The Anschluss, also known as the Anschluß Österreichs, was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
Austrian citizens gather on the Heldenplatz to hear Hitler's declaration of annexation.
Soldiers of the Austrian Federal Army in Vienna, 12 February 1934
Supporters of Schuschnigg campaigning for the independence of Austria in March 1938, shortly before the Anschluss
Seyss-Inquart and Hitler with Himmler and Heydrich to the right in Vienna, March 1938
The Federal State of Austria was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the conservative, nationalist, and corporatist Fatherland Front. The Ständestaat concept, derived from the notion of Stände, was advocated by leading regime politicians such as Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt Schuschnigg. The result was an authoritarian government based on a mix of Italian Fascist and conservative Catholic influences.
Fatherland Front rally in 1936
Kurt Schuschnigg in 1936