Benito Mussolini: Austria's Annexation And Fascist Italy

Benito Mussolini was the leader of Italy, which shared a border with Austria. In the mid-1930s, Mussolini supported Austrian independence and was even willing to send troops to protect Austria from a German invasion. However, by 1938, Mussolini had abandoned the idea of intervening to protect Austria. Instead, he supported Hitler's annexation of Austria.

Benito Mussolini's support for Austrian independence

Benito Mussolini, the leader of Italy's National Fascist Party, initially supported Austrian independence. However, his stance shifted over time, eventually leading to his support for the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany.

Mussolini's early political career was marked by his opposition to the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and his support for Italian nationalism. In 1914, Mussolini, then a socialist politician and journalist, advocated for Italy's intervention in World War I, believing it would offer Italians in Austria-Hungary the chance to liberate themselves from Habsburg rule.

Following World War I, Mussolini's rise to power was fueled by his charismatic appeal and his promise to restore Italy's greatness. In 1922, he became Prime Minister of Italy and set out to establish a totalitarian state. Mussolini's foreign policy was driven by his desire to expand Italian influence and pursue territorial acquisitions.

In the 1920s, Mussolini's foreign policy focused on maintaining Italy's "equidistant" stance from major powers, especially Germany, to exercise "determinant weight" in Europe. He sought to counterbalance German influence and protect Italian interests, especially in the aftermath of the assassination of his friend and Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss by Austrian Nazis in 1934.

In 1935, Mussolini joined forces with France and Britain to establish the Stresa Front, aiming to contain Germany's rising influence. However, Mussolini's aggressive aspirations extended beyond Austria. In 1935, he ordered the invasion of Ethiopia, violating international law and alienating Italy from the League of Nations. This isolation pushed him further towards an alliance with Nazi Germany.

In 1936, Mussolini established the Rome-Berlin Axis, a formal agreement of cooperation with Nazi Germany. As part of this alliance, Mussolini supported Hitler's annexation of Austria, known as the Anschluss, in March 1938. This marked a turning point in European geopolitics, boosting Hitler's confidence and emboldening his expansionist goals.

Mussolini's support for the Anschluss had several significant implications. It provided diplomatic and ideological support to Nazi Germany, further isolating Austria and undermining the international order established after World War I. It also strained European diplomacy, making Italy increasingly reliant on its alliance with Germany and ultimately leading to Italy's entry into World War II.

The Austrian Nazi Party's failed coup in 1934

The Austrian Nazi Party's attempted coup in July 1934 was a failed attempt to overthrow the Austrofascist regime and establish a pro-Nazi government under Anton Rintelen of the Christian Social Party. On July 25, 1934, Austrian Nazis and German SS soldiers attacked the Chancellery in Vienna, killing Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. However, the majority of Austrians and the army remained loyal to the government, and the coup was quickly suppressed.

The coup was led by 154 SS men, who were disguised as Bundesheer soldiers and policemen. They pushed into the Austrian Chancellery and killed Dollfuss, while another group seized control of the state radio station in Vienna and prematurely announced the coup. The fighting was concentrated in Carinthia, Styria, and Upper Austria, with smaller uprisings in Salzburg. The army, police, and paramilitary units loyal to the government put down the revolt, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.

The coup's failure was due in part to the guarantee of independence and diplomatic support that Austria received from Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini. Mussolini was a friend and ally of Dollfuss and was outraged by the coup attempt and assassination. He moved troops to the Austrian border and made it clear to Hitler that he opposed the invasion of Austria. This led Hitler to proclaim that he did not support the coup, and the Nazi regime falsely claimed that it had been a rogue plan carried out by the Austrian Nazi movement.

Following the coup attempt, thousands of Austrian Nazis were arrested, and many fled to Germany or Yugoslavia. Kurt Schuschnigg became the new Chancellor and continued Dollfuss's authoritarian policies. The Austrian Nazi Party was banned, but it continued to operate illegally, and thousands of its members fled across the border to form the Austrian Legion, a paramilitary unit trained by German Nazis.

