1.
Zell am See
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Zell am See is the administrative capital of the Zell am See District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The town is an important tourist destination known as Zell am See-Kaprun and is a hub for the region. The Zell Valley is a corridor in the Kitzbühel Alps, connecting the Saalfelden Basin of the Saalach River in the north, Zell am See is located approximately 100 km east of Innsbruck and 30 km north of Mt. Grossglockner. The dimensions of the lake, however, have changed over time into marsh areas, the lake has the shape of a peanut, with an area of 4.7 square kilometres. The mountains of the form a horseshoe shape, the slopes are mainly forested or covered with Alpine pastures. Mt. Schmittenhöhe is a centre for skiing and winter sports. The nearby Mt. Hundstein at 2,117 metres is the highest peak of the Salzburg Greywacke Zone, Zell am See provides winter skiing on the above Schmittenhöhe Mountain, the skiable area is approximately 138 km including the pistes on the Kitzsteinhorn and kaprun maiskogel. The ski pass covers the area including transport to and from the glacier which is open most of the year snow dependent. Zell am See is a low altitude ski area and snow cover can suffer from the temperature, the area of Zell am See was continuously populated at least since Roman times. About 740 AD, by order of Bishop Johannes I of Salzburg, monks founded the village within the duchy of Bavaria. The denotation Cella or German, Zelle refers to a cell in the sense of a monastery. Zell received the rights of a town in 1357. During the German Peasants War in 1526, the area was site of fighting against the troops of Swabian League. From 1800, the town was occupied by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars, after the secularisation of the Salzburg Archbishopric, Zell am See finally passed to the Austrian Empire by resolution of the Vienna Congress in 1816. When in 1850 neighbouring Saalfelden became the capital of the Pinzgau district, the towns development was decisively promoted by the opening of the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway line on 30 July 1875, starting the annual summer tourism season. The church is built in a mostly Romanesque style and consists of three naves, before 1794, the central nave was crowned with a Gothic vault, but in that year it was replaced with another vault, which in turn was replaced by a flat wooden roof in 1898. Four steps lead up to the altar, but the crypt has been filled in. The narthex and aisles are still Gothic, but some of the other Gothic objects were added during the renovation in 1898, the highpoint of the church is its elevated walkway with its ornate parapet, built in 1514
2.
Salzburg
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Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburgs Old Town is internationally renowned for its architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, the city has three universities and a large population of students. Tourists also visit Salzburg to tour the historic center and the scenic Alpine surroundings, Salzburg was the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the mid‑20th century, the city was the setting for the musical play, traces of human settlements have been found in the area, dating to the Neolithic Age. The first settlements in Salzburg continuous with the present were apparently by the Celts around the 5th century BC, around 15 BC the Roman Empire merged the settlements into one city. At this time, the city was called Juvavum and was awarded the status of a Roman municipium in 45 AD, Juvavum developed into an important town of the Roman province of Noricum. After the Norican frontiers collapse, Juvavum declined so sharply that by the late 7th century it became a ruin. The Life of Saint Rupert credits the 8th-century saint with the citys rebirth, when Theodo of Bavaria asked Rupert to become bishop c. 700, Rupert reconnoitered the river for the site of his basilica, Rupert chose Juvavum, ordained priests, and annexed the manor Piding. He traveled to evangelise among pagans, the name Salzburg means Salt Castle. The name derives from the barges carrying salt on the Salzach River, the Festung Hohensalzburg, the citys fortress, was built in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard, who made it his residence. It was greatly expanded during the following centuries, independence from Bavaria was secured in the late 14th century. Salzburg was the seat of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, a prince-bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire, as the reformation movement gained steam, riots broke out among peasants in the areas in and around Salzburg. The city was occupied during the German Peasants War, and the archbishop had to flee to the safety of the fortress It was besieged for three months in 1525. It was in the 17th century that Italian architects rebuilt the city center as it is today along with many palaces,21,475 citizens refused to recant their beliefs and were expelled from Salzburg. Most of them accepted an offer by King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, the rest settled in other Protestant states in Europe and the British colonies in America. In 1772–1803, under archbishop Hieronymus Graf von Colloredo, Salzburg was a centre of late Illuminism, in 1803, the archbishopric was secularised by Emperor Napoleon, he transferred the territory to Ferdinando III of Tuscany, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, as the Electorate of Salzburg
3.
