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Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany began on March 12, 1938, when German troops entered the country without resistance, marking the start of the Anschluss. The day after, Hitler formally declared Austria part of the German Reich, claiming it was a fulfillment of uniting "German Austria" with Germany, as he had expressed in Mein Kampf. Many Austrians welcomed the annexation, and in a heavily propagandized referendum held in April, 99% of voters reportedly approved the union, though Jews, political prisoners, and other targeted groups were excluded from voting.
After the Anschluss, Nazi policies were swiftly implemented in Austria, leading to widespread persecution of Jews, Romani people, political dissidents, and other minorities. Prominent Jewish intellectuals, artists, and scientists, including Sigmund Freud, Arnold Schönberg, and Erwin Schrödinger, fled abroad, joining a large wave of emigration. A concentration camp was opened at Mauthausen, where thousands of political prisoners, Jews, and Romani were detained and killed.
During World War II, Austrian soldiers were conscripted into the Wehrmacht, with around 1.3 million Austrians serving in the German military. Austria was also heavily bombed as Allied forces targeted industrial and transportation infrastructure, especially in cities like Vienna and Linz, which were key centers of production for German arms and equipment.
The Austrian resistance was fragmented but persistent, consisting of communist groups, Catholic resistance cells, and conservative groups who opposed Nazi rule. One of the most notable resistance networks was led by the Catholic priest Heinrich Maier, who successfully provided Allied forces with intelligence on German military production sites, aiding in targeted bombings. However, the Gestapo dismantled many Austrian resistance groups, and members faced execution or deportation to concentration camps.
As the war drew to a close, Soviet and American forces advanced into Austrian territory in April 1945. Following Hitler’s suicide and Germany’s surrender on May 8, Austria was liberated and divided into four occupation zones, governed by the Allies. In the postwar years, Austria embraced the "victim theory," which portrayed the country as the Nazis' "first victim," distancing it from responsibility for the atrocities committed during Nazi rule.