Hitler’s Argument for Anschluss
Adolf Hitler’s argument for Anschluss (union) with Germanic peoples living outside the Reich was a way to unite the ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche). Hitler was a native Austrian so his dream was to bring Germany and Austria together. In 1938, Hitler invited the Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg to a meeting at Hitler’s retreat home in the Bavarian Alps called Berchtesgaden, and bullied him into signing the German-Austrian agreement (Berchtesgaden Diktat), which appointed an Austrian Nazi, Dr. Seyss-Inquart as the minister of the Interior, giving him control of the Austrian police. ("History.com", 2009) Schuschnigg renounced the agreement signed at Berchtesgaden and demanded a referendum on the matter. Through the scheming of Hitler’s devotees inside of Austria, the referendum was canceled, and Schuschnigg resigned and announced Seyss-Inquart as the new Austrian Chancellor.
The Austrian president, Wilhelm Miklas refused to appoint Seyss-Inquart at first but then changed his mind. Seyss-Inquart invited the German Army to march into Austria to help quell unrest in the country. On March 12, 1938, Hitler marched into Austria and announced his Anschluss. Hitler then demanded a resolution to the Sudeten crisis, a dispute over the Sudetenland (a region in Czechoslovakia settled largely by Ethnic Germans). On September 30, 1938, Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy signed a deal called the Munich Agreement. It permitted Germany to annex the Sudetenland, an area of Czechoslovakia with an ethnic German minority. Austria and the Sudetenland were now a part of Germany. His plan now was to conquer eastern European countries in order to create more Lebensraum (living space) for the Germanic people. ("History.com", 2009)
The Austrian president, Wilhelm Miklas refused to appoint Seyss-Inquart at first but then changed his mind. Seyss-Inquart invited the German Army to march into Austria to help quell unrest in the country. On March 12, 1938, Hitler marched into Austria and announced his Anschluss. Hitler then demanded a resolution to the Sudeten crisis, a dispute over the Sudetenland (a region in Czechoslovakia settled largely by Ethnic Germans). On September 30, 1938, Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy signed a deal called the Munich Agreement. It permitted Germany to annex the Sudetenland, an area of Czechoslovakia with an ethnic German minority. Austria and the Sudetenland were now a part of Germany. His plan now was to conquer eastern European countries in order to create more Lebensraum (living space) for the Germanic people. ("History.com", 2009)
References
- “Anschluss”, propaganda postcard for the unification of Austria with Germany, published by Goth, Vienna and Munich, 1921, Retrieved from http://ww1.habsburger.net/en/media/anschluss-propaganda-postcard-unification-austria-germany-published-goeth-vienna-and-munich
- History.com. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hitler-announces-an-anschluss-with-austria
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Introduction to the Holocaust.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143. Accessed on November 17, 2016.
Credit: Harold