Ruqayyah Snyder
Austria has a long and complex history with Nazi Germany, which has led to the country wanting to excavate and understand its Nazi past. The country was annexed by Germany in 1938, and many Austrians supported the Nazi regime, with some even helping to carry out the Nazification of their country. However, there was also resistance, and after the war, Austria claimed to be a victim of German aggression. The country has since tried to come to terms with its Nazi past, with the government setting up the Historians' Commission to investigate Nazi property expropriation and provide restitution and compensation. The excavation of Nazi sites in Austria is part of this process of understanding and coming to terms with the country's history.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Reason for excavation | To prevent the site from becoming a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis |
| Location | Braunau am Inn, a town near Salzburg on the German border |
| Ownership | Owned by a retired local woman, rented by the Austrian government since 1972 |
| Outcome | The Austrian government seized the property and planned to tear down the house |
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What You'll Learn
Austria's role in Nazi Germany
Austria was part of Nazi Germany from 13 March 1938 until 27 April 1945. This event is known as the Anschluss, which translates to "connection" or "joining" in German. The annexation of Austria was the Nazi regime's first act of territorial aggression and expansion, violating the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain, which expressly forbade the unification of the two countries.
In the years leading up to the Anschluss, Austria experienced economic stagnation, political dictatorship, and intense Nazi propaganda. The Nazi Party gained support in Austria due to its appeal to German nationalists who wanted unity with Germany. The Austrian National Socialists linked to Hitler's NSDAP received only 3.6% of the votes in the 1930 general election and failed to enter Parliament. However, after 1930, the NSDAP doubled its membership every year due to the economic crisis, using slogans like "500,000 Unemployed – 400,000 Jews – Simple way out; vote National Socialist". Innsbruck, in particular, gave the Nazi Party some of its strongest support in Austria before the Anschluss.
On 12 March 1938, German troops entered Austria and received the enthusiastic support of most of the Austrian population. Austria was incorporated into Germany the next day, and the annexation was retroactively approved in a plebiscite that was manipulated to show that about 99% of Austrians wanted the union. The Nazis quickly extended anti-Jewish legislation to Austria, leading to an outburst of public violence against the Jewish population. The Mauthausen concentration camp, the main Nazi camp in Austria, was established in the summer of 1938. During World War II, 950,000 Austrians fought for the Nazi German armed forces, and other Austrians participated in the Nazi administration, including death camp personnel and senior Nazi leadership.
After World War II, many Austrians sought to portray their country as the first victim of the Nazis, and Austria did not undergo the same thorough process of denazification as post-war Germany. The subject of Austrian resistance versus collaboration with the Nazis has been a matter of public discourse, with the majority of Austrians having participated in the Nazi war machine.
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Nazi sites in Austria
Nazi archaeology was a field of pseudoarchaeology led by Nazi leaders and Ahnenerbe figures, such as Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. It directed archaeologists and other scholars to search Germany's archaeological past to find evidence supporting the alleged advanced, Aryan ancestry espoused by the ultranationalist Nazi Party. The search for an Aryan-centric national prehistory of Germany began after the country's defeat in World War I in 1918, which left it facing a severe economic crisis due to the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.
One of the leading experts in this field was German philologist and archaeologist Gustaf Kossinna, whose theories were further researched by Nazi organisations such as the Ahnenerbe, founded in 1935. The Ahnenerbe was an elite team of Schutzstaffel (SS) archaeologists, scientists, and historians who searched sacred archaeological sites for evidence of the Aryans of Atlantis.
The Nazis used archaeology as a propaganda tool to generate nationalistic pride and provide justifications for hostile takeovers. They funded archaeological projects and encouraged the public to get involved in the search for the past, using patriotism as a tool. Films and public journals, such as Die Kunde (The Message) and Germanen-Erbe (Germanic Heritage), also played a role in spreading interpretations of archaeological sites and Germany's prehistory.
While I could not find specific details of Nazi archaeological sites in Austria, the city of Salzburg was entered by German troops on March 12, 1938, with the support of the Salzburg Nazi Party. Additionally, the artist Siegfried Stoitzner, an honorary citizen of Dürnstein, Austria, was a member of the Nazi Party.
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Austria's antisemitism before Anschluss
Austria has a long history of antisemitism, which was particularly pronounced in the period leading up to the country's annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938, known as the Anschluss.
Before World War II, Jews played an important role in Austria's economic and cultural life. In 1938, there were approximately 192,000 Jews in Austria, with the overwhelming majority living in Vienna, the capital. However, the Jewish community in Austria faced increasing antisemitism in the years leading up to the Anschluss.
In the interwar period, the First Republic of Austria denied citizenship to former Habsburg monarchy Jews. This led to a brain drain of Jewish talent from the country. During this time, violent attacks by German National and National Socialist students against Jewish classmates became more frequent. In 1921, there was a significant antisemitic mob parade in Vienna. Jews were blamed for the downfall of Austria-Hungary and the Central Powers during World War I, similar to the "stab-in-the-back" myth propagated in Germany.