Austria-Hungary
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The union was a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and came into existence on 30 March 1867. Austria-Hungary consisted of two monarchies, and one region, the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia under the Hungarian crown. It was ruled by the House of Habsburg, and constituted the last phase in the evolution of the Habsburg Monarchy. Following the 1867 reforms, the Austrian and the Hungarian states were co-equal, Foreign affairs and the military came under joint oversight, but all other governmental faculties were divided between respective states. Austria-Hungary was a state and one of the worlds great powers at the time. Austria-Hungary was geographically the second-largest country in Europe after the Russian Empire, at 621,538 km2, the Empire built up the fourth-largest machine building industry of the world, after the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. After 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina was under Austro-Hungarian military and civilian rule until it was annexed in 1908. The annexation of Bosnia also led to Islam being recognized as a state religion due to Bosnias Muslim population. Austria-Hungary was one of the Central Powers in World War I and it was already effectively dissolved by the time the military authorities signed the armistice of Villa Giusti on 3 November 1918. The realms full, official name was The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council, each enjoyed considerable sovereignty with only a few joint affairs. Certain regions, such as Polish Galicia within Cisleithania and Croatia within Transleithania, enjoyed autonomous status, the division between Austria and Hungary was so marked that there was no common citizenship, one was either an Austrian citizen or a Hungarian citizen, never both. This also meant that there were always separate Austrian and Hungarian passports, however, neither Austrian nor Hungarian passports were used in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia-Dalmatia. Instead, the Kingdom issued its own passports which were written in Croatian and French and it is not known what kind of passports were used in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was under the control of both Austria and Hungary. The Kingdom of Hungary had always maintained a separate parliament, the Diet of Hungary, the administration and government of the Kingdom of Hungary remained largely untouched by the government structure of the overarching Austrian Empire. Hungarys central government structures remained well separated from the Austrian imperial government, the country was governed by the Council of Lieutenancy of Hungary – located in Pressburg and later in Pest – and by the Hungarian Royal Court Chancellery in Vienna. The Hungarian government and Hungarian parliament were suspended after the Hungarian revolution of 1848, despite Austria and Hungary sharing a common currency, they were fiscally sovereign and independent entities. Since the beginnings of the union, the government of the Kingdom of Hungary could preserve its separated. After the revolution of 1848–1849, the Hungarian budget was amalgamated with the Austrian, from 1527 to 1851, the Kingdom of Hungary maintained its own customs controls, which separated her from the other parts of the Habsburg-ruled territories
4.
Stowe, Vermont
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Stowe is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,314 at the 2010 census, Stowe was chartered June 8,1763 by Royal Governor Benning Wentworth of the New Hampshire colony. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 72.7 square miles. By area, it is the second-largest town in the state of Vermont after Chittenden in Rutland County, Stowe lies in a broad, fertile valley between Mount Mansfield and other peaks of the Green Mountains to the west, and the Worcester Range to the east. The Little River with its main east and west branches and various tributaries, flows southward and, above Waterbury Center, from there the Little River flows southward and eventually empties into the westward flowing Winooski River west of the Village of Waterbury. As of the census of 2000, there were 4,339 people,1,905 households, the population density was 59.7 people per square mile. There were 2,728 housing units at a density of 37.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 97. 51% White,0. 28% African American,0. 37% Native American,0. 44% Asian,0. 23% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 1. 06% of the population. 29. 0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8. 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.83. In the town, the population was out with 21. 1% under the age of 18,6. 9% from 18 to 24,28. 3% from 25 to 44,30. 3% from 45 to 64. The median age was 41 years, for every 100 females there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males, there has been some manufacturing in Stowe, such as the Tubbs Snowshoe factory, but they closed in 2009 and moved their manufacturing overseas. The median income for a household in the town was $52,378, males had a median income of $37,788 versus $31,689 for females. The per capita income for the town was $35,474, about 3. 7% of families and 6. 8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6. 8% of those under age 18 and 5. 3% of those age 65 or over. The median house value was $412,183 in 2012, Stowe is host to arts and crafts shows, a balloon festival, and many other special events. The weekend-long British Invasion event is annually in Stowe during the third week of September. The Stowe Theater Guild, along with Hyde Park Opera House, the 2007 Fed Cup Semifinals between the United States team and Russia took place in Stowe on hard courts in July. Vania King, Lisa Raymond, Meilen Tu and Venus Williams made up the team for the U. S, a 4100-seat stadium was built at Topnotch Resort
5.
