Leslie Massey
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. This event, known as the Anschluss, marked the beginning of Nazi rule in Austria and the union of the two countries. The invasion was led by Adolf Hitler, who had previously assured in a speech to the Reichstag in 1935 that Germany did not intend to annex Austria. However, in February 1938, Hitler changed course and demanded that the Austrian chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, appoint members of the Austrian Nazi Party to his cabinet. When Schuschnigg called for a plebiscite to decide the matter, Hitler decided to invade immediately to prevent the vote. The British and French governments did not strongly oppose the union, and Austria was completely absorbed into Germany, with any official memory of Austrian existence being suppressed.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Nazi invasion | 12 March 1938 |
| Reason for invasion | To unite Austria with Germany |
| Nazi leader | Adolf Hitler |
| Nazi government leader in Austria | Seyss-Inquart |
| Nazi propaganda | Hitler as a Christ-like messiah |
| Nazi supporters in Austria | Austrian Nazis |
| Nazi opponents in Austria | Anti-Nazi Austrian political parties |
| Nazi actions | Arrests, expropriation of property, intimidation, violence, and deportation |
| Nazi victims | Jews, communists, socialists, and other "unwanted" citizens |
| Nazi ideology | Racist, immoral, and evil |
| Nazi symbols and slogans | Illegal in Germany and Austria |
| Nazi laws | Annulled and declared null and void after the war |
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What You'll Learn
Hitler's invasion of Austria, March 12, 1938
On March 12, 1938, Hitler accompanied the German army to invade Austria, crossing the border to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. This event, known as the Anschluss, was the culmination of a series of conspiracies and political manoeuvres by Austrian Nazis and Hitler himself, who was determined to unite Austria with Nazi Germany.
In early 1938, Austrian Nazis made a second attempt in four years to seize the Austrian government by force and unite with Germany. Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg, aware of the plot, met with Hitler in February to assert Austria's independence. However, he was coerced into appointing members of the Austrian Nazi Party to his cabinet. On March 9, Schuschnigg called for a national plebiscite or referendum on the issue of annexation, scheduled for March 13.
Hitler, however, was not willing to wait for the vote. On March 11, he threatened to invade Austria and demanded Schuschnigg's resignation, which was given. Hitler also demanded that the president of Austria, Wilhelm Miklas, appoint Arthur Seyss-Inquart, a member of the Austrian Nazi Party, as the new chancellor. When Miklas refused, Hitler ordered the invasion to begin at dawn on March 12.
Hitler accompanied the German troops, including the 8th Army of the German Wehrmacht, into Austria, where they were met with enthusiasm by some Austrians. A Nazi government was established, headed by Seyss-Inquart, who was installed as chancellor just after midnight on March 12. On March 13, the Anschluss was officially proclaimed, and Austria became a federal state of Germany until the end of World War II.
The Anschluss was met with protests from France and Great Britain, but they ultimately accepted it. The United States followed a policy of appeasement, while the Soviet Union called for the League of Nations to handle the matter and stop further German aggression. Mexico was the only country to lodge a formal protest against the Anschluss with the League of Nations.
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Austria's chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, resigns
On March 11, 1938, two demands were made of Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg: the postponement of the plebiscite and his resignation. Schuschnigg had become Chancellor in 1934 after the assassination of his predecessor, Engelbert Dollfuss. Although Schuschnigg considered Austria a "German state", he was strongly opposed to Adolf Hitler's goal of absorbing Austria into the Third Reich and wished for it to remain independent.
Fearing that Hitler intended to take over Austria, Schuschnigg called for a national plebiscite to take place on Sunday, March 13, so that Austrians could decide for themselves whether they wished to become part of the Third Reich. However, when Hitler heard of this, he decided to invade Austria to prevent the vote. On March 11, Schuschnigg became aware of the coming invasion and offered to resign to avoid bloodshed. Hitler immediately demanded that the president of Austria, Wilhelm Miklas, appoint an Austrian member of the Nazi Party as the nation's next chancellor.
Miklas refused, and Hitler ordered the invasion to begin at dawn the next day. German troops, accompanied by Hitler himself, entered Austria on March 12, 1938, to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. A Nazi government in Austria, headed by Arthur Seyss-Inquart, was established and collaborated with Hitler in proclaiming the Anschluss on March 13. Schuschnigg resigned his office, and after the Anschluss, he was arrested, kept in solitary confinement, and eventually interned in various concentration camps.
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Nazi government in Austria, headed by Seyss-Inquart
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. This was the culmination of a conspiracy by Austrian Nazis to seize the Austrian government and unite with Nazi Germany.
Arthur Seyss-Inquart was an Austrian Nazi leader and an unwavering anti-Semite. He served in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I and later became a lawyer in Vienna. In June 1937, he was appointed to the Austrian Staatsrat (federal council of state) to bring the Nazis into cooperation with the government. In February 1938, he was named minister of interior and security, and on March 11, 1938, he replaced Kurt von Schuschnigg as chancellor, the eve of the German invasion. Seyss-Inquart was a leader of the moderate "legal" faction of the Austrian Nazis and had long been a proponent of German-Austrian unification.
