Anschluss

The Anschluss{{ref|spelling}} (German word meaning "connection", or "political union") also known as the Anschluss Österreichs was the 1938 inclusion of Austria into "Greater Germany" by the Nazi regime.

Legacy of the 1938 Anschluss

The Anschluss: annexation or union?

Some historical sources, for instance Encyclopedia Britannica and the Encarta Encyclopedia describe the Anschluss as an "annexation" {{ref|encarta_sidebar}}. Outside this context "Anschluss" is properly translated as "join", "connection", "unification" or "political union". The German word "Annektierung" would mean military annexation unambiguously. However, the word commonly used in German for the process of spring 1938 is Anschluss.

Related Topics:
Encyclopedia Britannica - Encarta Encyclopedia - Unification

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The precise character of the Anschluss remains a difficulty essential to Austria's understanding of its history and the obligations it entails.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The appeal of Nazism to Austrians

The Anschluss can be misunderstood as simply a military annexation of an unwilling Austria, but this lends itself to confusion with other German military occupations of European countries. It also tends to conceal the culpability of many Austrians in Nazi crimes, most of all the Holocaust, by perpetuating the myth of Austria as the first victim of Hitler's expansionism. Despite the subversion of Austrian political process by Hitler's sympathisers and associates in Austria, Austrian acceptance of direct government by Hitler's Berlin is a very different phenomenon from the administration of other collaborationist countries.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918, the small Republic of Austria was seen by many of its citizens as economically unviable, a feeling that was exacerbated by the Depression of the 1930s. In contrast the Nazi dictatorship appeared to have found a solution to the economic crisis of the 1930s. Furthermore, the break-up had thrown Austria into a crisis of identity, and many Austrians, of both the left and the right, felt that Austria should be part of a larger German nation.

Related Topics:
Austro-Hungarian monarchy - 1918 - Depression - 1930s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Politically, Austria had not had the time to develop a strongly democratic society to resist the onslaught of totalitarianism. The final version of the First Republic's constitution had only lasted from 1929 to 1933. The First Republic was ridden by violent strife between the different political camps; the Christian Social Party were complicit in the murder of large numbers of adherents of the decidedly left-wing Social Democratic Party by the police during the July Revolt of 1927. In fact, with the end of democracy in 1933 and the establishment of Austrofascism, Austria had already purged its democratic institutions and instituted a dictatorship long before the Anschluss. There is thus little to distinguish radically the institutions of at least the post-1934 Austrian government before or after 12 March 1938.

Related Topics:
Totalitarianism - First Republic - Christian Social Party - Social Democratic Party - July Revolt of 1927 - Austrofascism - 12 March - 1938

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The members of the leading Christian Social Party were fervent Catholics, but not particularly anti-semitic. For instance Jews were not prohibited from exercising any profession, in sharp contrast to the Third Reich. Many prominent Austrian scientists, professors, and lawyers at the time were Jewish; in fact Vienna, with its Jewish population of about 200,000, was considered a safe haven from 1933 to 1938 by many Jews who fled Nazi Germany. However, the Nazis' anti-Semitism found fertile soil in Austria. Anti-Semitic elements had emerged as a force in Austrian politics in the late nineteenth century, with the rise in prominence of figures such as Georg Ritter von Schönerer and Karl Lueger (who had influenced the young Hitler), and in the 1930s anti-Semitism was rampant, as Jews were a convenient scapegoat for economic problems.

Related Topics:
Christian Social Party - Anti-semitic - Jews - Third Reich - Vienna - Safe haven - 1933 - 1938 - Georg Ritter von Schönerer - Karl Lueger - 1930s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In addition to the economic appeal of the Anschluss, the popular underpinning of Nazi politics as a total art form (the refinement of film propaganda exemplified by Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will and mythological aestheticism of a broadly conceived national destiny of the German people within a "Thousand-Year Reich") gave the Nazis a massive advantage in advancing their claims to power. Moreover Austrofascism was less grand in its appeal than the choice between Stalin and Hitler to which many European intellectuals of the time believed themselves reduced by the end of the decade. Austria had effectively no alternative view of its historical mission when the choice was upon it. In spite of Dollfuss' and Schuschnigg's hostility to Nazi political ambitions, the Nazis succeeded in convincing many Austrians to accept what they viewed as the historical destiny of the German people rather than continue as part of a distinct sovereign nation.

Related Topics:
Riefenstahl's - Triumph of the Will - Aestheticism - German people - Austrofascism - Stalin - Hitler

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Second Republic

The Moscow Declaration

The Moscow Declaration of 1943, signed by the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United Kingdom included a "Declaration on Austria," which stated the following:

Related Topics:
Moscow Declaration - 1943 - United States of America - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - United Kingdom

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The governments of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States of America are agreed that Austria, the first free country to fall a victim to Hitlerite aggression, shall be liberated from German domination.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They regard the annexation imposed on Austria by Germany on 15 March 1938, as null and void. They consider themselves as in no way bound by any charges affected in Austria since that date. They declare that they wish to see re-established a free and independent Austria and thereby to open the way for the Austrian people themselves, as well as those neighbouring States which will be face with similar problems, to find that political and economic security which is the only basis for lasting peace.

