Austria–Germany relations

Austro-German relations

Austria	Germany
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Austria, Berlin	Embassy of Germany, Vienna

Relations betweenAustriaandGermanyare close due to their shared history and culture, withGermanbeing the official language andGermansbeing the major ethnic group of both countries.

The ancestors ofAustrianswere theGermanicBaiuvarii(ancientGermanBavarians). The Baiuvarii originated in southeast Germany in the north/Germaniaand moved to present-day Austria in theMigration periodafter successfulGermanic invasionsofancient Rome.

Other Germanic and other non-Germanic peoples were settled in present-day Austria in early historybut the Baiuvarii established theDuchy of Bavariawhich would come to be the modern Austrian state. From 788 to 843; Bavaria including present-day Austria was ruled under the West GermanicFranksasFrancia.Later, the BavarianAustriacame underEast Francia(Kingdom of Germany) from 843 to 972. It then separated from the Duchy of Bavaria as a state in 972, and from 972 to 1806 Austria (not including its non-German lands) and other German states were a core and later dominant part of theHoly Roman Empirewhich was officially a German polity from 1512 and mostly led by Austria itself.

From 1938 to 1945 under theNazi regime,Austria was annexed into Germany in what was seen as a reunification.

History

TheGerman Confederationwas also led by Austria from 1815 to 1866. In 1866 Austria was firstly separated from Germany and German Confederation was dissolved. In 1867, the multi-ethnicAustro-Hungarian Empirewas established and led by Austria; it was rivaled by theNorth German Confederationfrom 1866 to 1871 andGerman Empireled by theKingdom of PrussiarivaledAustria. Militarily, Austria (Austria-Hungary) and Germany (German Empire) were allies of each other at the time.

In 1918, after the end ofWorld War Iand with the fall of Austro-Hungarian and German Empires, Austria briefly renamed itself theRepublic of German-Austriain a bid for union withGermany;an action forbidden by theTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)created by the winners of World War I against both Germany and Austria and as a result; throughout much of theInterwar period,Austria and Germany continued to remain as separate and distinct entities.

However, in 1938,Nazi Germanyled by Austrian-bornAdolf Hitlerannexed Austria into Germany in what would come to be called theAnschluss.Following the fact that Austria under Allied control claimed independence to be secondly separated from Germany on 27 April 1945, theGerman identity in Austriahas been weakened. The 1955Austrian State Treatyto let Austria gain power from the Allied occupying the country also banned the reunification of Germany and Austria. Thefirst victim theorywas very popular in Austria from its start in 1949 to 1988 that Austria was the first victim of Nazi Germany and therefore had nothing to do with the Nazi German crimes, but this theory has been disproved by Austrians themselves since 1988. In 1990,West GermanyandEast Germanywere reunited.

After Austria's entry into theEuropean Union(EU) in 1995, both are member-states of the EU and have same currency and free border; however whereas Germany is a member nation ofNATOfrom 1955, Austria in accordance with its strict constitutional requirement of neutrality is not a NATO member.

Since 2004,meetings of German-speaking countrieshave been held annually with six participants, including Germany and Austria. Both countries are full members of theCouncil of Europeand theEuropean Union.

Austria was separated from the German Duchy of Bavaria in 972.

Holy Roman Empire

Main article:Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire in 1789, showing Austrian territories (brown) and Prussian territories (blue)

At various times, throughout theMiddleandEarly-modernAges, theHoly Roman Empire(HRE) encompassed the bulk of present territories of Germany, Austria,Bohemia(Czech Republic), Slovenia, northern Italy and western Poland. TheHouse of Habsburgbecame theruling familyof the Empire in 1440; the family would remain so until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806.

Austriahas been the Habsburg's seat of power and the dominant state within the realm. The numerousGerman states(within the HRE) constantly jostled for power and influence; they often warred against each other. In the 18th century, theKingdom of Prussiarose as another influential power within the HRE; therefore, Prussia became Austria's main rival for dominance over their neighbouring German states. Prussia and Austria foughta series of warsover the province ofSilesia(in modern-day southwestern Poland) between 1740 and 1763. Austria and Prussia co-operated in thePartitions of Polandand theSecond Schleswig War,which resulted in annexations ofPolishandDanishterritory.

Napoleonic Wars and German Confederation

Further information:Napoleonic WarsandGerman Confederation

The Holy Roman Empire came to an end during theNapoleonic Warsin the 1790s and 1800s, Austria and Prussia allied with each other but fought unsuccessfully against theFrench Empire.In 1804,Francis II,the Holy Roman Emperor, proclaimed theAustrian Empire,as the remaining German States had becomeclientsof Napoleon's French Empire under theConfederation of the Rhine.

After Napoleon's defeat in 1815, Austria created theGerman Confederationas a new organisation among the German States, in which Prussia and Austria became reunited. It was during this period that the ideology ofPan-Germanismstarted to rise. The German Confederation lacked a monarch or a central government with real unifying force. As a result, dualism within the German Confederation laid foundation to the diplomatic tension between Prussia and Austria, who had ambitions to create a unified Germanyunder their different proposals.

