German force has struck again, and this time its accomplishment is the conquest of Austria in every sense except that of outright annexation The Schuschnigg Cabinet has been forced to resign at the point of an ultimatum from Berlin. Its surrender marks the defeat of a last desperate effort to save Austria from absorption by Nazi Germany. The crossing of the Austrian frontier by German troops is the seal of the triumph of force over a people too weak and too divided to resist.
Three circumstances in three European capitals have timed the delivery of this German blow. In Vienna plans were afoot for a national plebiscite on the question of union with Germany – a plebiscite which Hitler was plainly determined to prevent at all costs, since its certain result would have been to advertise to the whole world Austria’s unwillingness to be absorbed by the kind of Germany that exists today. In Paris the French Government was in the throes of another political and economic crisis with great uncertainty in the air. And in Rome the British and Italian Governments were making unmistakable progress toward a rapprochement which, in the last analysis, could only be achieved at the expense of Hitler’s ties with Mussolini. It was Hitler’s cue to act before Austria voted, before France resolved her domestic crisis and before negotiations between Britain and Italy had proceeded too far. An ultimatum to Vienna was the answer. Austria, long denied an opportunity to throw in her lot with Germany when both these nations were democratic states, now falls victim to a Germany in which democracy is dead and tyranny is master.
To talk of war in Europe, as the direct and inevitable consequence of this brutal act of German aggression, is no doubt to exaggerate the immediate dangers of the present situation. It is not certain how rapidly Germany will move to complete the annexation which is so unmistakably its goal, or what obstacles it may yet encounter. But what is clear beyond all doubt is that momentous events are in the making. No one can say how far the shadow of these events may fall.
I appreciate your posts.
While the rest of Europe debated and mulled, Hitler acted.
There are, of course, lots of similarities with how Iraq was handled and how Iran is currently being handled.
Your posts show that things can get a lot worse, real quick.
Ouch....
This is partly an allusion to the customs union negotiated with Germany in 1931. The agreement was eventually struck down by the International Court at the Hague as a violation of the 1919 peace treaties; but the French government, unwilling to wait that long, brought pressure which brought on financial crisis in Austria (incidentally contributing to the onset of the Depression). In 1938, France was presented not with a customs union, but with a total annexation; behold the French response.
It should be emphasized that Schuschnigg's regime was a dictatorship as well, just not as ruthless as Hitler's - and for just that reason, at a great disadvantage. Schuschnigg and his predecessor Dollfuss had held on to power as long as they did only by making an alliance with Mussolini; but in 1938 Mussolini could no longer protect the Austrian regime, and perhaps didn't want to.