Anschluss — United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

On March 12, 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria (Anschluss). From the article:

"INTRODUCTION
Following World War I, Austria was weakened by a period of economic stagnation and political strife. At this same time, Nazi propaganda inside Austria intensified, and as early as 1934, just a year and a half after Hitler came to power in Germany, a group of Nazis seized the Austrian chancellery and attempted to proclaim a government. Though they did not succeed, they did assassinate the chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss.

Kurt von Schuschnigg replaced Dollfuss as head of the Austrian government, but the political factions and unrest left him with little popular support. The regime held on for a few years, sustained primarily through Italy’s assistance, but once Hitler allied with Mussolini, Austria’s resulting political isolation spelled its fate. Schuschnigg made one last attempt to assert Austrian independence by declaring a nationwide plebiscite to determine whether Austrians wanted a “free, independent, social, Christian and united Austria,” but in the face of Nazi demands, he cancelled the plebiscite and resigned his post. The next day, March 12, 1938, German troops entered Austria, and one day later, Austria was incorporated into Germany.

This union, known as the Anschluss, received the enthusiastic support of most of the Austrian population and was retroactively approved via a plebiscite in April 1938. Although neither Jews nor Roma (Gypsies) were allowed to vote, the results were manipulated to indicate that more than 99 percent of the Austrian people wanted the union with Germany.

Widespread antisemitic actions and political violence followed quickly on the heels of the Anschluss. Austria’s leading politicians were imprisoned, and anyone opposing the Nazi rule was subject to arrest, torture, and death. Jews particularly were attacked and humiliated on the streets. The Gestapo, along with Austrian Nazis and sympathizers, looted Jewish belongings, seized Jewish businesses, and arrested those who refused to surrender their property. Furthermore, anti-Jewish legislation was in place almost immediately, forcing Jews from their positions, and essentially expelling them from the country’s economic, social, and cultural life."