On 12 March 1938 the German Wehrmacht invaded Austria. A National Socialist government was installed there the same night and formally approved the ‘Anschluss’ (literally ‘connection’, ‘joining’) of Austria to the German Reich on 13 March 1938.

The annexation of Austria was the Hitler regime’s first major act of aggressive territorial expansionism. The measures introduced in Germany after 1933 to establish the National Socialist regime were swiftly enforced in Austria too.

For more information (in German) see: LeMO NS-Regime – Außenpolitik – „Anschluss“ Österreich 1938 (dhm.de)