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Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, an event known as the Anschluss. This marked the first act of territorial aggression by the Nazi regime and was widely popular in both Germany and Austria. The annexation was the culmination of years of rising support for the Nazi Party in Austria, which had been banned by the Austrian government. The Nazis had waged a propaganda and terror campaign since 1933, and after the fall of the Austrian monarchy, the Austrian party had cooperated closely with the German Workers' Party (DAP) and Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). The Nazis aimed to unite all Germans, both inside and outside of the Reich, to create a Greater Germany, and Hitler had written in Mein Kampf (1925) of his desire to unite his birth country of Austria with Germany.
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What You'll Learn
- The Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss transformed Austria into a right-wing authoritarian regime
- Hitler's annexation of Austria was met with little resistance and support from the British government
- The Austrian Jewish community faced degradation, including expropriation, Aryanization, and expulsion
- Austrians fought as German soldiers and served in the SS during World War II
- Austria portrayed itself as Hitler's first victim to exonerate the population morally
The Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss transformed Austria into a right-wing authoritarian regime
Engelbert Dollfuss was appointed Austrian chancellor in May 1932. He was a member of the conservative and clerically oriented Christian Social Party, which formed a coalition government with the right-wing agrarian Landbund party and the parliamentary wing of the paramilitary ultra-nationalist group, Heimatblock.
Dollfuss's government was characterised by infighting and violence, and he soon became concerned about the rise of the Austrian National Socialists (DNSAP) and the increasing influence of the Soviet Union in Europe. In May 1933, he banned the Communist Party of Austria, and in June 1933, he banned the DNSAP. Under the banner of the Fatherland Front, he established a one-party dictatorship, banning all other Austrian parties, including the Social Democratic Labour Party (SDAPÖ).
Dollfuss's regime was diplomatically aligned with Fascist Italy and authoritarian Hungary, and he was committed to crushing the political left in Austria. He attacked Parliament, culminating in the permanent abolition of the legislature in September 1933. In April 1934, he staged a rump parliamentary session with only Fatherland Front members present to approve a new constitution, which became effective on 1 May 1934. This new constitution swept away the last remnants of democracy and established the Federal State of Austria as a one-party authoritarian state based on Italian Fascism.
Dollfuss's authoritarian regime and opposition to the Anschluss made him a target for Austrian Nazis, and he was assassinated on 25 July 1934 by a group of Austrian Nazis. After his death, Austria continued to be increasingly Nazified, with German troops entering Austria in March 1938 and a Nazi government being established. By the time World War II began in 1939, more than 100,000 Jews had left Austria, and when the war ended in 1945, more than 65,000 Austrian Jews had perished.
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Hitler's annexation of Austria was met with little resistance and support from the British government
The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, known as the Anschluss, was met with little resistance from Austria and little opposition from the British government.
On March 12, 1938, German soldiers crossed the Austrian border in tanks and armoured vehicles, encountering no armed resistance. Instead, they were greeted by cheering Austrians with Nazi salutes, Nazi flags, and flowers. Austrians welcomed Hitler warmly as he travelled first to Linz and then on to Vienna. This "invasion" without shots fired was dubbed the Blumenkrieg ("Flower War"). The Austrian government had instructed the military not to resist, and the Austrian chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, had resigned in the face of German pressure.
The Anschluss was the Nazi regime's first act of territorial aggression and expansion. It was a significant breach of the post-World War I international order. However, the international community, including Britain, did not intervene to stop it or punish Nazi Germany for violating international treaties. By the winter of 1937-1938, Austria was diplomatically isolated and facing an increasingly aggressive Nazi Germany. Both the French and the British had accepted a union between Austria and Germany as inevitable, and the British government had made it known that it would not oppose such a union.
The idea of a united Austria and Germany, or a "Greater Germany," had gained support among Austrians after World War I. Austrian politics had been characterized by infighting and violence, and the rise of the Nazis in 1933 further destabilized the country. Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss transformed Austria into a right-wing authoritarian regime, which brutally repressed Austrian Social Democrats. This repression alienated potential allies like Britain and France, and by 1938, Austria was diplomatically isolated.
Hitler, an Austrian himself, had written about the need for German-Austria to return to the "great German motherland" in his 1925 book, Mein Kampf. In February 1938, he demanded that Schuschnigg appoint members of Austria's Nazi Party to his cabinet and give them full political rights, threatening an invasion otherwise. Despite initially resisting, Schuschnigg ultimately gave in to Hitler's demands, and German troops entered Austria on March 12, accompanied by Hitler himself. A Nazi government in Austria, headed by Arthur Seyss-Inquart, was established, and on March 13, the Anschluss was proclaimed, formally incorporating Austria into Nazi Germany.
The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, reminded Parliament that Britain had no treaty obligations with Austria. Only Winston Churchill, then a member of Parliament, spoke out against the annexation, declaring that the gravity of the event could not be exaggerated.
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The Austrian Jewish community faced degradation, including expropriation, Aryanization, and expulsion
Austria officially became part of Hitler's Germany in March 1938. This annexation, known as the Anschluss, saw the beginning of the terror for most of the Austrian Jewish population. The Austrian Jewish community faced degradation, including expropriation, Aryanization, and expulsion.
