Austria's Role In World War Ii: A Complex History

Austria's role in World War II is a complex topic. Technically, Austria did not exist as an independent nation during the war, as it had been annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. However, this does not mean that Austrians did not play a significant role in the conflict. Approximately 800,000 Austrians were drafted into the German Wehrmacht, and 150,000 served in the Waffen-SS, an elite Nazi military unit. Austrians were also integrated into German units, fighting and dying alongside their German comrades.

The question of Austrian complicity in Nazi war crimes is a sensitive and controversial issue. While some Austrians resisted Nazi rule and helped to hide Jewish families, others enthusiastically supported Hitler and participated in the Holocaust. Austria's post-war policy of portraying itself as Hitler's first victim has been criticised for deflecting guilt and hindering restitution and compensation for victims.

Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany

The idea of the Anschluss was not new, having been proposed after the unification of Germany in 1871, which excluded Austria. Support for the unification of the two countries grew in the 1920s, particularly among Austrian citizens of the political left and centre. Many Austrians believed that their country was not economically viable without the lands previously held by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had collapsed in 1918.

The rise of the Nazis in Germany in the early 1930s further fuelled the desire for unification. The Austrian Nazi Party, despite its initial weakness and disorganisation, gained supporters as Hitler's popularity in Germany increased. In 1933, Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss was assassinated by Austrian Nazis in a failed coup attempt. This prompted many leading Austrian Nazis to flee to Germany, where they continued to push for unification.

In early 1938, Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg announced a referendum on the unification of Austria and Germany, to be held on March 13. Hitler, portraying this as defying the popular will, threatened an invasion and pressured Schuschnigg to resign. On March 11, the German Army crossed the border into Austria, unopposed by the Austrian military. A plebiscite was held on April 10, resulting in an approval of 99.7% for the Anschluss.

The annexation of Austria transformed the country almost overnight. Austrian and German Nazis quickly carried out the Nazification of Austrian life, with many Austrians participating enthusiastically. Austrians also fought in World War II and took part in the mass murder of Europe's Jews.

However, the true extent of popular support for the unification is unclear. While the plebiscite indicated overwhelming approval, the voting process was neither free nor secret. Additionally, the annexation had already occurred by the time of the plebiscite, with German troops occupying Austria. It is estimated that about 70% of Austrians would have voted to preserve Austrian independence.

Austrians in the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS

Austrians played a significant role in the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS during World War II. Although Austria was not a formal participant in the war, as it did not exist as an independent state at the time, about 800,000 Austrians were drafted into the German Wehrmacht, with another 150,000 serving in the Waffen SS, an elite Nazi military unit.

The Waffen SS was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel (SS) organisation. Initially, membership was restricted to those of Germanic origin, but the rules were relaxed in 1940, and the Waffen SS grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions during the war. The Waffen SS was responsible for numerous atrocities and was declared a criminal organisation by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg in 1946.

Austrians were integrated into German units within the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, with no specifically Austrian military brigades being formed. Austrians loyally supported Germany in the early years of the war, and the Austrian population was shielded from the full impact of the conflict due to early German victories and Austria's location beyond the reach of Allied bombers. However, popular support for Germany and the Anschluss began to erode after the German defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943.

In the post-war era, Austria took steps towards denazification while under Allied occupation. However, attempts to prosecute former Nazis were half-hearted, and the country emphasised its stance as the first victim of Hitlerite Germany to deflect guilt and strengthen its position in negotiations. The so-called "victim theory" influenced Austria's policy of dealing with its involvement in Nazi crimes for decades.

Austria's role in the Holocaust

Before World War II, Jews were a prominent part of Austria's economic and cultural life, with leading figures in various fields. However, Austria had a history of anti-Semitism, which was exploited by Adolf Hitler, who himself was Austrian. In 1895, the Austrian anti-Semite Karl Lueger became mayor of Vienna, and in the 1930s, intense Nazi propaganda, economic stagnation, and political dictatorship created a climate conducive to the Nazi agenda. When German troops entered Austria in March 1938, they were greeted enthusiastically by most Austrians, who supported the annexation (known as the "Anschluss") into Nazi Germany. A referendum held in April 1938, which did not allow Jews or Roma to vote, indicated that about 99% of the Austrian population wanted the union with Germany.

Following the Anschluss, Austrian Nazis, led by Adolf Eichmann, actively participated in the persecution and murder of Jews. Anti-Semitic violence was immediate and intense, and German racial laws were enacted in Austria, resulting in the disenfranchisement of Jews. Jews were subjected to public humiliation, forced to wash sidewalks and public toilets, and were prohibited from using public transportation. Their property was seized, and there was a massive transfer of homes, businesses, and financial assets from Jews to non-Jews. Jewish organizations and newspapers were shut down, and their leaders imprisoned. During the Kristallnacht pogroms in November 1938, most synagogues in Vienna were destroyed, and Jewish businesses were vandalized and ransacked. Thousands of Jews were arrested and deported to concentration camps, and emigration increased dramatically. Between 1938 and 1941, approximately 147,000 Jews fled Austria.

