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Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, marking the beginning of the country's involvement in World War II. The annexation, known as the Anschluss, was supported by a large majority of Austrians, and Austria remained a federal state of Germany until the end of the war. In the post-war period, Austria was jointly occupied by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union until it regained its independence in 1955.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year Austria was annexed to Germany | 1938 |
| Person who annexed Austria to Germany | Austrian-born Adolf Hitler |
| Support from Austrians | Overwhelming support from the Austrian population |
| Number of Austrians who joined the Nazi Party | 700,000 people or 10% of the population |
| Number of Austrians drafted into the Wehrmacht | 1.3 million between 1938 and 1945 |
| Number of drafted Austrians who never returned | 242,000 |
| Year Austria became independent after World War II | 1955 |
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What You'll Learn
German annexation of Austria in 1938
Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. This annexation was known as the Anschluss, which translates to "joinder", "connection", "unification", or "political union". The annexation occurred in several steps. First, in early 1938, Austrian Nazis conspired to seize the Austrian government by force and unite their nation with Nazi Germany. This was the second such conspiracy in four years, with the first occurring in 1934 and resulting in the assassination of Engelbert Dollfuss, the Austrian chancellor. After the 1934 conspiracy failed, leading Austrian Nazis fled to Germany but continued to push for unification.
In 1938, Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg learned of the conspiracy and met with Adolf Hitler in an attempt to reassert his country's independence. However, he was pressured into naming several top Austrian Nazis to his cabinet. On March 9, Schuschnigg called a national vote to resolve the question of the Anschluss once and for all. Before the plebiscite could take place, however, Schuschnigg resigned on March 11. In his resignation address, he pleaded with Austrian forces not to resist a German "advance" into the country.
On March 12, German troops marched into Austria, where they were met by enthusiastic crowds. Hitler appointed a new Nazi government, and on March 13, the Anschluss was proclaimed. Austria existed as a federal state of Germany until the end of World War II, when the Allied powers declared the Anschluss void and reestablished an independent Austria. The annexation was supported by a large majority of Austrians, with 700,000 people, or 10% of the population, joining the Nazi Party. The Wehrmacht drafted more than 1.3 million Austrians between 1938 and 1945, 242,000 of whom never returned home.
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The Austrian public's support for the Nazis
On March 12, 1938, German troops entered Austria and received the enthusiastic support of most of the population. The annexation of Austria to Germany was proclaimed on March 13, 1938, and Austrians expressed overwhelming enthusiasm for the Nazi takeover of their country. The Nazis quickly extended anti-Jewish legislation to Austria, and the Mauthausen concentration camp was established in the summer of 1938. This camp became the main Nazi camp in Austria, and during the war, forced labour using concentration camp prisoners became increasingly important to German armaments production.
The support for the Nazis among the Austrian public was not universal, however. Before World War II, Jews played an important role in Austria's economic and cultural life, and they comprised about 9 percent of Vienna's population. The Austrian public's support for the Nazis likely contributed to the intensification of anti-Semitic sentiment and violence in the country. In the lead-up to the German annexation of Austria, there was pogrom-like violence across the country, with Austrian Nazis and others attacking and humiliating Jews. They forced Jews to perform humiliating tasks, such as scrubbing the streets of Vienna while being mocked by jeering crowds.
The Austrian Nazi Party had been weak, divided, and ineffective in the late 1920s and early 1930s, but by 1931, the bulk of Austrian Nazis recognized Hitler as their leader. Hitler appointed a German Nazi to bring the Austrian party in line, and as his popularity in Germany increased, the Austrian Nazis gained more supporters in 1931 and 1932. The Nazis failed to get more than 25% of the votes in local elections in most areas, but they did receive over 40% in Zwettl and Innsbruck. They used this support to agitate against the ruling Patriotic Front, and a wave of Nazi-led terrorism crested in early June 1933 with four deaths and 48 people injured.
In the first half of 1934, 17 people were killed and 171 injured in a new wave of Nazi terrorist attacks. This time, government institutions were targeted far more than individuals. On July 25, 1934, the Nazis attempted a coup under the leadership of the Austrian SS. About 150 SS personnel forced their way into the Chancellor's office in Vienna. There was considerable fighting in parts of Carinthia, Styria, and Upper Austria, and limited resistance in Salzburg. Many thousand supporters of the Nazi Party were arrested.