In mid-March 1938, the Nazis and their Austrian followers began a rapid expropriation of Austrian Jewish property. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) spent close to $2 million between 1938 and 1941 on swift Austrian Jewish emigration. The funds were administered via the official Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien (IKG), the only Jewish organization allowed to function following the Anschluss. The JDC also provided aid for rehabilitation, reconstruction, and refugees.
The Nazis also Aryanized Jewish property, which was later addressed by restitution laws passed between 1946 and 1949. On May 10, 1945, the "Law on the Recording of Aryanized and Other Property Confiscated in Connection with the National Socialist Seizure of Power" was passed. This law required people whose property had been confiscated after March 13, 1938, to register it. However, the process of reclaiming expropriated or Aryanized property was challenging and protracted. A JDC report from March 24, 1947, highlighted the urgent problem of property restitution in Vienna, noting that 2,600 Jewish homes and several hundred buildings belonging to the Kultusgemeinde had not yet been returned.
The Austrian Jewish community also faced expulsion, with many fleeing the country due to persecution. Despite the liberation of Austria by the Soviet Army in May 1945, the postwar Austrian governments made little effort to encourage those expelled from the country to return. Dire living circumstances, especially the lack of available housing in Vienna, created a situation where even the leadership of the Austrian Jewish community did not encourage former Jewish residents to come back.
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Austrians fought as German soldiers and served in the SS during World War II
Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, with the support of the majority of the Austrian population. This annexation, known as the Anschluss, saw Austria become an integral part of the Third Reich, with 700,000 people, or 10% of the population, joining the Nazi Party.
During World War II, hundreds of thousands of Austrians fought as German soldiers. A significant number of Austrians served in the SS, the elite military corps of the Nazi Party. The Wehrmacht drafted more than 1.3 million Austrians between 1938 and 1945, and by the end of the war, approximately 250,000 Austrians had been killed or were missing in action. Many others were held as prisoners of war, and more than 20,000 Austrians were killed in US and British bombing raids. Austrians were overrepresented not only in the system of terror against Jews but also on the battlefields.
Austrian Nazis took over the country without firing a single shot. The German annexation of Austria was facilitated by the presence of several German generals, who intimidated Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg. Schuschnigg attempted to assert Austrian independence by calling a plebiscite (referendum) on March 9, 1938, but he ultimately gave in to Hitler's demands. German troops entered Austria on March 12, 1938, and were greeted with cheers and flowers.
The Austrian resistance to Nazism was relatively small, with an estimated 100,000 Austrian opponents to the regime. These resistance groups were often ideologically separated and reflected the spectrum of political parties before the war. Most resistance groups were exposed by the Gestapo and their members executed.
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Austria portrayed itself as Hitler's first victim to exonerate the population morally
Austria has long portrayed itself as "Hitler's first victim" to exonerate the population morally. This narrative, known as the "victim myth," has been used in various contexts, including the 1955 State Treaty negotiations and restitution debates, to absolve Austrians of complicity in Nazi crimes during World War II.
The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, known as the "Anschluss," occurred in March 1938. While this event is often presented as an imposition of Nazi rule on an unwilling Austria, the historical reality is more complex. In the lead-up to the Anschluss, Austrian politics were marked by infighting and instability, with the rise of Austrofascism and the growth of support for the Austrian Nazi Party. Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss established an authoritarian regime, the Corporate State, which was diplomatically aligned with Fascist Italy and authoritarian Hungary.
As Hitler's popularity in Germany grew, Austrian Nazis gained supporters, and their propaganda and terror campaigns intensified. The annexation itself was met with enthusiasm by many Austrians, who cheered and welcomed Hitler during his visit to Vienna. Austrians actively participated in the persecution of the country's Jewish population, with pogroms organized by Austrians themselves. The "Viennese model" of Jewish degradation, including threats, property confiscation, and exile, served as a blueprint for Nazi policies across Germany and occupied territories.
However, the narrative of Austria as Hitler's first victim persisted. This myth was perpetuated by declarations such as the Moscow Declaration of 1943, which described Austria as "the first free country to fall a victim to Hitlerite aggression." Even in the post-war period, during Austria's first national exhibition at the memorial in 1978, the country continued to portray itself as a victim of Nazi aggression.
While it is true that some Austrians resisted Nazi rule and suffered as a result, the victim myth obscures the extent of Austrian collaboration and complicity in Nazi crimes. The myth has been used to exonerate the population morally and distance Austria from its Nazi past, downplaying the active participation of many Austrians in the implementation of Nazi policies.
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Frequently asked questions
Nazi Germany annexed Austria on March 12, 1938, and the country was renamed Ostmark.
The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany is known as the Anschluss, which in German means "connection" or "joining".
The Anschluss resulted in an outburst of public violence against Austrian Jews. Thousands of Jews were deported from Austria to occupied Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe. By November 1942, only about 7,000 Jews remained in Austria.
The Mauthausen concentration camp was established in the summer of 1938 after the German annexation of Austria. It was the main Nazi camp in Austria and was designated a special penal camp with a harsh regimen.
