Hitler's Annexation Plans: Austria's Appeal

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 means joining or connection in German. Two reasons why Hitler wanted to annex Austria were to unite all Germans into one nation-state and to acquire Lebensraum (living space) in Eastern Europe.

Hitler wanted to unite all Germans in a Greater Germany

The idea of a "Greater Germany" had been around since the 19th century, when Austria was excluded from the unification of Germany in 1871. The idea gained support after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, as many believed that Austria, stripped of its imperial land, was not economically viable on its own.

Hitler, himself an Austrian German by birth, shared this belief. In his 1925 book, Mein Kampf, 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."

Hitler's desire to unite all Germans in a Greater Germany was also reflected in the 1920 National Socialist Program, which stated:

> "We demand the unification of all Germans in the Greater Germany on the basis of the people's right to self-determination."

In a 1921 essay, Hitler further argued that the German Reich had a single task of, "incorporating the ten million German-Austrians in the Empire and dethroning the Habsburgs, the most miserable dynasty ever ruling."

In early 1938, under increasing pressure from pro-unification activists, Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg announced that there would be a referendum on a possible union with Germany. Hitler, however, was not willing to let the referendum take place, as he feared that a majority of Austrians would vote to preserve their independence. Instead, he invaded Austria and annexed it into the German Reich, fulfilling his long-held desire to unite all Germans in a Greater Germany.

He believed Austria was part of a German nation-state

Hitler believed that Austria was part of a German nation-state. This idea of a “Greater Germany” had been around since the unification of Germany in 1871, which excluded Austria and the German Austrians from the Prussian-dominated German Empire. The idea gained support after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles and Treaty of Saint Germain, which forbade the unification of Austria and Germany.

Hitler, an Austrian German by birth, held German nationalist ideas from a young age. In his 1925 book, Mein Kampf, 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."

Hitler's belief in a German nation-state was also reflected in the 1920 National Socialist Program, which stated:

> "We demand the unification of all Germans in the Greater Germany on the basis of the people's right to self-determination."

Hitler's desire to annex Austria was also driven by his belief in Lebensraum ("living space") in Eastern Europe. He saw the annexation of Austria as a way to acquire more territory and resources for Nazi Germany. In his book, Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote about his vision of a union between Austria and Germany:

> "The 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 belief in a German nation-state that included Austria was further demonstrated in his appointment of Arthur Seyss-Inquart as Minister of Public Security in Austria. Seyss-Inquart was a long-time supporter of the Nazis and sought the union of all Germans in one state.

Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938, known as the Anschluss, was a fulfilment of his belief in a German nation-state. By absorbing Austria into the German Reich, Hitler was able to realise his vision of a Greater Germany and strengthen his regime's power and influence in the region.

He wanted to redraw the map of post-World War I Europe

Adolf Hitler and the Nazis wanted to redraw the map of post-World War I Europe. They considered the postwar international borders unfair and illegitimate, and claimed that Germans had been denied the right of self-determination. Hitler had expressed his desire for an Austro-German union in his earliest writings and speeches. In his 1925 book, Mein Kampf, 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.

The annexation of Austria would help the Nazis achieve their goal of uniting all Germans in a Nazi German empire.

The idea of an Anschluss (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Greater Germany") arose after the 1871 unification of Germany excluded Austria and the German Austrians from the Prussian-dominated German Empire. It gained support after the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell in 1918. The new Republic of German-Austria attempted to form a union with Germany, but the 1919 Treaty of Saint Germain and Treaty of Versailles forbade both the union and the continued use of the name "German-Austria".

Hitler, an Austrian German by birth, picked up his German nationalist ideas at a young age. In 1920, the National Socialist Program stated, "We demand the unification of all Germans in the Greater Germany on the basis of the people's right to self-determination." Hitler argued in a 1921 essay that the German Reich had a single task of, "incorporating the ten million German-Austrians in the Empire and dethroning the Habsburgs, the most miserable dynasty ever ruling."

Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf (1925) that he would create a union between his birth country Austria and Germany by any means possible. He fully intended to bring about an Austro-German union as soon as he was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933. However, Germany was not immediately militarily and diplomatically ready to carry out Hitler’s foreign policy goals.

