Austria within Nazi Germany

State of Austria
(1938–1940)
Land Österreich

Reichsgaue of the Ostmark
(1940–1942)
Reichsgaue der Ostmark

Alpine and Danube Reichsgaue
(1942–1945)
Alpen- und Donau-Reichsgaue
1938–1945
Anthem: Deutschlandlied
Proposed:
German Rise. A festive song
("Deutsche Auferstehung. Ein festliches Lied")
Austria within Nazi Germany, 1938
Austria within Nazi Germany, 1938
Administrative divisions of Austria, 1941
Administrative divisions of Austria, 1941
StatusAdministrative division of Nazi Germany
CapitalGreater Vienna (de facto)
Common languagesGerman
Demonym(s)Austrian
Reich Commissioner 
• 1938–1940
Josef Bürckel
Reichsstatthalter 
• 1938–1939
Arthur Seyss-Inquart
• 1939–1940
Josef Bürckel
• 1940–1945
Baldur von Schirach
Historical eraInterwar period / World War II
• Anschluss
13 March 1938
• Hitler's speech in Vienna
15 March 1938
10 April 1938
• Ostmark law
14 April 1939
13 April 1945
• Declaration of Independence
27 April 1945
• Independence from Germany
8 May 1945
CurrencyReichsmark (ℛℳ)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Federal State of Austria
Allied-occupied Austria

Austria was part of Nazi Germany from 13 March 1938 (an event known as the Anschluss) until 27 April 1945, when Allied-occupied Austria declared independence from Nazi Germany.

Nazi Germany's troops entering Austria in 1938 received the enthusiastic support of most of the population.[1] Throughout World War II, 950,000 Austrians fought for the Nazi German armed forces. Other Austrians participated in the Nazi administration, from Nazi death camp personnel to senior Nazi leadership; the majority of the bureaucrats who implemented the Final Solution were Austrian.[2][3]

After World War II, many Austrians sought comfort in the myth of Austria as being the first victim of the Nazis.[4] Although the Nazi Party was promptly banned, Austria did not have the same thorough process of denazification that was imposed on post-war Germany. 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 imposition of rule by Nazi Germany.[5] By 1992, the subject of the small minority who formed an Austrian resistance, versus the vast majority of Austrians who participated in the Nazi war machine, had become a prominent matter of public discourse.[6]

At the Israeli Knesset in 1993, Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitzky acknowledged the shared responsibility of Austrians for Nazi crimes.[7] Austria's most popular political party as of 2023, the FPÖ, has been accused by the Austrian Mauthausen Committee of being involved in right-wing extremism and possessing a neo-Nazi ideology.[8][9]

  1. ^ "Austria". encyclopedia.ushmm.org.
  2. ^ Cymet, David (2012). History vs. Apologetics: The Holocaust, the Third Reich, and the Catholic Church. Lexington Books. pp. 113–114.
  3. ^ "Austria struggles to come to grips with Nazi past". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Austria post-1945 - Auschwitz".
  5. ^ Beniston, Judith (2003). "'Hitler's First Victim'? — Memory and Representation in Post-War Austria: Introduction". Austrian Studies. 11: 1–13. doi:10.1353/aus.2003.0018. JSTOR 27944673. S2CID 160319529.
  6. ^ Steiner, Herbert (1992). "The Role of the Resistance in Austria, with Special Reference to the Labor Movement". The Journal of Modern History. 64: S128–S133. doi:10.1086/244432. JSTOR 2124973. S2CID 145445683.
  7. ^ "Austria post-1945 - Auschwitz".
  8. ^ "Recherchen legen tiefe Verstrickung der FPÖ-Parteispitze in Rechtsextremismus offen | Mauthausen Komitee Österreich" (in German). Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  9. ^ "Broschüre "Lauter Einzelfälle? Die FPÖ und der Rechtsextremismus." | Mauthausen Komitee Österreich" (in German). Retrieved 2022-08-29.

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search