Leslie Massey
On March 12, 1938, German troops entered Austria, annexing the country for the Third Reich. This event, known as the Anschluss, saw Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg resign and Hitler install a new Nazi government. Austria was incorporated into Germany the next day, and existed as a federal state of Germany until the end of World War II. The annexation was retroactively approved in a plebiscite that was manipulated to show that about 99% of Austrians wanted the union. The Anschluss was the first act of territorial expansion by Nazi Germany, and it transformed Austria almost overnight, with Austrian and German Nazis working together to nazify all aspects of Austrian life.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year Austria fell to Nazi Germany | 1938 |
| Date of German troop entry | 12 March 1938 |
| Date of Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg's resignation | 11 March 1938 |
| Date of the Anschluss proclamation | 13 March 1938 |
| Date of the establishment of the Mauthausen concentration camp | Summer 1938 |
| Date of the start of systematic mass deportations from Vienna | October 1941 |
| Date of the Soviet occupation of Austria | April and May 1945 |
| Date of the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany | 1945 |
| Date of the release of Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg | 1945 |
| Date of the Moscow Declaration | 1943 |
| Date of the survey on Austrian national identity | 1987 |
| Percentage of Austrians who identified as "Germans" in 1987 | 6% |
| Percentage of Austrians who considered themselves their own nation in 2008 | 82% |
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What You'll Learn
Nazi sympathisers in Austria
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. This annexation, known as the Anschluss, saw Austria fall to Nazi Germany. The Nazi German regime's first act of territorial aggression and expansion was widely popular in both Germany and Austria. The Austrian chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, resigned on March 11, 1938, and pleaded with Austrian forces not to resist a German "advance" into the country.
Austria had a significant number of Nazi sympathizers, and the country's fall to Nazi Germany was facilitated by several factors, including the presence and activities of these sympathizers. The Austrian Nazi Party, linked to Hitler's NSDAP, gained support among the population, particularly after 1930 due to the economic crisis. The Nazis spread propaganda with slogans such as, "500,000 Unemployed – 400,000 Jews – Simple way out; vote National Socialist". The Austrian Legion, founded by Nazis who had fled to Bavaria, received military-style training and carried out terrorist attacks in Austria with financial and logistical support from Germany.
In July 1936, Chancellor Schuschnigg signed an agreement with the German ambassador, agreeing to release imprisoned Nazis in exchange for respecting Austrian sovereignty. However, this did not satisfy Hitler, and the pro-German Austrian Nazis continued to grow in strength. Anton Rintelen, who belonged to the Christian Social Party, is suspected of Nazi sympathy and was involved in a failed Nazi uprising in 1934. The Christian Social Party, which came second in the 1930 General Election, included German Nationalists and groups led by Riehl and Schulz, who had close ties to Hitler's party.
The annexation of Austria was a significant act of appeasement by European powers, as it allowed Hitler to continue his expansionist policies unchecked. The lack of outside pressure for political reform in Austria also contributed to the growth of Nazi sympathizers in the country. After the fall of Austria to Nazi Germany, many Austrians participated in the Nazi administration and the persecution of the country's Jewish population.
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Hitler's popularity in Austria
Austria was part of Nazi Germany from 13 March 1938 until 27 April 1945. The annexation of Austria, known as the Anschluss, was the Nazi German regime's first act of territorial aggression and expansion.
Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and moved to Germany in 1913. Like many Austrian Germans, Hitler developed German nationalist ideas from a young age. He expressed loyalty only to Germany, despising the declining Habsburg monarchy and its rule over an ethnically diverse empire. In 1926, Richard Suchenwirth founded the Austrian branch of Hitler's German National Socialist party in Vienna. The Austrian National Socialists linked to Hitler (Nazis) received only 779 votes in the 1927 General Election. In the General Election of 1930, the Austrian National Socialists received only 3.6% of the votes and failed to enter Parliament. However, in the following years, the Nazis gained votes, and after 1930, Hitler's NSDAP doubled its membership every year due to the economic crisis. One of their slogans was, "500,000 Unemployed – 400,000 Jews – Simple way out; vote National Socialist".
However, after World War II, many Austrians sought comfort in the myth of "Austria – the Nazis' first victim". This slogan was first used at the Moscow Conference in 1943 and became the ideological basis for Austria during the allied occupation of 1945-1955 and the sovereign state of the Second Austrian Republic (1955–1980s). The founders of the Second Austrian Republic interpreted this slogan to mean that the Anschluss was an act of military aggression by Nazi Germany, and therefore, Austria could not be held responsible for the Nazis' crimes.
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Nazi camps in Austria
Austria officially became a part of Nazi Germany on March 12, 1938, when German troops marched into the country to annex it for the Third Reich.
One of the most well-known Nazi camps in Austria was the Mauthausen concentration camp, located on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, roughly 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Linz in Upper Austria. It was one of the first massive concentration camp complexes in Nazi Germany and the last to be liberated by the Allies. The camp was founded by a private company as an economic enterprise, but it was controlled by the German state from the beginning. The site was chosen due to its proximity to a granite quarry and Linz. The first prisoners arrived at Mauthausen from the Dachau concentration camp on August 8, 1938, and they were forced to build their own camp and work in the quarries.
