Anschluss with Austria
History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 3.5.9
Anschluss, 1938
In March 1938 Hitler invaded Austria. He did this after a series of events.
Schuschnigg
- Firstly, in January 1938 police in Austria discovered that the Nazis planned to overthrow the new Prime Minister Schuschnigg.
- Worried about this, Schuschnigg met Hitler and agreed to let some Nazis held in Austria out of prison and said he would hold a plebiscite (vote) to decide if the Austrians wanted to be part of Germany or not.
Invasion
- Hitler invaded Austria a few months later in protest to the proposed plebiscite.
- He was unopposed and in fact many Austrians greeted the Nazi troops with fanfare.
Plebiscite
- Then, in April he held plebiscite of his own with lots of SA (Storm troopers) present.
- The result was that 99% of people wanted Anschluss with Germany.
Allied response
- The Allies saw this as Hitler taking back land of German speaking people.
- Although some people, such as Churchill, began to worry about Hitler’s future actions.
Test yourself on Anschluss with Austria
When did Hitler invade Austria?
What did Schuschnigg promise Hitler in January 1938?
What was the result of Hitler's plebiscite in April 1938?