Anschluss

After 1918 some Austrians wanted union with Germany, but the treaties of Versailles and Saint-Germain forbade it. From February 1938 Hitler put pressure on Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg, and when Schuschnigg announced a plebiscite on independence, forced his resignation under threat of invasion. On 12 March German troops crossed the border, and on 13 March a law on "reunification" with the Reich was proclaimed.

From the first hours Austria's Jews were the victims of violence, and the Gestapo arrested thousands of opponents. The plebiscite of 10 April 1938 officially returned more than 99 per cent in favour, with Jews and political opponents barred from voting. The Western powers confined themselves to protests, which Hitler read as encouragement; Czechoslovakia was next.