On March 13, 1938, Seyss-Inquart joined the Nazi Party and drafted the legislative act reducing Austria to a province of Germany, which he signed into law. With Hitler's approval, he became Governor (Reichsstatthalter) of the newly named Ostmark (formerly Austria), becoming Hitler's personal representative in the country.
As the Nazi governor of Austria, Seyss-Inquart ordered the confiscation of Jewish property and sent Jews to concentration camps. He collaborated with Hitler in proclaiming the Anschluss, the union of Austria with Germany. He also served in occupied Poland and the Netherlands during World War II, where he was responsible for the deportation of Dutch Jews and the imposition of complete economic subordination to Germany. At the Nuremberg trials, Seyss-Inquart was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and was executed in 1946.
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Austria renamed Ostmark, Upper and Lower Austria
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. Austrian Nazis had conspired to seize the Austrian government and unite with Nazi Germany. After the resignation of Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg, German troops, accompanied by Hitler himself, entered Austria. A Nazi government in Austria, headed by Seyss-Inquart, was established. This government collaborated with Hitler in proclaiming the union between Austria and Germany (Anschluss) on March 13, 1938.
Following the annexation, the Nazi government renamed the incorporated territory. The name Austria (Österreich in German, meaning "Eastern Realm") was replaced by "Ostmark", referring to the 10th-century Marcha orientalis. The change was meant to refer to Austria as the new "'eastern march' of the Reich". From April 8, 1942, as the term "Ostmark" was still reminiscent of the old, independent state of Austria, the chosen official name for the seven entities was Alpen- und Donau-Reichsgaue ("Danubian and Alpine Reichsgaue").
The former states of Austria were reorganised into seven Reichsgaue of the German Reich, each under the rule of a government official holding the dual offices of Reichsstatthalter (governor) and Gauleiter (Nazi Party leader). Upper and Lower Austria became Upper and Lower Danube. Lower Danube (Niederdonau), the name for Lower Austria, included the northern districts of Burgenland and the South Moravian territories around Znojmo. Upper Danube (Oberdonau), the name for Upper Austria, included the Styrian Aussee region and the South Bohemian territories around Český Krumlov.
The Nazis also arrested many leaders of the anti-Nazi Austrian political parties and a great number of political opponents, particularly communists and socialists. The Viennese events during Kristallnacht on November 9–10, 1938, demonstrated that antisemitism was more virulent and violent in Austria than in most other German areas. By the time World War II began in 1939, more than 100,000 Jews (roughly half of all Austrian Jews) had left Austria.
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Nazi expropriation of Austrian Jewish property
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. This was the first step in a prolonged period of economic stagnation, political dictatorship, and intense Nazi propaganda inside Austria. The annexation of Austria to Germany was proclaimed on March 13, 1938, and the country was quickly incorporated into Germany.
The confiscation of Jewish property in Austria began immediately following the annexation. During the first weeks, Austrians ransacked and plundered Jewish property, despite the Nazis issuing explicit regulations against uncontrolled looting. These unsanctioned "Aryanizations" were accompanied by the public degradation and humiliation of Jews, indicating that property confiscations were closely tied to the stripping of Jews' identity as Austrians and human beings.
During Kristallnacht, a short but devastating period of pogroms against Jewish people and property throughout Germany on November 9-10, 1938, a significant percentage of the Jews killed were in Vienna. Dozens of synagogues and hundreds of Jewish shops and apartments were destroyed and plundered. The degradation of the Austrian Jewish community, including the widespread threats against Jews' lives, the destruction or "Aryanization" (forcible confiscation) of Jewish property, and the exiling of Austrian Jews, became known as the "'Viennese model'. This model served as the basis for the Nazis' later expulsion of Jews from all of Germany and German-occupied countries.
By the time World War II began in 1939, more than 100,000 Jews, roughly half of all Austrian Jews, had left Austria. During the war, German policy shifted from one of expropriation and Jewish emigration to one of forced deportation. Thousands of Jews were deported from Austria to occupied Poland and other parts of occupied Eastern Europe.
In the postwar period, several property restitution laws were passed, allowing owners of real estate to reclaim expropriated or "aryanized" property. However, large-scale restitution moved very slowly, and the State of Austria's reliance on the 1943 Moscow Declaration, which claimed Austria as the first victim of Nazi aggression, created legal obstacles to justice for Jewish and other persecuted victims.
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Frequently asked questions
The Nazis took Austria on March 12, 1938.
The annexation of Austria was known as the Anschluss.
German troops, accompanied by Hitler himself, entered Austria on March 12, 1938. A Nazi government in Austria, headed by Seyss-Inquart, was established.
A plebiscite in Austria on April 10, 1938, resulted in over 99% of the eligible population voting in favor of the Nazis.
The British and French governments pursued a policy of appeasement, and the Soviet Union demanded that the West should stop further German aggression. The government of Mexico was the only government to formally protest the Anschluss.