Vermont
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Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders the other U. S. states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. Lake Champlain forms half of Vermonts western border with the state of New York, Vermont is the 2nd-least populous of the U. S. states, with nearly 50,000 more residents than Wyoming. The capital is Montpelier, the least populous state capital in the U. S, the most populous municipality, Burlington, is the least populous city in the U. S. to be the most populous within a state. As of 2015, Vermont continued to be the producer of maple syrup in the U. S. It was ranked as the safest state in the country in January 2016, for thousands of years inhabited by indigenous peoples, including the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and Mohawk, much of the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by Frances colony of New France. France ceded the territory to Great Britain after being defeated in 1763 in the Seven Years War, for many years, the nearby colonies, especially the provinces of New Hampshire and New York, disputed control of the area. Settlers who held land titles granted by New York were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, ultimately, those settlers prevailed in creating an independent state, the Vermont Republic. Founded in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War, the republic lasted for 14 years, aside from the original 13 states that were formerly colonies, Vermont is one of only four U. S. states that were previously sovereign states. Vermont was also the first state to join the U. S. as its 14th member state after the original 13, while still an independent republic, Vermont was the first of any future U. S. state to partially abolish slavery. It played an important geographic role in the Underground Railroad, sights in Vermont Vermont is located in the New England region of the northeastern United States and comprises 9,614 square miles, making it the 45th-largest state. It is the state that does not have any buildings taller than 124 feet. Land comprises 9,250 square miles and water comprises 365 square miles, making it the 43rd-largest in land area, in total area, it is larger than El Salvador and smaller than Haiti. The west bank of the Connecticut River marks the eastern border with New Hampshire. 41% of Vermonts land area is part of the Connecticut Rivers watershed, Lake Champlain, the major lake in Vermont, is the sixth-largest body of fresh water in the United States and separates Vermont from New York in the northwest portion of the state. From north to south, Vermont is 159 miles long and its greatest width, from east to west, is 89 miles at the Canada–U. S. Border, the narrowest width is 37 miles at the Massachusetts line, the states geographic center is approximately three miles east of Roxbury, in Washington County. There are fifteen U. S. federal border crossings between Vermont and Canada, the origin of the name Vermont is uncertain, but likely comes from the French les Verts Monts, meaning the Green Mountains
6.
Georg von Trapp
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Corvette Captain Georg Johannes Ritter von Trapp, often incorrectly referred to as Baron von Trapp, was an Austro-Hungarian Navy officer. His naval exploits during World War I earned him numerous decorations, under his command, the submarines SM U-5 and SM U-14 sank 13 Allied ships totaling about 45,669 gross register tons. Following Austria-Hungarys defeat and subsequent collapse, Trapp returned to his family but lost his first wife to scarlet fever, the family came under increasing persecution from the Nazis after the Anschluss, when Trapp refused to serve in the German Navy due to his opposition to Nazi ideology. Fearing arrest, Trapp fled with his family to Italy and then to the United States, the story of his family served as the inspiration for the musical The Sound of Music, and the hugely successful 1965 film, in which he was portrayed by Canadian actor Christopher Plummer. Georg Johannes Ritter von Trapp was born in Zara, Dalmatia and his older sister was the Austrian artist Hede von Trapp, and his brother Werner died in 1915 during the First World War. August Ritter von Trapp died in 1884, when Georg was four, in 1894, aged fourteen, the young Trapp followed in his fathers footsteps and joined the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Navy, entering the naval academy at Fiume. He graduated four years later and completed two years of follow-on training voyages, including one to Australia, on the voyage home he visited the Holy Land where he met a Franciscan monk who took him on a tour of all the Biblical sites he wanted to see. Among other things, Trapp bought seven bottles of water from the Jordan River which were used to baptize his first seven children. In 1900 he was assigned to the armored cruiser SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia and was decorated for his performance during the Boxer Rebellion, in 1902 he passed the final officers examination. He was fascinated by submarines, and in 1908 seized the opportunity to be transferred to the newly formed submarine arm. In 1910 he was given command of the newly constructed SM U-6, which was launched by his wife, on 17 April 1915, Trapp took command of SM U-5 and conducted nine combat patrols. He also captured the Greek steamer Cefalonia off Durazzo on 29 August 1915, Georg Johannes von Trapp has sometimes incorrectly been credited with sinking the Italian troop transport Principe Umberto. Trapp conducted ten more war patrols, until, in May 1918, he was promoted to Korvettenkapitän and given command of the submarine base in the Gulf of Kotor. At the end of the fighting in 1918, Trapps wartime record stood at 19 war patrols,11 cargo vessels totalling 45,669 GRT sunk, plus Léon Gambetta, among other honours, he received the Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. The end of the First World War saw the defeat and collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Trapp was first married to Agatha Whitehead, a niece of St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton and a granddaughter of Robert Whitehead, who invented the modern torpedo. After the British government had rejected Whiteheads invention, the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef invited him to open a factory in Fiume. Trapps first command, the U-boat U-6, was launched by Agatha, agathas inherited wealth sustained the couple and permitted them to start a family, and they went on to have seven children, two sons and five daughters, over the next ten years. Their first child, Rupert, was born on 1 November 1911, at Pola, Istria, on 3 September 1922, Agatha von Trapp died of scarlet fever contracted from her daughter Agathe
7.
