The Anschluss was Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria in March 1938, when Adolf Hitler absorbed Austria into the German Reich and ended its independence.

Quick Scoop

  • Date and meaning: “Anschluss” is German for “connection” or “joining” and refers to the formal union of Austria with Nazi Germany in March 1938, centered on 12–13 March 1938.
  • What actually happened: Under intense pressure from Hitler and Austrian Nazis, Austria’s government collapsed, German troops crossed the border on 12 March without military resistance, and a law passed on 13 March declared Austria part of Germany.
  • Broken treaties: This annexation violated the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint‑Germain, both of which explicitly forbade unification of Austria and Germany after World War I.
  • Fake “vote”: The Nazis staged a plebiscite in April 1938 that officially reported over 99% support for the Anschluss, but it was conducted under intimidation and propaganda, so it was not a free or fair vote.
  • Why it mattered: The Anschluss was Hitler’s first major territorial expansion in Europe and a key step toward the wider aggression that led to the Second World War; it also opened the way for rapid persecution and dispossession of Austria’s Jewish population and other targeted groups.
  • International reaction: Britain, France, and other powers did not intervene or seriously punish Germany, making the Anschluss an early, striking example of appeasement toward Nazi aggression.

How people in Austria reacted

Reactions in Austria were mixed and complicated:

  • Many Germans and German‑speaking Austrians had long supported the idea of unification, and some crowds greeted the German troops enthusiastically in March 1938.
  • Others opposed Nazi rule or feared it, especially Jews, Socialists, Catholics critical of Nazism, and anyone already targeted by the regime; they soon faced violence, arrests, and exclusion from public life.

Why it still comes up today

Historians see the Anschluss as:

  • A turning point in Hitler’s drive to build a “Greater Germany” including all German‑speakers.
  • A warning example of how international inaction and appeasement can encourage further aggression.
  • A central episode in debates about Austrian responsibility for Nazi crimes, since the annexation brought Austria directly into the system that would carry out the Holocaust.

TL;DR: The Anschluss was the forced union in March 1938 where Nazi Germany annexed Austria, breaking post‑WWI treaties, facing no real outside resistance, and marking a major step toward World War II and the Holocaust.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.