German Troops Enter Austria Beginning the Anschluss

Context

The idea of uniting Austria with Germany had deep roots in the 19th century, when debates over a greater German nation-state left Austria outside the Prussian-led empire formed in 1871. After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, the new Austrian republic briefly declared itself part of a greater Germany, but the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain explicitly prohibited any such union to prevent the creation of a larger and more powerful German state. Economic hardship in the small, landlocked country kept the concept alive in Austrian political discourse through the 1920s and 1930s, though support varied across the political spectrum.

Adolf Hitler, an Austrian by birth, viewed the incorporation of Austria as a central goal once he became chancellor of Germany in 1933. Nazi agents worked to undermine the Austrian government led by the conservative Fatherland Front, which favored independence. An attempted Nazi coup in July 1934 that assassinated Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss failed, driving many Austrian Nazis into exile in Germany. By 1937 Hitler had privately informed his military leadership of his intention to annex Austria and Czechoslovakia as part of a broader redrawing of Europe's borders.

What Happened

Tensions escalated in February 1938 when Hitler summoned Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg to his mountain residence at Berchtesgaden. Under threat of invasion, Schuschnigg agreed to appoint the Austrian Nazi Arthur Seyss-Inquart as minister of the interior and security. On March 9, Schuschnigg attempted to counter the growing pressure by announcing a national referendum on Austrian independence scheduled for March 13. Hitler responded immediately with new demands for cancellation of the vote and Schuschnigg's resignation.

Faced with internal Nazi agitation and the threat of German troops massing at the border, Schuschnigg resigned on March 11. President Wilhelm Miklas reluctantly appointed Seyss-Inquart chancellor. Within hours Seyss-Inquart, acting on instructions from Berlin, invited German forces to enter Austria to restore order. On March 12 the German army crossed the frontier unopposed; Austrian military commanders had received orders to stand down. German troops encountered enthusiastic crowds in many towns and were showered with flowers, an event later termed the Blumenkrieg.

Hitler crossed into Austria the following day and proceeded to Vienna. On March 13 the Austrian government formally proclaimed the country's incorporation into the German Reich, ending Austria's existence as an independent state. A controlled plebiscite held on April 10 under Nazi supervision produced an official result of more than 99 percent approval.

Aftermath

Austria was rapidly integrated into the administrative, legal, and economic structures of the Third Reich. Nazi authorities and local supporters began the systematic Nazification of Austrian institutions, while public violence against Jews erupted almost immediately. The country ceased to exist as a sovereign entity, its name changed to Ostmark within the Reich.

The major European powers registered only verbal protests. Britain and France issued statements of disapproval but took no further action, confirming Hitler's belief that the post-Versailles order could be dismantled without military consequences.

Legacy

The Anschluss demonstrated the effectiveness of Hitler's strategy of combining diplomatic pressure, internal subversion, and the threat of force. It emboldened further aggressions, most immediately the occupation of the Sudetenland later that year and the full dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Historians regard the event as a critical milestone on the path to World War II in Europe, illustrating the failure of appeasement and the collapse of the international system established after 1919.

In postwar Austria the Anschluss has been interpreted both as an act of foreign conquest and as a moment of widespread domestic complicity. The event remains central to discussions of Austrian national identity and responsibility for the crimes of the Nazi era.