Anschluss - Conflict and Tension

Question 1

why did Hitler want Anschluss?

Answer 1

• Hitler wanted to unite all German speaking peoples and he himself was from Austria
• for hundreds or years there had been a debate over whether Austria should be a part of a greater Germany or be an independent power
• the TofV banned Anschluss
• Hitler had tried and failed to force union in 1934 but had been forced to back down by Mussolini
• now Mussolini was on Hitler’s side in the Rome-Berlin Axis and the Anti-Comintern Pact

Question 2

after the death of Dollfuss in 1934, who was the new Austrian Chancellor?

Answer 2

Kurt Schuschnigg

Question 3

how did Schuschnigg try to co-operate with Hitler?

Answer 3

• he tried to preserve the country from German invasion by trying not to give Hitler an excuse for aggression
• he signed the German-Austrian Agreement in 1936 which recognised the independence of Austria but the price was that their foreign policy had to be the same as Germany’s
• this agreement allowed Nazis to hold official posts in Austria and Schuschnigg did this thinking he would please Hitler
• Schuschnigg’s position was undermined in 1936 when Hitler and Mussolini formalised the Rome-Berlin axis during their joint involvement in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39)
• this meant Austria had lost the protection of Italy and was vulnerable to German attack

Question 4

how did the Austrian Nazi’s get rid of Schuschnigg?

Answer 4

• the Austrian Nazi’s had a plot to get rid of Schuschnigg but was discovered by the police and prevented this - however Schuschnigg was worried so he visited Hitler at his summer retreat near the Austrian border in order to find a way to peace
• Hitler demanded that the Nazi’s were given key positions in the Austrian government
• Schuschnigg compromised and made Arthur Seyss-Inquart Minister of the Interior (in charge of the police) meaning they turned a blind eye to the actions of Austrian Nazi’s

Question 5

how did Hitler put pressure on Schuschnigg?

Answer 5

• Hitler ordered Austrian Nazi’s to create as much trouble and destruction as possible in order to put pressure on Schuschnigg
• if Hitler could claim that Austrian law and order had broken down he could justify marching German troops into Vienna to restore peace

Question 6

how did Hitler achieve Anschluss?

Answer 6

• Schuschnigg ordered a plebiscite to be held to discover if the people of Austria really wanted a union with Germany - he hoped it would prove that the people did not want to be ruled by Germany
• Hitler feared a ‘no’ vote so he moved troops to the Austrian border and threatened to invade if Schuschnigg did not resign in favour of Seyss-Inquart
• Seyss-Inquart then became chancellor and claimed that it was because Austria was in a state of chaos and needed help from Germany and invited their troops in
• on the 10th March the French government collapsed so France was in no position to get involved
• some British people thought Anschluss was reasonable as the Austrians spoke German and they believed the TofV was too harsh in the first place

Question 7

when did the German army enter Vienna?

Answer 7

• on the 12th March 1938 they entered Vienna and crowds gathered to cheer them
• on the 19th April the plebiscite was held and Nazi stormtroopers policed the polling booths and the ballot paper was designed to have the ‘yes’ box much larger than the ‘no’ box

Question 8

what vote did the Nazis get in the plebiscite on April 1938?

Answer 8

99% yes

Question 9

what was the significance of Anschluss?

Answer 9

• Czechoslovakia feared that they would be the next targets in Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy
• Germany now surrounded Czechoslovakia, on 3 sides, so it would be easier for Hitler to bully or invade
• it made him more confident as Britain and France had done nothing to stop him even thought the Austrian leader had asked for help
• Britain and France agreed to defend Czechoslovakia if Hitler did invade
• France had shown its allies and its enemies that it was crippled by its own internal political divisions and couldn’t be counted on to act in a crisis
• Hitler had secured another great propaganda victory - he was showing the German people that was he capable of overturning the TofV, and of uniting the German people and he had also done this without formal military action
• unification with Austria provided increased transport links - Hitler’s army could access the east more easily through Austria, and then German/Austrian border now surrounded Czechoslovakia on three sides