Hitler's popularity reached an unprecedented peak after he fulfilled the Anschluss because he had completed the long-awaited idea of a Greater Germany. Bismarck had not chosen to include Austria in his 1871 unification of Germany, and there was genuine support from Germans in both Austria and Germany for an Anschluss.

He wanted to acquire living space in Eastern Europe

Hitler's annexation of Austria was part of his plan to acquire Lebensraum ("living space") in Eastern Europe. This ideology, which was a critical component of the Nazi worldview, was influenced by the concept of autarky (the belief that a nation must be self-sufficient in terms of resources and territory) and social Darwinism (the mistaken application of Darwin's theory of natural selection to nation-states). Hitler believed that acquiring Lebensraum in Eastern Europe was necessary for Germany's survival and that the nation had a right to it.

The idea of Lebensraum in Eastern Europe was not unique to Hitler or the Nazis. Long before the Nazi period, many Germans looked to Eastern Europe as the natural source of their Lebensraum. Beginning in the Middle Ages, overpopulation in the German states led to a steady colonization of Germanic peoples in Eastern Europe. By the 20th century, scholars and the public began to view the East as a region whose vast natural resources were wasted on racially inferior peoples like Slavs and Jews. This biological view of Lebensraum resonated with an inaccurate historical view of the German role in the East during ancient and medieval times.

Hitler first laid out his plans for acquiring Lebensraum in his unpublished second book and in Mein Kampf (1925). He lamented that Germany was not in a position to feed itself from its own land and territory and wrote about the need to acquire new sources of food and expand the population area of the German people. In his book, he specifically mentioned the incalculable raw materials in the Urals, the "rich forests" of Siberia, and the "incalculable farmlands" of Ukraine.

Hitler's desire for Lebensraum in Eastern Europe was a driving force behind his foreign policy and military conquests. The invasion of Poland, which started World War II, was motivated by this principle. The Nazi Generalplan Ost policy (the Master Plan for the East) stipulated that most of the indigenous populations of Eastern Europe, including Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, and other Slavic nations, would have to be permanently removed through mass deportation to Siberia, death, or enslavement. The entire populations were to be decimated by starvation, allowing the Nazis to use their agricultural surplus to feed Germany.

Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938, known as the Anschluss, was the first step in his plan to acquire Lebensraum in Eastern Europe. By annexing Austria, Hitler was able to unite all Germans in a Nazi German empire and gain access to Austria's raw materials, labor, and industrial resources. This expansion also brought him one step closer to his goal of acquiring Lebensraum in Eastern Europe.

He wanted to incorporate as many ethnic Germans as possible into a Greater Germany

The idea of uniting Austria and Germany to form a "Greater Germany" was not new. The unification of Germany in 1871 excluded Austria and the German Austrians from the Prussian-dominated German Empire, and the idea of grouping all Germans into one nation-state had been a subject of debate since the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.

After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, the new Republic of German-Austria attempted to form a union with Germany. However, the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint Germain forbade the unification and the continued use of the name "German-Austria". The treaties also stripped Austria of some of its territories, such as the Sudetenland, leaving the country in an economic crisis.

In the 1920s, the idea of unification gained strong support in both Austria and Germany, particularly among Austrian citizens of the political left and center. Support for unification came mainly from the belief that Austria, stripped of its imperial land, was not economically viable. The unification of all Germans into one state was also a central tenet of the Nazi Heim ins Reich ("back home to the realm") concept, which sought to incorporate as many Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans outside Germany) as possible into a "Greater Germany".

Hitler, himself an Austrian German by birth, shared this desire to incorporate as many ethnic Germans as possible into a Greater Germany. In his 1925 book, Mein Kampf, he wrote:

> 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.

In his earliest writings and speeches, Hitler expressed his desire for an Austro-German union. The first point of the 1920 Nazi Party Platform stated:

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

Hitler also wrote in Mein Kampf that he would create a union between his birth country, Austria, and Germany by any means possible. In a 1921 essay, he argued that the German Reich had a single task:

> Incorporating the ten million German-Austrians in the Empire and dethroning the Habsburgs, the most miserable dynasty ever ruling.

Hitler's plan to annex Austria was, therefore, driven by his desire to incorporate as many ethnic Germans as possible into a Greater Germany.

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