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 | |||||||||
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| 1938–1945 | |||||||||
| Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen ("Song of Germany") Horst-Wessel-Lied ("The Horst Wessel Song") Proposed: German Rise. A festive song ("Deutsche Auferstehung. Ein festliches Lied") | |||||||||
Austria within Nazi Germany, 1938 | |||||||||
Administrative divisions of Austria, 1941 | |||||||||
| Status | Administrative division of Nazi Germany | ||||||||
| Capital | Greater Vienna (de facto) | ||||||||
| Common languages | German | ||||||||
| Demonym | Austrian | ||||||||
| Reichskommissar | |||||||||
• 1938–1940 | Josef Bürckel | ||||||||
| Reichsstatthalter | |||||||||
• 1938–1939 | Arthur Seyss-Inquart | ||||||||
• 1939–1940 | Josef Bürckel | ||||||||
• 1940–1945 | Baldur von Schirach | ||||||||
| Historical era | |||||||||
| 13 March 1938 | |||||||||
| 15 March 1938 | |||||||||
| 10 April 1938 | |||||||||
• Ostmark law | 14 April 1939 | ||||||||
| 13 April 1945 | |||||||||
• Declaration of Independence | 27 April 1945 | ||||||||
• Recognized Independence from Germany | 8 May 1945 | ||||||||
| Currency | Reichsmark (ℛℳ) | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Republic of Austria | ||||||||
| History of Austria |
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| Austria portal |
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. Throughout World War II, 950,000 Austrians fought for the German armed forces. Other Austrians participated in the Nazi administration, from Nazi death camp personnel to senior Nazi Party leaders including Adolf Hitler; the majority of the bureaucrats who implemented the Final Solution were Austrian.
After the Anschluss in 1938, Nazi Germany sought to eliminate Austria's separate national and cultural identity by portraying it as an inseparable part of the Greater Germanic Reich. The Austrian flag, anthem, and national symbols were banned, and the use of the name "Austria" was replaced with "Ostmark". From 1942, even this term was considered too closely associated with the former Austrian state, and the official designation for the area was changed to "Alpen- und Donau-Reichsgaue". Education, propaganda, and public institutions were reoriented to promote German nationalism and suppress Austrian traditions. The regime aimed to erase any notion of an independent Austrian state or culture.
After World War II, many Austrians sought comfort in the theory of Austria as being the first victim of the Nazis. Although the Nazi Party was promptly banned, Austria did not have the same thorough process of denazification that was imposed on post-war West Germany (present day 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. By 1992, the subject of the small minority who formed an Austrian resistance, versus the vast majority of Austrians who participated in the German war machine, had become a prominent matter of public discourse.