Hitler's meeting with Schuschnigg in 1938

On February 12, 1938, Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg met with Adolf Hitler at his Bavarian Alps residence, the Berghof, near Berchtesgaden. The meeting was anything but pleasant, with Hitler insulting the Austrian leader and threatening to invade Austria if Schuschnigg did not resign in favour of Austrian Nazi Party leader Arthur Seyss-Inquart by February 15. Hitler demanded that Schuschnigg appoint Seyss-Inquart as Minister of Security, which would give the Austrian Nazis control of the police. Hitler also demanded that Dr. Hans Fischböck be named Minister of Finance to prepare for economic union between Germany and Austria, and that a hundred officers be exchanged between the Austrian and German armies. In return, Hitler would publicly reaffirm the treaty of July 11, 1936, and Austria's national sovereignty.

Schuschnigg was coerced into signing the Berchtesgaden Agreement before leaving. The following day, Hitler appointed a new Gauleiter for Austria, a Nazi Austrian army officer who had just been released from prison in accordance with the terms of the general amnesty stipulated by the agreement. On February 20, Hitler made a speech before the Reichstag which was, for the first time, relayed by the Austrian radio network. He stated: "The German Reich is no longer willing to tolerate the suppression of ten million Germans across its borders."

In response to Hitler's threats, Schuschnigg decided to hold a plebiscite on March 13 to demonstrate Austrian resolve against German coercion. Knowing that most Nazi sympathisers in Austria were young, he set the voting age at 24. Hitler called foul and demanded that the plebiscite be cancelled. When Schuschnigg reluctantly agreed, Hitler demanded his resignation and insisted that Seyss-Inquart be appointed his successor. Schuschnigg resigned on March 11, but this made no difference; German troops flooded into Austria and were received by enthusiastic crowds.

Hitler's invasion of Austria in 1938

On March 12, 1938, Hitler invaded Austria with the 8th Army of the German Wehrmacht. The invasion, known as the Anschluss, was the annexation and formal union of Austria with Germany. The German troops were greeted by cheering Austrians with Nazi salutes, Nazi flags, and flowers. The invasion was the first big test of Hitler's military machinery. Although the invading forces were badly organized and coordination among the units was poor, it mattered little because the Austrian government had ordered the Austrian Bundesheer not to resist.

Hitler, an Austrian himself, had dreamed of an empire that enclosed all German speakers, his 'Greater Germany'. Possession of Austria would improve Germany's strategic position in Europe and allow for an easier invasion of neighbouring states. Austria was also attractive to Hitler because of its resources, such as manpower for the military, raw materials, and a large quantity of cash and gold.

Hitler's invasion of Austria was not met with any resistance or meaningful response from foreign powers. The reaction of the world powers to the Anschluss was muted, most governments preferring to voice no more than a dissatisfaction with Hitler's methods. This emboldened Hitler towards further aggression.

The international response to the Anschluss

Britain

In March 1938, Britain was facing its own political turmoil. The Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, had just resigned over Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's decision to open negotiations with the Fascist dictator of Italy, Mussolini. Chamberlain was determined to appease Hitler, and there was no political will to oppose Germany. The British population was against the idea of another European war. The Anschluss was not seen as a threat to Britain, and as both nations were German-speaking, there was a sense that there was no good reason why Austria and Germany shouldn't unify. Anti-appeasers, such as Winston Churchill, were alarmed by Germany's annexation of Austria and believed that Hitler should have used negotiation and diplomacy rather than force.

France

France was also preoccupied with domestic problems at the time of the Anschluss. Two days before Germany invaded Austria, the entire French government had resigned due to mounting problems with the economic crisis. France was not in a position to oppose the invasion. Czechoslovakia asked for the support of Britain and France, who had previously agreed to protect them under a treaty, but received no assistance.

Italy

Benito Mussolini, the Fascist dictator of Italy, had his own ambitions for Austrian territory and did not support Germany's plans for a full takeover. However, he needed German support in Ethiopia and eventually entered into a client relationship with Berlin, forming the Berlin-Rome Axis in 1937.

League of Nations

Hitler's invasion of Austria further highlighted the weakness of the League of Nations, which had failed to act in response to Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia in 1935. The League, formed after World War I to maintain world peace, offered no response to the Anschluss, and Austria was absorbed into the Third Reich without resistance or a meaningful response from foreign powers.

Mexico

The loudest verbal protest against the Anschluss came from the government of Mexico, whose delegate to the International Office of Labor, Isidro Fabela, voiced an energetic protest against the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany.

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