he expressed his wish to be buried there.

Hitler's rise to power traces back to 1919, when he joined the German Workers' Party that became the Nazi Party. With his oratorical skills and use of propaganda, he soon became its leader. Hitler gained popularity nationwide by exploiting unrest during the Great Depression, and in 1932 he placed second in the presidential race. Hitler’s various manoeuvres resulted in the winner, Paul von Hindenburg, appointing him chancellor in January 1933.

Hitler's Austrian opposition

Hitler was born in Austria and considered himself ethnically German. However, he despised the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which he saw as weak and multicultural. Hitler's nationalism was influenced by his teacher Leopold Poetsch, who instilled in him a hatred for the Habsburg monarchy and its embrace of multiculturalism. Hitler's ideology was also shaped by the peculiar German nationalism of the Habsburg Empire, which saw German nationalists advocate for the unification of all German peoples under a common banner, with other ethnic groups in the empire reduced to colonial underlings. Hitler's adoration for his hometown of Linz and Vienna was for their status as German cities, not as Austrian cities.

Hitler's vision for a Greater Germany included the incorporation of Austria, which he saw as a German state. He did not want to reform the Austro-Hungarian Empire because it went against his ideology of a Greater Germany. Hitler believed that the empire was an artificial nation and that the Hungarians were uncooperative and disloyal, refusing reforms and withholding food during World War I. Hitler's goal was to establish a German nation-state that included Austria but not Hungary. He sought to subjugate Hungary and starve its people, colonizing the land with Germans.

Hitler's hatred for the empire was also influenced by his experiences during World War I. He refused to fight for the Austro-Hungarian Empire and instead fled to Bavaria, enlisting in the German army. After the war, Hitler, along with many Austrians, blamed the empire's failures on its multi-ethnic nature.

A small minority of Austrians actively opposed Nazism and formed resistance groups. However, the majority of Austrians supported the Nazi regime, and many Austrians participated in the Nazi war machine.

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