Vienna also elected an antisemitic mayor, Karl Lueger, during this period. Lueger removed Jews from positions in the city administration and forbade them from working in factories located in Vienna until his death in 1910. The intertwining of Jews and the attitude of the emperor towards them was complex. For example, from the middle of the 19th century, there were pressures from various national minorities within the multinational House of Habsburg Empire, which contributed to a climate of antisemitism.
The main emigration wave of Jews from Austria started in March 1938, with the Anschluss, and continued until November 1938, when nearly all synagogues in Austria were destroyed. By December 1939, the Jewish population in Vienna had decreased to 57,000, primarily due to emigration. The German racial Nuremberg Laws were immediately applied in Austria following the Anschluss, and Jews were forced out of the country's economic, social, and cultural life.
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Nazi support in Austria
Nazi Germany's troops entering Austria in 1938 received the enthusiastic support of most of the population. Throughout World War II, 950,000 Austrians fought for the Nazi German armed forces. Other Austrians participated in the Nazi administration, from death camp personnel to senior Nazi leadership. The majority of the bureaucrats who implemented the Final Solution were Austrian.
Innsbruck gave the Nazi Party some of its strongest support in Austria before the Anschluss. In the 1923 elections, the Nazi party won its first mandate, and a second in 1925, which was held by a city teacher. In 1927, the Greater German People's Party formed an alliance with the National Socialists and ran under the name of the “National Unit List”. Both Nazi parties ran separately and lost in 1929, winning just 1.4% of the vote. However, by 1930, Hitler's NSDAP had doubled its membership every year due to the economic crisis, with slogans such as "500,000 Unemployed – 400,000 Jews – Simple way out; vote National Socialist".
In 1933, the Austrian Nazi Party failed to win any seats in the general election, but its popularity grew in Austria after Hitler came to power in Germany. The idea of the country joining Germany also grew in popularity, thanks in part to a Nazi propaganda campaign. By 1938, the German annexation was retroactively approved in a plebiscite that was manipulated to indicate that about 99% of the Austrian people wanted the union (known as the Anschluss with Germany. However, it should be noted that neither Jews nor Roma (Gypsies) were allowed to vote in the plebiscite.
After World War II, many Austrians sought comfort in the myth of Austria as being the first victim of the Nazis. Although the Nazi Party was promptly banned, Austria did not have the same thorough process of denazification that was imposed on post-war Germany.
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Nazi nuclear sites in Austria
Austria was part of Nazi Germany from 13 March 1938 until 27 April 1945. During this time, the Nazis established concentration camps and used forced labour to build underground factories and tunnels for their weapons programs.
One such site was the Mauthausen concentration camp, located near an abandoned stone quarry along the Danube River, about 12.5 miles southeast of Linz. The camp held up to 320,000 inmates, many of whom were forced to work in brutal conditions, carrying heavy stone blocks up 186 steps from the quarry in what became known as the "Stairway of Death.". During World War II, the Nazis established subcamps under the administration of Mauthausen near armaments factories throughout northern Austria.
In 2014, a secret Nazi underground nuclear bunker was discovered in Austria by filmmaker Andreas Sulzer. The complex, located just outside the small town of St Georgen an der Gusen, near Linz, is believed to have been used for developing an atomic bomb. The site covers up to 75 acres and is thought to have been connected to the underground Bergkristall factory, where the Messerschmitt Me 262, the first jet-powered fighter plane, was built.
The existence of the bunker was first mentioned in the diaries of an Austrian physicist who worked for the Nazis and was confirmed using ground-penetrating radar technology. Evidence of the site was also found in intelligence reports and radiation tests, which revealed higher than normal levels of radioactivity in the area. The facility was built using slave labour from the nearby Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, and it is believed that prisoners with scientific skills, such as physicists and chemists, were handpicked to work on the Nazis' nuclear program.
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Frequently asked questions
Austria was part of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945, and many Austrians supported the Nazi regime and participated in its administration. After World War II, there was a lack of thorough denazification in the country. Excavating Nazi sites can help bring to light the truth about this dark period in history and provide closure to those affected.
A secret Nazi nuclear bunker and weapons factory was discovered near the town of St. Georgen an der Gusen in 2014. The site, which was built using slave labor from the nearby Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, is believed to have been used for developing and manufacturing nuclear weapons and other WMDs. Another example is the uncovering of the Mauthausen concentration camp, which became the main Nazi camp in Austria after its annexation in 1938.
One challenge has been obtaining the necessary permits to conduct excavations on historical sites. For example, police stopped excavations at the St. Georgen site due to a lack of proper permits, but the team is confident that the dig can be restarted soon. Additionally, there may be political sensitivities and tensions surrounding the excavation of Nazi sites, especially in areas with a history of Austrian domination, such as Czechoslovakia.
