Anschluss With Austria

1. Anschluss with Austria
Lucia Frias, Clara Allende, Sofia Montoya, Lucas
Caputo and Malena Millán.

2. In the following presentation we are going to talk about the
Anschluss, that means political union and in this case we
are talking about Germany and Austria. Hitler wanted to
bring Germany and his native homeland, Austria, together
into a Greater Germany, but the Austrian Chancellor,
Schuschnigg did not agree with this.

3. The connection between Anschluss with Austria and
the Treaty of Versailles
“Germany forbidden to unite with Austria.”
The connection between our topic and the Treaty of Versailles is that Hitler
believed that Austria and Germany, belonged together as one German nation.
Although the Treaty of Versailles had prohibited the union between Germany and
Austria, to avoid another alliance with and Austria, Hitler decided to break the
terms once again.

4. Hitler’s actions and the excuses he used
Hitler wanted to join Austria and create a German Nation to gain power and to
have a stronger army.
As an excuse he used the Austrian weakness that helped him to win the
population's support. Also he said that he was confident that he could bring them
together into a ‘Greater Germany’. There was a strong Nazi Party in Austria, so
Hitler took advantage and encouraged the nazis to stir up trouble for the
government and they went on strike for a union with Germany. So Hitler told the
Austrian Chancellor that only Anschluss could sort out this problems.

5. How the crisis was solved, i.e. how the situation ended
A plebiscite, in which Austrians had to vote whether to join Germany or to stay
independent, was made. Hitler was afraid of losing, so he decided to pressure its
population and win the referendum. His plan was a success and as a
consequence of this both countries joined, giving Germany the Austrian army, its
rich deposits and also its army.
*Plebiscite: A vote in which a population exercises the right of national self-determination.
*Referendum: a vote on such a measure

6. What was the role of Britain and France in the event? What did they do?
France
French politics were in turmoil in March 1938. In fact, two days before Germany invaded
Austria the entire French government had resigned. France was not in a position to oppose
the invasion.
Britain
In March 1938, Britain was having its own political problems. Anthony Eden, the Foreign
Secretary, had resigned over Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's decision to open
negotiations with the Fascist dictator of Italy, Mussolini. As such, with Chamberlain
determined to appease Hitler, to bring to a state of calm, there was no political will to
oppose Germany.

7. Video
https://youtu.be/t75ldUNc2Xw
https://youtu.be/WR9TObQA-4M