Wednesday, March 12, 2014

This Day in WWII History: Mar 12, 1938: Hitler announces an Anschluss with Austria

 File:Bundesarchiv Bild 137-049278, Anschluss Österreich.jpg

On this day, Adolf Hitler announces an "Anschluss" (union) between Germany and Austria, in fact annexing the smaller nation into a greater Germany.

 File:1anschluss.gif

 

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.

File:KurtVonSchuschnigg1936.jpg

File:Guido Schmidt, Galeazzo Ciano, Kurt von Schuschnigg, 1936.jpg

 
 
 
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.


http://sunnycv.com/steve/WW2Pics6/CAN12375b.jpg

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0922-500, Wien, Heldenplatz, Rede Adolf Hitler.jpg

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 canceled, 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.


 

 File:Stimmzettel-Anschluss.jpg

 http://static.newworldencyclopedia.org/thumb/3/37/Voting-booth-Anschluss-10-April-1938.jpg/250px-Voting-booth-Anschluss-10-April-1938.jpg

 http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-75rWEzjlJTw/T25D9rYYr9I/AAAAAAAAD-w/UDHELPbPyZ0/s1600/Hitler+enters+Vienna+for+Austrian+plebiscite,+10+March+1938+-+Deutschland+Ostmark+-+Peter+Crawford.jpg

Austria was now a nameless entity absorbed by Germany. It was not long before the Nazis soon began their typical ruthless policy of persecuting political dissidents and, of course, all Jewish citizens.

 

 

 http://www.beyondbandofbrothers.com/app/img/newsletter/austriaanschluss.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-exgs0uhT56k/UGFdrkr5kVI/AAAAAAAAAp4/7K8jjCUAu6o/s1600/ANSCHLUSS.JPG

 http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l6uijogrQu1qd7oe6o1_400.jpg
 http://sheg.stanford.edu/upload/Lessons/Nazi%20Propaganda.jpeg

Taken from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hitler-announces-an-anschluss-with-austria [12.03.2014]

No comments:

Post a Comment