Broadway theatre
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Along with Londons West End theatres, Broadway theatres are widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. The Theater District is a popular tourist attraction in New York City, the great majority of Broadway shows are musicals. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggars Opera, in 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice, the company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others. Blackface minstrel shows, a distinctly American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830s, by the 1840s, P. T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblos Garden opened, the 3, 000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmos Opera House opened and presented opera for four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as a venue for plays under the name Burtons Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847, booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865, and would later revive the role at his own Booths Theatre. Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving, Tommaso Salvini, Fanny Davenport, lydia Thompson came to America in 1868 heading a small theatrical troupe, adapting popular English burlesques for middle-class New York audiences. Thompsons troupe called the British Blondes, was the most popular entertainment in New York during the 1868–1869 theatrical season, the six-month tour ran for almost six extremely profitable years. Theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850, in 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square. Broadways first long-run musical was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857, New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keenes musical burletta The Seven Sisters shattered previous New York records with a run of 253 performances. It was at a performance by Keenes troupe of Our American Cousin in Washington, the production was a staggering five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and the Post was the first show to call itself a musical comedy, Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham. They starred high quality singers, instead of the women of repute who had starred in earlier musical forms. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits, as in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women
8.
Academy Awards
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The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit, which has become commonly known by its nickname Oscar. The awards, first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are overseen by AMPAS, the awards ceremony was first broadcast on radio in 1930 and televised for the first time in 1953. It is now live in more than 200 countries and can be streamed live online. The Academy Awards ceremony is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony and its equivalents – the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music and recording – are modeled after the Academy Awards. The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2016, were held on February 26,2017, at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, the ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and was broadcast on ABC. A total of 3,048 Oscars have been awarded from the inception of the award through the 88th, the first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16,1929, at a private dinner function at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post-awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel, the cost of guest tickets for that nights ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other participants in the industry of the time. The ceremony ran for 15 minutes, winners were announced to media three months earlier, however, that was changed for the second ceremony in 1930. Since then, for the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11,00 pm on the night of the awards. The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in The Last Command and he had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give him the prize earlier, this made him the first Academy Award winner in history. With the fourth ceremony, however, the system changed, for the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. At the 29th ceremony, held on March 27,1957, until then, foreign-language films had been honored with the Special Achievement Award. The 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, since 1973, all Academy Awards ceremonies always end with the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Academy also awards Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, see also § Awards of Merit categories The best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette. The five spokes represent the branches of the Academy, Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers. The model for the statuette is said to be Mexican actor Emilio El Indio Fernández, sculptor George Stanley sculpted Cedric Gibbons design. The statuettes presented at the ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze
9.
