Anexibility: Austria's Vulnerability Vs. Czechoslovakia's Resilience

Nazi Germany was relentless in its desire to absorb Austria, which culminated in the Anschluss of March 1938; when Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria before a plebescite on unification with Germany could be held. In Czechoslovakia, ethnic Germans constituted about 23% of the population, and were particularly concentrated in the Sudetenland, which wrapped around the western end of the country. Austria had a large German majority, whereas Czechoslovakia did not. Austria had long had a German majority population, and with the break-up of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, many Austrians felt slighted by the creation of so many new states on their old territory and fell back on their German identity in consequence.

No allies to help defend Austria

Austria had no allies to help defend itself and many Austrians accepted the unification of Austria and Germany. Nazi Germany was relentless in its desire to absorb Austria, and this culminated in the Anschluss of March 1938; when Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria before a plebiscite on unification with Germany could be held. The idea of a Pan-German state also resonated in Austria, where Nazism was proving popular -- and Austrian Nazis had even murdered the Chancellor in 1934 during an attempted coup. The Nazi Party of Germany was strongly rooted in Pan-German Nationalism, bringing all German people in Europe in one new state. Austria had a large German majority, Czechoslovakia didn't. Austria had long had a German majority population, and with the break-up of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, many Austrians felt slighted by the creation of so many new states on their old territory and fell back on their German identity in consequence. Adolph Hitler and the growing Nazi Party shared the resentment many Germans had at the loss of German territory with the new Europe that had emerged with the end of WW-1 and the Versailles Treaty of 1919.

Large German majority in Austria

Nazi Germany was relentless in its desire to absorb Austria, and this culminated in the Anschluss of March 1938; when Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria before a plebiscite on unification with Germany could be held. In Czechoslovakia, ethnic Germans constituted about 23% of the population, and were particularly concentrated in the Sudetenland, which wrapped around the western end of the country. These same mountains also were Prague sited most of the defences that as Nazi Germany grew stronger. The Nazis employed agents and propaganda to heighten the demands of the Sudeten Germans and threatened war... resulting in the Munich Crisis and the annexation of the Sudeten by Germany in October 1938.

Austria had a large German majority, Czechoslovakia didn't. Austria had long had a German majority population, and with the break-up of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, many Austrians felt slighted by the creation of so many new states on their old territory and fell back on their German identity in consequence. Adolph Hitler and the growing Nazi Party shared the resentment many Germans had at the loss of German territory with the new Europe that had emerged with the end of WW-1 and the Versailles Treaty of 1919. The notion of a greater Germany based on uniting most of the German people of Europe was a popular plank in the Nazi Platform.

The idea of a Pan-German state also resonated in Austria, where Nazism was proving popular -- and Austrian Nazis had even murdered the Chancellor in 1934 during an attempted coup. Austria had no allies to help defend itself and many Austrians accepted the Anschluss, or the unification, of Austria and Germany. The annexation of Austria by Germany made it stronger. It also helped Germany annex Czechoslovakia next. The annexation of Czechoslovakia made the German attack on Poland even easier.

Many Austrians accepted the Anschluss

The Anschluss of March 1938 was the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. The Nazi Party was strongly rooted in Pan-German Nationalism, which aimed to unite all German people in Europe into one new state. Austria had a large German majority, whereas Czechoslovakia had only about 23% of its population as ethnic Germans. Austria had long had a German majority population, and with the break-up of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, many Austrians felt slighted by the creation of so many new states on their old territory and fell back on their German identity in consequence.

The idea of a Pan-German state also resonated in Austria, where Nazism was proving popular. Austrian Nazis had even murdered the Chancellor in 1934 during an attempted coup. The Nazi Party of Germany shared the resentment many Germans had at the loss of German territory with the new Europe that had emerged with the end of WW-1 and the Versailles Treaty of 1919. The notion of a greater Germany based on uniting most of the German people of Europe was a popular plank in the Nazi Platform.

Nazi Germany was relentless in its desire to absorb Austria, and this culminated in the Anschluss of March 1938; when Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria before a plebescite on unification with Germany could be held. In Czechoslovakia, ethnic Germans constituted about 23% of the population, and were particularly concentrated in the Sudetenland, which wrapped around the western end of the country. These same mountains also were Prague's most of the defences that as Nazi Germany grew stronger. The Nazis employed agents and propaganda to heighten the demands of the Sudeten Germans and threatened war... resulting in the Munich Crisis and the annexation of the Sudeten by Germany in October 1938.

The annexation of Austria by Germany made it stronger. It also helped Germany annex Czechoslovakia next. The annexation of Czechoslovakia made the German attack on Poland even easier. Austria had no allies to help defend itself and many Austrians accepted the Anschluss, or the unification, of Austria and Germany.

Nazi Party was strongly rooted in Pan-German Nationalism

The Nazi Party was strongly rooted in Pan-German Nationalism, which sought to unite all German people in Europe into one new state. Austria had a large German majority, while Czechoslovakia did not. Austria had long had a German majority population, and with the break-up of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, many Austrians felt slighted by the creation of so many new states on their old territory and fell back on their German identity in consequence. Adolph Hitler and the growing Nazi Party shared the resentment many Germans had at the loss of German territory with the new Europe that had emerged with the end of WW-1 and the Versailles Treaty of 1919. The notion of a greater Germany based on uniting most of the German people of Europe was a popular plank in the Nazi Platform.

The idea of a Pan-German state also resonated in Austria, where Nazism was proving popular. Austrian Nazis had even murdered the Chancellor in 1934 during an attempted coup. Nazi Germany was relentless in its desire to absorb Austria, and this culminated in the Anschluss of March 1938; when Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria before a plebiscite on unification with Germany could be held. Many Austrians accepted the Anschluss, or the unification, of Austria and Germany. The annexation of Austria by Germany made it stronger and helped Germany annex Czechoslovakia next. The annexation of Czechoslovakia made the German attack on Poland even easier.

Resentment of the loss of German territory

Nazi Germany was relentless in its desire to absorb Austria, and this culminated in the Anschluss of March 1938; when Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria before a plebiscite on unification with Germany could be held. In Czechoslovakia, ethnic Germans constituted about 23% of the population, and were particularly concentrated in the Sudetenland, which wrapped around the western end of the country. These same mountains also were Prague sited most of the defences that as Nazi Germany grew stronger. The Nazi Party of Germany was strongly rooted in Pan-German Nationalism, bringing all German people in Europe in one new state. Austria had a large German majority, Czechoslovakia didn't. Austria had long had a German majority population, and with the break-up of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, many Austrians felt slighted by the creation of so many new states on their old territory and fell back on their German identity in consequence. Adolph Hitler and the growing Nazi Party shared the resentment many Germans had at the loss of German territory with the new Europe that had emerged with the end of WW-1 and the Versailles Treaty of 1919. The notion of a greater Germany based on uniting most of the German people of Europe was a popular plank in the Nazi Platform.

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