Anschluss with Austria

Question 1

What happened in 1934-38 in Austra?

Answer 1

• 1934:
  The Austrian Chancellor, Dollfuss, tried to crack down on the Socialists and Nazis in Austria (political factions that he thought were tearing the country apart). Dollfuss banned the Nazi party.
  In 1934, Hitler ordered the Austrian Nazis to create havoc in Austria. This turned into an attempt to overthrow the government. Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss was murdered in the chaos in July 1934.
  BUT the attempted coup failed because the Austrian military intervened to back up the government.
  Italy had an agreement with Austria that it would protect Austria from outside aggression. The Italian dictator, Mussolini, honoured the agreement and moved Italian troops to the Austrian border to deter Hitler from invading.
• From 1936-7:
  Mussolini would not defend Austrians after signing Rome-Berlin axis and Anti-Comintern pact.
• Background to Anschluss:
  Austrian Nazis started trouble in Austria, inciting riots and protests against the Austrian gvt. They wanted to join with Nazi Germany.
  February 1938: Schuschnigg travelled to meet Hitler at Berchtesgaden. They signed an agreement. Hitler made Schuschnigg, Austrian Chancellor, restore Nazi party rights and free political prisoners and appoint Seyss-Inquart to be the minister of interior to give him control of police.
  Schuschnigg responded by stating that he would hold a plebiscite about whether Austria should remain independent

Question 2

Step 1:

Answer 2

12th February 1938:
- Meeting between Hitler and Schuschnigg at Berchtesgaden. They signed an agreement. Hitler made Schuschnigg, Austrian Chancellor, restore Nazi party rights and free political prisoners and appoint Seyss-Inquart to be the minister of interior to give him control of police.

Question 3

Step 2:

Answer 3

9th March 1938:
- In a desperate act, Schuschnigg announced a plebiscite: Austrian vote about if they wanted to be a part of Hitler’s Germany. Hitler was furious. If the vote went against joining Germany his excuse for invasion would be ruined.

Question 4

Step 3:

Answer 4

10th March 1938:
- Hitler told his generals to prepare for the invasion of Austria. He ordered Schuschnigg to call off the plebiscite. Knowing Italy, France and Britain would not help, Schuschnigg called off the referendum and resigned on 11th March.

Question 5

Step 4:

Answer 5

12th March 1938:
- German troops invaded Austria, ordered in by Hitler. Hitler proclaimed that Anschluss had been achieved. Unopposed by Austrian troops. Hitler now controlled Austria. Hitler was helped by Austrian Nazi minister Seyss-Inquart.

Question 6

Step 5:

Answer 6

13th March 1938:
- Seyss Inquart and Hitler signed an agreement uniting Austria and Germany. Hitler announced Austria and Germany were a single country. Austrian opponents sent to concentration camps.

Question 7

Step 6:

Answer 7

April 1938:
- Hitler held a rigged referendum (plebiscite). The results showed that the Austrian people approved of German control of their country.

Question 8

Was the plebiscite in 1938 fair?

Answer 8

• a Nazi propaganda campaign encouraged people to vote for Anschluss
• Austrian citizens of Jewish or Gypsy/Roma heritage were not allowed to vote
• voting was not secret - having to vote under supervision of campaign workers may have pressured people to vote yes
• “Yes” was placed in the centre of the paper and was much larger than “No”
• The result showed that 99.7% of voters approved of German control of their country.

Question 9

What were the later stages in Hitler’s annexation of Austria?

Answer 9

• German campaigning: In 1938, Hitler ordered the Austrian Nazi Party to begin a campaign in Austria for union with Germany. Riots and demonstrations followed. Some felt that the Austrian gvt had acted ruthlessly against the Nazis. Austrian gvt could no longer rely on Italian support.
• Berchtesgaden: In 1938, Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg met Hitler at Berchtesgaden (in Bavaria) and (i) agreed to a greater Nazi presence within Austria (ii) appointed a Nazi minister of police and (iii) announced an amnesty for all Nazi prisoners. Schuschnigg hoped that agreeing to Hitler’s demands would prevent a German invasion.
• But Hitler insisted on greater German influence in Austria- placing German troops in Austria. - Schuschnigg repudiated the Berchtesgaden agreement, demanding a plebiscite on Anschluss.
• Plebiscite: proposed by Schuschnigg for March 1938. This prompted Hitler to act. He ordered German troops to the border to prevent this taking place. Austrian Leadership: Schuschnigg resigned and, his successor as Austrian Chancellor, Seyss-Inquart invited the Germans into Austria to restore order. Seyss-Inquart then served as chancellor for a brief spell in March 1938, before Hitler took control of the country.
• Anschluss achieved: The union between Austria and Germany was established on 14th March 1938. - Plebiscite: 99.75% in favour of the union, April 1938, voting was watched by Nazi troops.

