Austria's German Empire Inclusion: A Historical Perspective

Austria was not part of the German Empire, but it was briefly part of the German Confederation from 1815 to 1866.

The German Empire was established in 1871, excluding Austria, and led by Prussia. This was known as the Kleindeutschland or Lesser Germany concept, which was in contrast to the Großdeutsche Lösung or Greater Germany solution, which would have included Austria.

Austria was part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, and was also part of the German Confederation until the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. In 1867, Austria formed a dual monarchy with Hungary, creating the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

After World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, and Austria was reduced to its main, mostly German-speaking areas. It briefly renamed itself the Republic of German-Austria in a bid for union with Germany, but this was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

In 1938, Nazi Germany, led by Austrian-born Adolf Hitler, annexed Austria into Germany in what was called the Anschluss. However, this union was reversed in 1945, and Austria was occupied by the Allies separately from Germany until 1955.

The Austrian Empire was a multi-ethnic state, and including it in a unified Germany would have meant including non-German-speaking territories

The Austrian Empire was a part of the Holy Roman Empire, which was officially a German polity from 1512 and mostly led by Austria itself. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, and the Austrian Empire was reconstituted as a dual monarchy with Hungary, known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was established and led by Austria from 1867 onwards.

The inclusion of the Austrian Empire in a unified Germany would have meant the inclusion of these non-German-speaking territories and populations. This would have gone against the Kleindeutschland ("Lesser Germany") solution, which sought to unify only the northern German states and did not include any part of Austria. The Kleindeutschland solution was favored by the Kingdom of Prussia, which would become the dominant power in the unified Germany.

The Großdeutsche Lösung ("Greater German solution"), on the other hand, favored unifying all German-speaking peoples under one state and was promoted by the Austrian Empire and its supporters. However, the inclusion of the Austrian Empire in a unified Germany under the Großdeutsche Lösung would have meant the inclusion of these non-German-speaking territories.

The Austrian Empire was a rival to the German Empire for leadership of the German states

The Austrian Empire was led by the Habsburgs, who were also the ruling family of the Holy Roman Empire from 1440 until its dissolution in 1806. The Austrian Empire was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1156 to 1806, and other German states under the Kingdom of Germany were parts of the Holy Roman Empire, which was officially a German polity from 1512 and mostly led by Austria itself. From 1815 to 1866, Austria led the German Confederation.

In 1871, the "Kleindeutsch" German Empire based on the leadership of Bismarck and Prussia formed, excluding Austria. The exclusion of Austria ensured that Germany would have a substantial Protestant majority. The Austrian Empire was predominantly Catholic, and the Kingdom of Prussia was Protestant. The Austrian Empire was also diverse, including Hungarians, Slavic ethnic groups such as Croats, Czechs, Poles, Rusyns, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenes, and Ukrainians, as well as Italians and Romanians. The German Empire was majority German and Protestant.

The Austrian Empire was a Catholic state, and including it in a unified Germany would have meant that the unified Germany would have been majority Catholic

The Austrian Empire was indeed a Catholic state, and including it in a unified Germany would have meant that the unified Germany would have been majority Catholic.

The Austrian Empire was a multinational European great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. The Empire was proclaimed by Francis II in 1804 in response to Napoleon's declaration of the First French Empire, unifying all Habsburg possessions under one central government. The Austrian Empire remained part of the Holy Roman Empire until the latter's dissolution in 1806. The Austrian Empire was led by the House of Habsburg from 1273 to 1918. The Habsburgs viewed themselves as the vanguard of Catholicism and suppressed other Christian confessions and religions.

Austria was historically a strongly Catholic country, having been the centre of the Habsburg monarchy (1273-1918) which championed Roman Catholicism. The Austrian Empire was predominantly Catholic, with 80.9% of the country's population identifying as Catholic in a 2021 survey. The Austrian Empire was also home to numerous other religions besides Catholicism, such as Greek, Serbian, Romanian, Russian, and Bulgarian Orthodox Christians, both Calvinist and Lutheran Protestants, and Jews.

Inclusion of the Austrian Empire in a unified Germany would have meant that the unified Germany would have been majority Catholic. The Kingdom of Hungary, which was administered separately from the rest of the Austrian Empire, was a country that had never been a part of the Holy Roman Empire and was considered a separate realm. The Austrian Empire was the third most populous monarchy in Europe after the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom. The fall of the Austrian Empire in 1918 reduced Austria to a rump state, with the country's population falling from over 50 million to just 6.5 million.

The Austrian Empire was a useful ally to the German Empire in controlling central Europe and the Balkans

The Austrian Empire was also a useful ally to the German Empire because it provided access to the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea through the Kingdom of Hungary. This gave the German Empire a strategic advantage in the region and allowed it to project power into the Mediterranean.

In addition, the Austrian Empire was a useful ally to the German Empire because it provided a counterweight to the Kingdom of Prussia, which was the dominant power in the German Empire. The Austrian Empire, with its large and well-trained army, was a powerful force that could be used to balance Prussia's influence.

Finally, the Austrian Empire was a useful ally to the German Empire because it provided economic benefits. The Austrian Empire had a large and diverse economy that included agriculture, industry, and trade. It also had access to natural resources such as iron ore, magnesium, and hydroelectric power.

Overall, the Austrian Empire was a valuable ally to the German Empire in controlling central Europe and the Balkans because of its multi-ethnic composition, its access to the sea, its powerful army, and its economic benefits.

The Austrian Empire was a friendly neighbour to the German Empire

From 1938 to 1945, under the Nazi regime, Austria was annexed into Germany in the Anschluss, which was seen as a reunification. The German Confederation was also led by Austria from 1815 to 1866. In 1866, Austria was firstly separated from Germany, and the German Confederation was dissolved. In 1867, the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire was established and led by Austria; it was rivalled by the North German Confederation from 1866 to 1871 and the German Empire led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Militarily, Austria (Austria-Hungary) and Germany (German Empire) were allies of each other at the time.

In 1918, after the end of World War I and with the fall of the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires, Austria briefly renamed itself the Republic of German-Austria in a bid for union with Germany; an action forbidden by the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) created by the winners of World War I against both Germany and Austria. Throughout much of the Interwar period, Austria and Germany continued to remain as separate and distinct entities.

However, in 1938, Nazi Germany, led by Austrian-born Adolf Hitler, annexed Austria into Germany in what would come to be called the Anschluss. Following the fact that Austria under Allied control claimed independence to be secondly separated from Germany on 27 April 1945, the German identity in Austria has been weakened. The 1955 Austrian State Treaty to let Austria gain power from the Allied occupying the country also banned the reunification of Germany and Austria. The first victim theory was very popular in Austria from its start in 1949 to 1988, that Austria was the first victim of Nazi Germany and therefore had nothing to do with the Nazi German crimes, but this theory has been disproved by Austrians themselves since 1988. In 1990, West Germany and East Germany were reunited.

After Austria's entry into the European Union (EU) in 1995, both are member-states of the EU and have the same currency and free border; however, whereas Germany is a member nation of NATO from 1955, Austria, in accordance with its strict constitutional requirement of neutrality, is not a NATO member.

Since 2004, meetings of German-speaking countries have been held annually with six participants, including Germany and Austria. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the European Union.

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