Citing Wikipedia, for an interesting and sobering reminder... Austria was annexed into the German Third Reich on 12 March 1938. There had been several years of pressure by supporters in both Austria and Germany (by both Nazis and non-Nazis) for the Heim ins Reich movement. Earlier, Nazi Germany had provided support for the Austrian National Socialist Party (Austrian Nazi Party) in its bid to seize power from Austrias Austrofascist leadership. Under considerable pressure from both Austrian and German Nazis, Austrias Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg tried to hold a referendum for a vote on the issue. Although Schuschnigg expected Austria to vote in favour of maintaining autonomy, a well-planned coup détat by the Austrian Nazi Party of Austrias state institutions in Vienna took place on 11 March 1938, prior to the referendum, which they canceled. They transferred power to Germany, and Wehrmacht troops entered Austria to enforce the Anschluss. The Nazis held a plebiscite within the following month, asking the people to ratify the fait accompli. They claimed to have received 99.7561% of the vote in favor. Although the Allies were committed to upholding the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and St. Germain, which specifically prohibited the union of Austria and the German Empire, their reaction was only verbal and moderate. No military confrontation took place and even the strongest voices against the annexation, particularly Fascist Italy, France, and Britain (the Stresa Front) remained at peace.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 21:06:20 +0000
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