Anschluss: Difference between revisions

The Austrians' support for the ''Anschluss'' was ambivalent; but, since the [[Social Democratic Party of Austria]] leader [[Karl Renner]] and the highest representative of the Roman Catholic church in Austria Cardinal [[Theodor Innitzer]] both endorsed the ''Anschluss'', approximately two-thirds of Austrians could be counted on to vote for it.{{sfn|Bukey|2002|p=38}} What the result of the plebiscite meant for the Austrians will always be a matter of speculation. Nevertheless, historians generally agree that it cannot be explained exclusively by simply either opportunism or the desire of socioeconomics and represented the genuine German nationalist feeling in Austria during the interwar period.{{sfn|Bukey|2002|pp=38–39}} Also, the general anti-Semitic consensus in Austria meant that a substantial amount of Austrians were more than ready to "fulfill their duty" in the "Greater German Reich".{{sfn|Bukey|2002|p=39}} However, British historian [[Donny Gluckstein]] notes that Austrian socialists reacted with "disgust" to Renner's endorsement of Anschluss, provoking a split in the [[SPÖ]]. Austrian left circles vehemently opposed Anschluss, and Renner's declaration prompted many to defect to Revolutionary Socialists under [[Otto Bauer]] or the [[KPÖ]].<ref name="gluckstein_137">{{cite book |last=Gluckstein |first=Donny |author-link=Donny Gluckstein |date=2012 |title=A People's History of the Second World War: Resistance Versus Empire |location=New York |publisher=[[Pluto Press]] |page=137 |isbn=9781849647199}}</ref> The relevance of Innitzer's endorsement is also disputed - he was reportedly "despised" by Austrian workers,<ref>{{harvnb|Bukey|2002|p=80}}: "In contrast, there was no remorse about the Nazi assault on the church: the workers despised Cardinal Innitzer and recommended even harsher measures against both his clergy and flock."</ref> and the Anschluss sparked Catholic protests in Austria under the slogan "Our Führer is Christ" (rather than Hitler).<ref name="gluckstein_137"/>

 

 

How many Austrians behind closed doors were against the ''Anschluss'' remains unknown, but only one "unhappy face" of an Austrian in public when the Germans marched into Austria has ever been produced.{{sfn|Bukey|2002|p=33}} According to some [[Gestapo]] reports, only a quarter to a third of Austrian voters in Vienna were in favour of the ''Anschluss''.{{sfn|J. Evans|2006|p=655}} In most rural areas, especially in Tyrol, the support for the Anschluss was even lower.<ref name="Encarta">{{cite web|url=http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_461500064/1938_Austria.html |title=1938: Austria |publisher=MSN Encarta |access-date=11 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908024737/http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_461500064/1938_Austria.html |archive-date=8 September 2009 |url-status = dead}}</ref> According to Evan Burr Bukey, no more than one-third of Austrians ever fully supported Nazism during the existence of Nazi Germany.{{sfn|Bukey|2002|pp=33-34}} According to the estimates of the Austrian government, with the [[voting age]] of 24, about 70% of Austrians would have voted to preserve the Austrian independence.<ref name="knaur2" /> Czech-American historian [[:cz:Radomír Luža|Radomír Luža]] estimated that between 65% and 75% of Austrians supported the continuation of Austrian independence.<ref name="luza_52">{{cite book |last1=Luža|first1=Radomír |author-link=cz:Radomír Luža |date=21 September 1975 |title=Austro-German Relations in the Anschluss Era |url=https://archive.org/details/austrogermanrela0000luza |isbn=9780691075686 |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=52}}</ref> About a quarter of the Austrian population was estimated to be supportive of the [[NSDAP]].<ref name="knaur2" />