The Sound of Music (film)
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The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise, and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is an adaptation of the 1959 Broadway musical The Sound of Music, the films screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman, adapted from the stage musicals book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The film was released on March 2,1965 in the United States, although critical response to the film was widely mixed, the film was a major commercial success, becoming the number one box office movie after four weeks, and the highest-grossing film of 1965. By November 1966, The Sound of Music had become the film of all-time—surpassing Gone with the Wind—and held that distinction for five years. The film was just as throughout the world, breaking previous box-office records in twenty-nine countries. The Sound of Music received five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, in 1998, the American Film Institute listed The Sound of Music as the fifty-fifth greatest American movie of all time, and the fourth greatest movie musical. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it culturally, historically, Maria is a free-spirited young Austrian woman studying to become a nun at Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg in 1938. Her love of music and the mountains, her enthusiasm and imagination. The Captain has been raising his children alone using strict military discipline following the death of his first wife, although the children misbehave at first, Maria responds with kindness and patience, and soon the children come to trust and respect her. While the Captain is away in Vienna, Maria makes play clothes for the children and takes them around Salzburg and the surrounding mountains, and she teaches them how to sing. Displeased by his childrens clothes and activities, and Marias impassioned appeal that he get closer to his children, just then he hears singing coming from inside the house and is astonished to see his children singing for the Baroness. Filled with emotion, the Captain joins his children, singing for the first time in years, afterwards, he apologizes to Maria and asks her to stay. He does agree, however, to organize a party at the villa. The night of the party, while guests in formal attire waltz in the ballroom, Maria, when the Captain notices Maria teaching Kurt the traditional Ländler folk dance, he cuts in and partners with Maria in a graceful performance, culminating in a close embrace. Confused about her feelings, Maria blushes and breaks away, later, the Baroness, who noticed the Captains attraction to Maria, hides her jealousy while convincing Maria that she must return to the abbey. Back at the abbey, when Mother Abbess learns that Maria has stayed in seclusion to avoid her feelings for the Captain, after Maria returns to the villa, she learns about the Captains engagement to the Baroness and agrees to stay until they find a replacement governess. The Captains feelings for Maria, however, have not changed, while they are on their honeymoon, Max enters the children in the Salzburg Festival against their fathers wishes. Strongly opposed to the Nazis and the Anschluss, the Captain tells his family they must leave Austria immediately and that night, as the von Trapp family attempt to leave, they are stopped by a group of Brownshirts waiting outside the villa
10.
Anschluss
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Anschluss is the term used to describe the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in March 1938. German spelling, until the German orthography reform of 1996, was Anschluß, the idea of an Anschluss began after the Unification of Germany excluded Austria and the Austrian Germans from the Prussian-dominated German nation-state in 1871. Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938, there had been several years of pressure from supporters in Austria and Germany for the Heim ins Reich movement. Earlier, Nazi Germany had provided support for the Austrian National Socialist Party in its bid to seize power from Austrias Fatherland Front government. Infuriated, on 11 March, Adolf Hitler threatened invasion of Austria, and demanded Chancellor von Schuschniggs resignation, Hitlers plan was for Seyss-Inquart to call immediately for German troops to rush to Austrias aid, restoring order and giving the invasion an air of legitimacy. In the face of threat, Schuschnigg informed Seyss-Inquart that the plebiscite would be cancelled. Nevertheless, the German Führer underestimated his opposition, Schuschnigg did resign on the evening of 11 March, but President Wilhelm Miklas refused to appoint Seyss-Inquart as Chancellor. At 8,45 pm, Hitler, tired of waiting, around 10 pm, a forged telegram was sent in Seyss-Inquarts name asking for German troops, since he was not yet Chancellor and was unable to do so himself. Seyss-Inquart was not installed as Chancellor until after midnight, when Miklas resigned himself to the inevitable, clearly it was Hitler, and not Schuschnigg, who was terrified by the potential results of the scheduled plebiscite, and that was the best indication of where Austrians loyalty lay. The newly installed Nazis, within two days, transferred power to Germany, and Wehrmacht troops entered Austria to enforce the Anschluss, Austrian citizens of Jewish origin were not allowed to vote. No military confrontation took place, and even the strongest voices against the annexation, particularly Fascist Italy, France, the loudest verbal protest was voiced by the government of Mexico. Although Austria had never been a part of the German Empire, Austria was predominantly ethnically German, prior to annexing Austria in 1938, Nazi Germany had remilitarized the Rhineland, and the Saar region was returned to Germany after 15 years of occupation through a plebiscite. In March 1939, Hitler then dismantled Czechoslovakia by recognising the independence of Slovakia and that same year, Memelland was returned from Lithuania. With the Anschluss, the Republic of Austria ceased to exist as an independent state, at the end of World War II, a Provisional Austrian Government under Karl Renner was set up by conservatives, social democrats and communists on 27 April 1945. It cancelled the Anschluss the same day and was recognized by the Allies in the following months. In 1955 the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, the idea of grouping all Germans into a nation-state country had been the subject of debate in the 19th century from the ending of the Holy Roman Empire until the ending of the German Confederation. Austria had wanted a Großdeutsche Lösung, whereby the German states would be united under the leadership of the Austrian Germans and this solution would include all the German states, but Prussia would have to take second place. This controversy, called dualism, dominated Prusso-Austrian diplomacy and the politics of the German states, by 1871, the decision was to form a kleindeutsch German Empire based on Prussia and excluding Austria