Mauthausen was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 subcamps located throughout Austria and southern Germany. The camp system included Gusen, Gunskirchen, Melk, Ebensee, Amstetten, and many others. The number of subcamps expanded over time, and in January 1945, the camps held roughly 85,000 inmates.
The camp was used for the imprisonment and murder of the Nazis' political and ideological enemies, including German, Austrian, and Czechoslovak socialists, communists, homosexuals, anarchists, and people of Romani origin. The inmates at Mauthausen and its subcamps were subjected to harsh living and working conditions and forced to work as slave labour. Those who were too sick or weak to work were transferred to other concentration camps for extermination or killed by lethal injection and cremated in the local crematorium.
In addition to Mauthausen and its subcamps, other Nazi camps in Austria included Lochau in the west and Strasshof in the east. In October 1941, the Nazis established centres in Vienna where Jews were assembled before being deported to ghettos in eastern Europe, mostly to Minsk, Riga, and Lodz. Thousands of Jews were also sent to concentration camps in Germany. By November 1942, only about 7,000 Jews remained in Austria, and many were in hiding.
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Austria's national identity
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria, annexing the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg, who had attempted to maintain his country's independence, was coerced into naming several Austrian Nazis to his cabinet and ultimately resigned. The next day, Adolf Hitler entered Austria with German troops and appointed a new Nazi government. Austria remained a federal state of Germany until the end of World War II.
The annexation of Austria, known as the Anschluss, was a significant event in the lead-up to World War II. It fulfilled Hitler's long-held desire for an Austro-German union, which he had expressed in his earliest writings and speeches. The Nazis aimed to eradicate any distinct Austrian identity, even renaming the country Ostmark to demote it from an empire to a province.
The origins of Austrian Nazism, or Austrian National Socialism, can be traced back to the early 20th century. It emerged as a pan-German movement, with the German Worker's Party (DAP) established in Austria in 1903. Austrian Nazis conspired to seize the Austrian government and unite with Nazi Germany, finding support among those who favoured a union with Germany. However, it is important to note that in the General Election of 1930, the Austrian National Socialists linked to Hitler's NSDAP received only 3.6% of the votes and failed to enter Parliament.
The rise of Austrian Nazism was influenced by several factors, including the economic crisis of the 1930s, which caused Hitler's NSDAP to double its membership annually. The party exploited anti-Semitic sentiments with slogans such as, "500,000 Unemployed – 400,000 Jews – Simple way out; vote National Socialist". Additionally, the Austrian Legion, formed by Nazis who had fled to Bavaria, received military training and carried out terrorist attacks in Austria with support from Germany.
After World War II, Austria's national identity underwent a transformation. The political ideology of Pan-Germanism fell into disfavor, and by 1987, only 6% of Austrians identified as Germans. The slogan "Austria – the Nazis' first victim" became a part of the national self-consciousness during the allied occupation and the early years of the Second Austrian Republic. It reflected the belief that the Anschluss was an act of aggression by Nazi Germany and that Austria bore no responsibility for Nazi crimes.
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Soviet occupation of Austria
On 12 March 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the country for the Third Reich. Austria existed as a federal state of Germany until the end of World War II. Following the war, in 1945, Austria was jointly occupied by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France. Vienna was similarly subdivided, with the central district collectively administered by the Allied Control Council.
The Soviet Union held Vienna's east, while the western suburbs were split between the British, American, and French sections. The Soviets assumed control over Austrian oil in their zone. The Soviet occupation of Austria lasted from 1945 until 1955. During this time, the Soviet leadership agreed upon the restoration of Austria as an independent state within its pre-1938 boundaries. The Soviet occupation of Austria was deeply unpopular, and eastern Vienna lost about 11% of its population as people fled the Soviet zone.
The Red Army lost 17,000 lives in the Battle of Vienna. Soviet troops engaged in systematic sexual violence against women, and repression against civilians harmed the Red Army's reputation. On 28 September 1945, Moscow issued an order forbidding violent interrogations. Throughout 1945 and 1946, all levels of Soviet command tried to contain desertion and plunder by rank and file.
In 1949, the film *The Third Man*, written by Graham Greene, depicted the bizarre arrangement of the shared centre of Vienna. In 1952, portraits of Stalin were wheeled through central Vienna. After Austrian promises of perpetual neutrality, Austria was accorded full independence on 15 May 1955, and the last occupation troops left on 25 October that year.
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Frequently asked questions
Austria fell to Nazi Germany on March 12, 1938, when German troops entered the country.
The union between Austria and Germany was known as the Anschluss.
Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg tried to resist the Nazi takeover by calling for a national vote to resolve the question of the Anschluss. However, he eventually gave in to pressure from Hitler, resigned on March 11, 1938, and asked Austrian forces not to resist the German advance.
The German annexation of Austria received the enthusiastic support of most of the Austrian population. However, it's important to note that neither Jews nor Roma (Gypsies) were allowed to vote in the plebiscite that approved the union.
The Anschluss transformed Austria overnight, and Austrian and German Nazis worked together to persecute the country's Jewish population. Systematic mass deportations of Jews from Vienna began in October 1941, and by November 1942, only about 7,000 Jews remained in Austria.