Related Topics:
15 March - 1938

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Austria is reminded, however that she has a responsibility, which she cannot evade, for participation in the war at the side of Hitlerite Germany, and that in the final settlement account will inevitably be taken of her own contribution to her liberation. {{ref|moskauermemo}}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To judge from the last paragraph and subsequent determinations at the Nuremberg Trial, the Declaration was intended to serve as propaganda aimed at stirring Austrian resistance (although there are Austrians counted as Righteous Among the Nations, there never was an effective Austrian armed resistance of the sort found in other countries under German occupation) more than anything else, although the exact text of the declaration is said to have a somewhat complex drafting history.{{ref|nybooks}} At Nuremberg Arthur Seyss-Inquart {{ref|seyss-inquart}} and Franz von Papen {{ref|vonpapen}}, in particular, were both indicted under count one (conspiracy to commit crimes against peace) specifically for their activities in support of the Austrian Nazi Party and the Anschluss, but neither was convicted of this count. In acquitting von Papen, the court noted that his actions were in its view political immoralities but not crimes under its charter. Seyss-Inquart was convicted of other serious war crimes, most of which took place in Poland and the Netherlands, and was sentenced to death.

Related Topics:
Nuremberg Trial - Propaganda - Righteous Among the Nations - Arthur Seyss-Inquart - Franz von Papen - Poland - Netherlands

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Austrian identity and the "victim theory"

After World War II, many Austrians sought comfort in the myth of Austria as the Nazis' first victim. Although the Nazi party was promptly banned, Austria did not have the same thorough process of de-Nazification at the top of government which was imposed on Germany for a time. Lacking outside pressure for political reform, factions of Austrian society tried for a long time to advance the view that the Anschluss was only an annexation at bayonet point.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This view of the events of 1938 has deep roots in the ten years of Allied occupation and the struggle to regain Austrian sovereignty: The victim theory played an essential role in the negotiations on the Austrian State Treaty with the Soviets, and by pointing to the Moscow Declaration Austrian politicians heavily relied on it to achieve a solution for Austria different from the division into East and West in Germany. The State Treaty, alongside with the subsequent Austrian declaration of permanent neutrality marked important milestones for the solidification of Austria's independent national identity during the following decades.

Related Topics:
Austrian State Treaty - Neutrality - Nation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As Austrian politicians of the left and right attempted to reconcile their differences in order to avoid the violent conflict that had dominated the first republic, discussions of both Austrofascism and Austria's role in Nazism were largely avoided. Still, the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) has advanced and still sometimes advances the argument that the establishment of the Dollfuss dictatorship was necessary in order to maintain Austrian independence, while the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) argues that the dictatorship stripped the country of the democratic resources necessary to repel Hitler.

Related Topics:
Austrian People's Party - Austrian Social Democratic Party

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Political events

For decades, the victim theory established in the Austrian mind remained largely undisputed. The Austrian public was only rarely forced to confront the legacy of the Third Reich (most notably during the events of 1965 concerning Taras Borodajkewycz, a professor of economic history notorious for anti-Semitic remarks, when Ernst Kirchweger, a concentration camp survivor, was killed by a right-wing protester during riots). It was not until the 1980s that Austrians were finally massively confronted with their past. The main catalyst for the start of a Vergangenheitsbewältigung was the so-called Waldheim affair. The Austrian reply to allegations during the 1986 Presidential election campaign that successful candidate and former UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim had been a member of the Nazi party and of the infamous SA (he was later absolved of direct involvement in war crimes) was that scrutiny was an unwelcome intervention in the country's internal affairs. Despite the politicians' reactions to international criticism of Waldheim, the Waldheim affair started the first serious major discussion on Austria's past and the Anschluss.

Related Topics:
1965 - Taras Borodajkewycz - Ernst Kirchweger - 1980 - Vergangenheitsbewältigung - Waldheim affair - UN Secretary-General - SA - War crimes - Internal affairs

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another main factor for Austria and its coming to terms with the past emerged in the 1980s: Jörg Haider and the rise of the FPÖ. The party had combined elements of the pan-German right with free-market liberalism since its foundation in 1955, but after Haider had ascended to the party chairmanship in 1986, the liberal elements became increasingly marginalized while Haider began to openly use nationalist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. He was often criticised for tactics such as the völkisch (ethnic) definition of national interest ("Austria for Austrians") and his apologism for Austria's past, notably calling members of the Waffen-SS "men of honour". Following an enormous electoral rise in the 1990s peaking in the 1999 elections, the FPÖ, now purged of its liberal elements, entered a coalition with the ÖVP led by Wolfgang Schüssel that met international condemnation in 2000. This coalition triggered the regular Donnerstagsdemonstrationen (Thursday demonstrations) in protest against the government, which took place on the Heldenplatz, where Hitler had greeted the masses during the Anschluss. Haider's tactics and rhetoric, which were often criticised as sympathetic to Nazism, again forced Austrians to reconsider their relationship to the past.