After the annexation, many Austrians helped carry out the Nazification of their country. Austrian civil servants, soldiers, and police officers took a new oath to Adolf Hitler in public celebrations, often accompanied by parades. Hundreds of thousands of Austrians fought as German soldiers during World War II, and a substantial number served in the SS, the elite military corps of the Nazi Party. By the end of the war, approximately 250,000 Austrians had been killed or were missing in action.
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The Battle for Vienna in 1945
Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, with the support of the majority of Austrians. During World War II, the Wehrmacht drafted more than 1.3 million Austrians, 242,000 of whom never returned.
In 1941, Hitler's regime launched a genocidal war against the Soviet Union, marking the beginning of the Soviet Occupation of Austria. By 1945, the troops from the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts, numbering around 1 million, approached Austria's border from Hungary. In April 1945, with the fall of the Third Reich imminent, Soviet leaders began planning for the post-war period, which included a change in propaganda to differentiate ordinary Germans and Austrians from the Nazis.
In May 1945, the Red Army liberated hundreds of thousands of slave labourers in Austria, who frequently led the way in looting and attacking civilians. The army also recruited from these liberated prisoners, filling its ranks with individuals eager to exact revenge on the Germans.
The Soviet Occupation of Austria, and the mayhem of May 1945, is a significant chapter in the country's history.
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The Mauthausen concentration camp
German troops entered Austria on March 12, 1938, and the annexation of Austria to Germany was proclaimed on March 13, 1938.
Mauthausen initially served as a prison camp for common criminals, prostitutes, and other categories of "incorrigible law offenders". On May 8, 1939, it was converted into a labour camp for political prisoners. The SS designated Mauthausen a category III camp, indicating that it was a special penal camp with a harsh regime. Inmates in the punishment detail were forced to carry heavy stone blocks up 186 steps from the camp quarry, which became known as the "Stairway of Death".
During the war, forced labour using concentration camp prisoners became increasingly important to German armaments production. Mauthausen and its subcamps included quarries, munitions factories, mines, arms factories, and plants assembling Me 262 fighter aircraft. The production output of Mauthausen and its subcamps exceeded that of other large slave labour centres, making it one of the most profitable concentration camps.
During the second half of the war, prisoners at Mauthausen included women for the first time, and they were used as forced labourers in the arms industry. The number of prisoners arriving at Mauthausen increased dramatically, and they came from diverse backgrounds. In January 1945, the camps contained roughly 85,000 inmates, and by the end of the war, the total number of prisoners over seven years was around 190,000. Of these, at least 90,000 died, with some sources placing the number at half of the total inmates. On May 5, 1945, the US Army reached Mauthausen and Gusen, and the camp was liberated.
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Austria's postwar world
Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, with the support of the Austrian population. The country was renamed Ostmark, and Upper and Lower Austria became Upper and Lower Danube. The Nazis received support from Austrians during the war, with hundreds of thousands of Austrians fighting as German soldiers. After World War II, Austria was divided into four occupation zones, jointly occupied by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France. Vienna was also subdivided, with the central district collectively administered by the Allied Control Council.
In 1943, the Allies agreed that Austria would be treated as a victim of Nazi aggression, and in 1945, the first postwar democratic City Council elections in Vienna took place. However, the ensuing Cold War put Austria in a new ideological power struggle in Europe. The country remained under joint occupation by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union until 1955, when the United States and the Soviet Union reached an agreement for Austria to declare its perpetual neutrality in exchange for full independence.
The Austrian government regarded financial aid to the Soviet zone as crucial for the country's stability. The Marshall Plan, which aimed to provide economic support, was not initially popular, particularly among agricultural workers. While heavy industries quickly recovered, industries such as construction and small businesses suffered from rising unemployment.
In 1948, the "amnesty for the less incriminated" put a stop to the criminal prosecution of 487,067 people, the majority of whom were registered Nazis. Disputes between East and West during the Cold War meant that the prosecution of Nazi war criminals was deprioritized, and many perpetrators were reintegrated into Austrian society.
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Frequently asked questions
Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938.
Yes, it was called the Anschluss.
German troops entered Austria on March 12, 1938, and the annexation was proclaimed on March 13, 1938.
The British government had stated that it would not oppose the union of Austria and Germany. France and Great Britain protested the methods used by Hitler but accepted the outcome. The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, spoke of the "coercion, backed by force" that undermined Austrian independence.
The Germans quickly extended anti-Jewish legislation to Austria, and the Mauthausen concentration camp was established in the summer of 1938. Jews were driven out of public life, and their homes and shops were plundered.