Question 10

What was Government responses to alternative policies, as advocated by Churchill and others?

Answer 10

• In contrast to Chamberlain, Churchill issued countless warnings concerning: the nature of Hitler’s ambitions, the need for Britain to rearm and the need for Britain to take a more aggressive stance towards the dictators of Europe.
• He had been the only clear cut and consistent opposition voice to appeasement. Yett few supported Churchill’s views before 1939, either within his own party, the House of Commons or the public at large.
• He was occasionally supported by Brendan Bracken, Duncan Sandys and Robert Boothby but support for him was neither constant nor consistent.

Question 11

Why was Churchill ignored within Parliament?

Answer 11

• Churchill was considered a political “has-been”. When in office, Churchill seemed merely to trumpet the calls of whatever office he held.
• Over the previous decade, he had made a number of political miscalculations and had not proved popular.
• He had supported Edward VIII during the abdication crisis and made himself head of the King’s party.
• Churchill had made a fuss over German rearmament in 1934 but had been pretty quiet in 1935-6
  Churchill was noticeably quiet over Abyssinia unlike over Manchuria. He also supported non-intervention in Spanish Civil War.
• Thus Churchill’s views were not deemed consistent and he was continually vociferous.
• Chamberlain disliked Churchill and was not prepared to have him in the Cabinet. Chamberlain believed in himself and his policy of appeasement and not prepared to have any dissident voices in his cabinet.
• Most Conservatives believed in Chamberlain as P.M. - it was noticeable that he was not forced to resign at the outbreak of war.

Question 12

What was the impact of Anschluss?

Answer 12

Reactions in Britain and position of France
Theoretically, the Austrian Nazi leader Seyss-Inquart had ‘invited’ the Germans in….
BUT, in reality, no preparations for the invasion had been made in London. Eden had just resigned and Halifax had become Foreign Secretary.
During the crisis, the French had no government. France had a large army but no will to act.
The absence of any accord with Italy made it difficult for Britain and France to act. Italy now alliance with Germany
Anschluss was completed without any military confrontation.
Chamberlain felt Austria and Germany had a right to be united if they desired it and the Treaty of Versailles was wrong to forbid it.
BUT AUSTRIA WAS A RICH REWARD FOR HITLER:
Germany gained Austria’s land, military, weapons, rich gold & iron ore deposits.
Again it was a breach of the Treaty of Versailles but there were no military consequences
Chamberlain responded to events by further increasing military spending in the UK, by building air raid defences and making plans for compulsory military service.

Question 13

Anschluss Summary

Answer 13

• On this day, Adolf Hitler announced an “Anschluss” (union) between Germany and Austria, in fact annexing the smaller nation into a greater Germany.
• Union with Germany had been a dream of Austrian Social Democrats since 1919. The rise of Adolf Hitler and his authoritarian rule made such a proposition less attractive, though, which was an ironic twist, since a union between the two nations was also a dream of Hitler’s, a native Austrian.
• Despite the fact that Hitler did not have the full approval of Austrian Social Democrats, the rise of a pro-Nazi right-wing party within Austria in the mid-1930s paved the way for - Hitler to make his move.
• In 1938, Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg, bullied by Hitler during a meeting at Hitler’s retreat home in Berchtesgaden, agreed to a greater Nazi presence within Austria
• He appointed a Nazi minister of police and
  announced an amnesty for all Nazi prisoners.
• Schuschnigg hoped that agreeing to Hitler’s demands would prevent a German invasion.
• But Hitler insisted on greater German influence on the internal affairs of Austria-even placing German army troops within Austria–and Schuschnigg repudiated the agreement signed at Berchtesgaden, demanding a plebiscite on the question.
• Through the machinations of Hitler and his devotees within Austria, the plebiscite was cancelled, and Schuschnigg resigned.
• The Austrian president, Wilhelm Miklas, refused to appoint a pro-Nazi chancellor in Schuschnigg’s stead. German foreign minister Hermann Goering then faked a crisis by engineering a “plea” for German assistance from inside the Austrian government (really from a German agent).
• On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria.
• Hitler announced his Anschluss, and a plebiscite was finally held on April 10. Whether the plebiscite was rigged or the resulting vote simply a testament to Austrian terror at Hitler’s determination, the Fuhrer garnered a whopping 99.7 percent approval for the union of Germany and Austria.
• Austria was now absorbed by Germany.