Related Topics:
Jörg Haider - FPÖ - Pan-German - 1955 - 1986 - Waffen-SS - 1999 elections - ÖVP - Wolfgang Schüssel - 2000 - Heldenplatz

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

But it is not Jörg Haider alone who has made questionable remarks on Austria's past: Jörg Haider's coalition partner the current Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel in an interview with the Jerusalem Post as late as 2000 stated that Austria was the first victim of Hitler-Germany.{{ref|jerusalem}}

Related Topics:
Jörg Haider - Wolfgang Schüssel - Jerusalem Post - 2000

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Literature

Tearing into the simplism of the victim theory and the time of the Austrofascism, Thomas Bernhard's last play, Heldenplatz, was highly controversial even before it appeared on stage in 1988, fifty years after Hitler's visit. Bernhard's achievement was to make the elimination of references to Hitler's reception in Vienna emblematic of Austrian attempts to claim their history and culture under questionable criteria. Many politicians from all political factions called Bernhard a Nestbeschmutzer (so. damaging the reputation of his country) and openly demanded that the play should not be staged in Vienna's Burgtheater. Kurt Waldheim, who was at that time still Austrian president called the play a crude insult to the Austrian people.{{ref|bernhard}}

Related Topics:
Austrofascism - Thomas Bernhard's - 1988 - Burgtheater - Kurt Waldheim

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Historical Commission and outstanding legal issues

In the context of the postwar Federal Republic of Germany, one encounters a Vergangenheitsbewältigung ("struggle to come to terms with the past") that has been partially institutionalised, variably in literary, cultural, political, and educational contexts (its development and difficulties have not been trivial; see, for example, the Historikerstreit). Austria formed a Historikerkommission{{ref|historikerkommission}} ("Historian's Commission" or "Historical Commission") in 1998 with a mandate to review Austria's role in the Nazi expropriation of Jewish property from a scholarly rather than legal perspective, partly in response to continuing criticism of its handling of property claims. Its membership was based on recommendations from various quarters, including Simon Wiesenthal and Yad Vashem. The Commission delivered its report in 2003. {{ref|report}} Noted Holocaust historian Raul Hilberg refused to participate in the Commission and in an interview stated his strenuous objections in terms both personal and in reference to larger questions about Austrian culpability and liability, comparing what he to be relative inattention to the settlement governing the Swiss bank holdings of those who died or were displaced by the Holocaust:

Related Topics:
Federal Republic of Germany - Vergangenheitsbewältigung - Historikerstreit - Simon Wiesenthal - Yad Vashem - Raul Hilberg - Swiss

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I personally would like to know why the WJC has hardly put any pressure on Austria, even as leading Nazis and SS leaders were Austrians, Hitler included... Immediately after the war, the US wanted to make the Russians withdraw from Austria, and the Russians wanted to keep Austria neutral, therefore there was a common interest to grant Austria victim status. And later Austria could cry poor - though its per capita income is as high as Germany's. And, most importantly, the Austrian PR machinery works better. Austria has the opera ball, the imperial castle, Mozartkugeln . Americans like that. And Austrians invest and export relatively little to the US, therefore they are less vulnerable to blackmail. In the meantime, they set up a commission in Austria to clarify what happened to Jewish property. Victor Klima, the former chancellor, has asked me to join. My father fought for Austria in the First World War and in 1939 he was kicked out of Austria. After the war they offered him ten dollars per month as compensation. For this reason I told Klima, no thank you, this makes me sick. {{ref|Hilberg}}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Simon Wiesenthal Center continues to criticise Austria (as recently as June 2005) for its alleged historical and ongoing unwillingness aggressively to pursue investigations and trials against Nazis for war crimes and crimes against humanity from the seventies onwards. Its 2001 report offered the following characterization:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Given the extensive participation of numerous Austrians, including at the highest levels, in the implementation of the Final Solution and other Nazi crimes, Austria should have been a leader in the prosecution of Holocaust perpetrators over the course of the past four decades, as has been the case in Germany. Unfortunately relatively little has been achieved by the Austrian authorities in this regard and in fact, with the exception of the case of Dr. Heinrich Gross which was suspended this year under highly suspicious circumstances (he claimed to be medically unfit, but outside the court proved to be healthy) not a single Nazi war crimes prosecution has been conducted in Austria since the mid-seventies.{{ref|Simon}}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2003 the Center launched a worldwide effort named "Operation: Last Chance" in order to collect further information about those Nazis still alive that are potentially subject to prosecution. Although reports issued shortly thereafter credited Austria for initiating large-scale investigations, there has been one case where criticism of Austrian authorities arose recently: The Center has put 92-year old Croatian Milivoj Asner on its 2005 top ten list. Asner fled to Austria in 2004 after Croatia announced it would start investigations in the case of war crimes he may have been involved in. In response to objections about Asner's continued freedom, Austria's federal government has deferred to either extradition requests from Croatia or prosecutorial actions from Klagenfurt, neither of which appears forthcoming (as of June 2005). {{ref|asner}} Extradition is not an option since Asner also holds Austrian citizenship, having lived in the country from 1946 to 1991. {{ref|asner_citizen}}

Related Topics:
Croatia - Milivoj Asner - 2004 - Klagenfurt - Citizenship - 1946 - 1991

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~