When was anschluss

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Oxford Reference. Publications Pages Publications Pages. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had been banned from having an air force since , and was only allowed a limited army of , men.

The announcements establishing the Luftwaffe and then increasing the size of the German Army were public declarations that Germany was breaking international law and the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles. By , the German Army had approximately a million men, and the Luftwaffe had planes.

Britain made this agreement in order to avoid a major naval arms race against Germany. The British signed the agreement without consulting other European nations such as France or Italy. The agreement was the first sign of the British, and European, policy of appeasement against Hitler, which had the aim of avoiding war at all costs. The Rhineland was a strip of German territory bordering France, which had first become occupied and following the end of the First World War and the resulting Treaty of Versailles.

Continuing with his policy of breaking the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler cautiously instigated the remilitarisation of the Rhineland on the 7 March This international community did not respond.

France was in a state of internal political disarray due to a change in government, and therefore they were not prepared to take military action without British support. Whilst the British protested that the action broke the terms of the Treaty, they were not willing to go to war over it. At the time, this was less clear as it seemed that all Germany was doing was reinstating the army in a part of its own country. The Hossbach Memorandum was a note compiled by Colonel Count Friedrich Hossbach of a secret meeting between Hitler and his top military and political leadership on the 5 November At the meeting, Hitler discussed his plans for foreign policy in the years ahead.

Here, according to Hossbach, Hitler stated that the time for a war for Lebensraum was near. The question, Hitler stated, was not if, but when and how. Hitler also identified a time frame in which the war for Lebensraum would ideally take place: At this stage, the Nazis believed that the German industry would be fully mobilised for war.

Hitler declared that action could possibly take place before this date if other countries had internal problems that would make the war for Lebensraum easier. Whether or not the Memorandum is a genuine document has been the subject of much debate amongst historians. It is regarded as proof that Hitler had planned to go to war to achieve Lebensraum. This newspaper cutting was taken from an Austrian newspaper printed on the 12 March , and shows the support that the German troops had from the population of Austria.

Anschluss refers to the annexation of Austria in There was growing support in Austria for the Nazis from The country had a non-Nazi semi-fascist government from around this time. In , the Nazis assassinated the Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in the hope of establishing a Nazi regime. The coup failed and Kurt von Schuschnigg replaced Dollfuss as chancellor.

However, his ring-wing regime was one full of political factions, and its success rested on support from fascist Italy. From , as Italy grew closer to Nazi Germany, Austria became increasingly isolated and vulnerable to German takeover. The Nazis were keen to expand their territory, and support for the Nazis and a union with Germany among the Austrian people was high.

The German Army marched into Austria on the 12 March , with little to no opposition from the population or any other foreign powers. Despite this, as with previous plebiscites, those who voted were subject to a large amount of pressure from the Nazis to vote this way. On March 12, , after New York state and city leaders placed coronavirus-related restrictions on gatherings of more than people, the Broadway theater district announces it will go dark for an unprecedented 32 days.

The longest shutdown for the artistic mainstay in its Though today there is almost nothing as ubiquitous as a bottle of Coca-Cola, this was not always the case. For the first several years of its existence, Coke was only available as a fountain drink, and its producer saw no reason for that to change. It was not until March 12, On March 12, , Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi begins a defiant march to the sea in protest of the British monopoly on salt, his boldest act of civil disobedience yet against British rule in India.

On March 12, , eight days after his inauguration, President Franklin D. On this day, the commander of the German Home Army, Gen. Friedrich Fromm, is shot by a firing squad for his part in the July plot to assassinate the Fuhrer. By , many high-ranking German officials had made His ultimate goal was Anschluss union with Austria.

The Austrian Chancellor, Dollfuss, tried to crack down on the Socialists and Nazis - political factions that he thought were tearing the country apart. Dollfuss banned the Nazi party. In , Hitler ordered the Austrian Nazis to create havoc in Austria.

This turned into an attempt to overthrow the government. Chancellor Dollfuss was murdered but the attempted coup failed because the Austrian military intervened to back up the government. In , Italy had an agreement with Austria that it would protect Austria from outside aggression. The Italian dictator, Mussolini, honoured the agreement and moved Italian troops to the Austrian border to deter Hitler from invading.

The new Austrian Chancellor, Schuschnigg tried to preserve the country from German invasion by trying not to give Hitler an excuse for aggression. He tried to co-operate with Hitler as much as possible. Schuschnigg signed the German-Austrian Agreement of This pact recognised the independence of Austria but the price was that Austria's foreign policy had to be consistent with Germany's.

The agreement also allowed Nazis to hold official posts in Austria. Schuschnigg hoped this would appease Hitler. He was wrong.