24 CultureShock! Austria
The Neighbours
In July 1934, the Austrian Nazis attempted a coup, and Dollfuss
was assassinated. His successor, Dr. Kurt Schuschnigg, allied
himself with Italy’s Mussolini, as Dollfuss had done. When
Hitler and Mussolini became friendly, Schuschnigg was
forced to enter into the Austro-German Agreement of 1936,
which recognised Austria’s sovereignty on the grounds that
Austrian Nazis be pardoned and included in the government.
As the Austrian Nazis grew more powerful, Schuschnigg
tried hard to secure true independence from Germany. This
resulted in Hitler demanding the chancellor’s resignation.
Schuschnigg looked to the international community for help,
but received none.
On 11 March 1938, Schuschnigg resigned, stating that he
did not want fighting to erupt. The next day, German troops
marched into Austria, which put up no military resistance.
Hitler was greeted by cheers in Linz and Vienna. After a
hefty dose of propaganda, he held a plebiscite on 10 April
and the Anschluss (annexation of Austria) was approved by
99.73 per cent. Austria ceased to exist and the region became
known as Ostmark, a province of the German Reich.The Jews
Systematic persecution of the Jews began immediately. Jewish
property was quickly Aryanized, or expropriated by non-Jews
without any sort of payment rendered to its rightful owners.
Jews were harassed and forced to wear the yellow Star of
David. 10 November 1938 saw the infamous Kristallnacht
take place. Throughout the German Reich, synagogues and
Jewish stores and homes were destroyed. Only one synagogue
in present-day Vienna dates from before 1938. Penniless and
denied entrance visas by most countries, Jews found it very
difficult to emigrate. By 1941, the government banned all
Jews from leaving the country and shortly thereafter began
to send them to concentration camps. Mathausen, near Linz,
was the largest camp in Austria.
Anti-Semitism was not new to Austria. Persecution of
Jews began with their expulsion from Vienna in 1421. About
200 who were unable to flee were burned at the stake. Jews