The Mauthausen concentration camp, established in Austria in 1938, became the main Nazi camp in the country. Thousands of prisoners were worked to death, and subcamps were established near armaments factories, where forced labor became crucial to German war production. In addition to Mauthausen, other camps operated in Austria, such as Gusen, Gunskirchen, Melk, Ebensee, and Amstetten.

The deportation of Austrian Jews to death camps began in February 1941 and intensified after the Wannsee Conference in 1942. The Viennese Jewish community was officially liquidated in November 1942, and deportations continued until March 1945. As a result of the Holocaust, between 60,000 and 65,000 Austrian Jews were murdered, with only a few hundred surviving until liberation by Soviet troops in April 1945.

After World War II, Austria portrayed itself as the "first victim" of Nazi Germany, attempting to deny responsibility for its active role in the Holocaust. This narrative influenced Austria's policy on dealing with its history for decades and hindered restitution and compensation for victims. It was not until the 1980s, following the scandal surrounding the Nazi past of presidential candidate Kurt Waldheim, that Austria began to acknowledge its shared responsibility for Nazi crimes.

Austrian resistance and war criminals

Austrian Resistance

The Austrian resistance was established in response to the rise of fascism across Europe, and more specifically, to the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938. An estimated 100,000 people participated in this resistance, with thousands subsequently imprisoned or executed for their anti-Nazi activities. The Austrian resistance groups reflected the spectrum of political ideologies present before the war, with communists, socialists, Christian socialists, and monarchists all taking part.

Resistance activities included distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, collecting donations for the families of those arrested, and providing the Allies with crucial information. For example, the group led by priest Heinrich Maier played a significant role in providing the Allies with information on production sites for V-1 and V-2 rockets, aircraft, and tanks, enabling precise airstrikes and minimizing civilian casualties.

Armed resistance was more limited, with most resisting by avoiding active war fronts. However, there were notable acts of sabotage against both civil and military installations, particularly in Carinthia, where the Carinthian Slovenes formed a nucleus of the resistance.

The Austrian resistance also played a role in the Battle of Castle Itter in 1945, defending the castle against an attacking force from the Waffen-SS until the arrival of American troops.

Austrian War Criminals

While Austria as a country was not a participant in World War II, as it had been annexed by Germany, many Austrians served in the German military and were involved in war crimes. Approximately 800,000 Austrians were drafted into the German Wehrmacht, and 150,000 served in the Waffen-SS, an elite Nazi military unit.

After the war, Austria took initial steps towards denazification under Allied occupation, but these efforts were half-hearted, and many former Nazis were able to reintegrate into Austrian society. People's Courts were set up in several cities to deal with war crimes and Nazi Party membership, resulting in 23,477 sentences, with 58% being guilty verdicts. However, by 1948, there were more acquittals than convictions, and sentences were often reduced or overturned at retrials.

The Allies' focus on prosecuting war criminals diminished during the Cold War, and many perpetrators, such as Adolf Eichmann and Alois Brunner, were able to flee abroad and live undisturbed for years.

Austria also struggled to acknowledge its involvement in war crimes, instead emphasizing acts of resistance in its culture of remembrance. It was not until the mid-1980s that the myth of Austria being the first victim of Nazi Germany began to unravel, and in 1991, Federal Chancellor Franz Vranitzky acknowledged the shared responsibility borne by Austrians for Nazi crimes.

Austria's post-war denazification

In the early months after the war, denazification was carried out in line with the policies of each respective military administration. The Austrian Provisional State Government also enacted a series of denazification laws, including the Prohibition Act and the War Criminals Act. Former Nazis were required to disclose their party membership, and faced legal consequences such as tax surcharges, asset forfeiture, occupational bans, and dismissal from public sector jobs. People's Courts were set up in major cities to deal with war crimes and Nazi Party membership, which was charged as high treason.

However, the Allies' interest in prosecuting Nazi war criminals waned with the onset of the Cold War. Many former perpetrators were reintegrated into Austrian society, and some even fled abroad, living undisturbed for several years. By April 1948, an amnesty had put a stop to the criminal prosecution of 487,067 people, or 90% of registered Nazis. The denazification process did little to raise awareness of Austrians' involvement in Nazi crimes, and antisemitism and antigypsyism persisted.

In 1949, the "victim theory" became a fundamental myth in Austrian society, asserting that all Austrians, including supporters of Adolf Hitler, had been unwilling victims of the Nazi regime. This ideology allowed for the reintegration of former Nazis into social and political life, and the denial of continuity between the Austrian state and the political regime that existed from 1938 to 1945. The struggle for justice by the actual victims of Nazism, primarily Jews, was dismissed as an attempt at illicit enrichment.

It was not until the 1980s, with the election of former Wehrmacht intelligence officer Kurt Waldheim as federal president, that Austrians began to reconsider their attitude towards the past. Under external pressure and internal political discussion, the nation eventually admitted its collective responsibility for the crimes committed during the Nazi occupation and officially abandoned the "victim theory".

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