Austria proposed to unite the German states in a union centered on, and dominated by, the Habsburgs; Prussia, however, hoped to become the central forces in unifying the German states and to exclude Austria out of its affairs. In 1834, Prussia succeeded in creating aGerman Customs Unionwith northern German states with the hope of political union as its next step. The tension eventually gave rise to the 1866Austro-Prussian War(Fraternal War of the Germans).Otto von Bismarck,chancellor of Prussia, sided with Italy to surround Austria and bring about the latter's defeat. The Austrian Empire was dissolved into theDual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary,with the loss of their influence over southern German states (Baden-WürttembergandBavaria).

German Empire without Austria

The German Empire without Austria

Further information:Unification of GermanyandGerman Empire

In 1867, the newNorth German Confederationwas declared by Bismarck. After Prussia's victory in theFranco-Prussian Warin 1870, in which Prussian army entered and marched over Paris, Bismarck announced the creation of theGerman Empireand excluded Austria-Hungary solely in this unified Germany. Austria-Hungary then turned its imperial ambitions to theBalkan Peninsula;whereas the German Empire focused on building armaments in a race against theUnited Kingdom (Britain and Ireland).Nevertheless, both the German Empire and Austria-Hungary forged a military alliance with the Kingdom of Italy, forming theTriple Alliance (1882). In the 1910s, Austria-Hungary's ambition of turningSerbiainto its protectorate facilitated theAssassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914),heir to Austria-Hungary's throne. When Austria-Hungary stirred up excuses for a war (First World War) against Serbia, Germany, claiming the Alliance's terms of passive military defence instead of downright aggression, reluctantly entered the war on Austria-Hungary's side.

Inter-war period

TheDual Alliancein 1914,German Empirein blue andAustro-Hungarian Empirein red

After losing the war, the Habsburgs of Austria-Hungary were overthrown and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicated in 1918. Both Germany and Austria became republics and were heavily punished in theTreaty of Versailles (1919)andTreaty of St. Germain-en-Laye (1919).Austria lost over 60% of its pre-war territory (mostly settled by non-Austrians) and was hugely reduced to a rump state,The Republic of German-Austria.The majority in both countries wanted unification with Germany (now theWeimar Republic) into a Greater German nation, but this was strictly forbidden by theTreaty of Versaillesto avoid a dominant German state.

On 1 September 1920, the Weimar Republic and Austria concluded an economic agreement.Both countries, however, faced severe economic hardships, hyperinflation, mass unemployment and constant riots after the war. After Austrian-bornAdolf Hitlercame to power in Germany in 1933, he demanded the right toAnschluss(union) between Austria and Germany. This was initially blocked by the Italian Fascist government underBenito Mussolini,who cooperated with his Austrian counterpartsEngelbert DollfussandKurt Schuschnigg,fearing retrospective territorial demands from Hitler onSüdtirol (South Tyrol)(lost to Italy in 1919). Mussolini successfully forced Hitler to renounce all claims to Austria on 11 July 1936.

Germany absorbs Austria in Anschluss in 1938

Main article:Anschluss

Nazi leaderAdolf Hitler,born in Austria, annexed the country into Germany with theAnschlussin 1938.

After 1936, Hitler and Mussolini forged a closer relationship in preparation for Germany's expansionist ambitions. Hitler used the Nazi Party of Austria to influence public opinions and staged a coup against the Austrian Fascist government in 1938. When Hitler decided to refrain from reclaiming South Tyrol, Mussolini abandoned his pledge to protect Austria's independence.

Berlin forcibly joined Austria and Germany in March 1938, despite it being prohibited by the Versailles and St. Germain treaties. France had blocked an attempt to establish a customs union between the two countries in 1931. In 1934, Austrian Nazis attempted a coup d'etat and killed ChancellorEngelbert Dollfuss.However, the coup failed: it was foiled by loyal police and army units, as well as Italian support for Austrian independence. After 1936, Austria was isolated as a result of strategic collaboration between Italy and Germany.Kurt Schuschnigg,the Chancellor of Austria, was pressured by Hitler into accepting Nazi ministers into his government. Despite calling for a plebiscite on Anschluss, Schuschnigg canceled the vote.Arthur Seyss-Inquartwas an Austrian Nazi politician who served as minister of police. He did nothing when Nazi supporters sparked anti-Jewish pogroms and political riots in favor of Anschluss. On March 11, Schuschnigg resigned, Seyss-Inquart became chancellor and he invited the German Army to cross the border. Anschluss was declared the next day as Austria became part of Germany.

Britain and France followedAppeasementand did not intervene.Hitler held a plebiscite a month later, claiming a 99% vote in favor of the Anschluss and his rule. Austria's Jews fell under Nazi control. Some managed to escape; the rest were later murdered in the Holocaust.The Anschluss was reversed in 1945, and Austria was occupied by the Allies separately from Germany until 1955. Seyss-Inquart was hanged after being tried at Nuremberg.

Re-Independence

Further information:Allied-occupied AustriaandAustrian State Treaty

Austrian chancellorBruno Kreiskywith German chancellorHelmut SchmidtandWilly Brandtin 1979

In late April 1945, the Allied Powers entered Austria and removed the country from the Third German Reich. A provisional Austrian government, led byKarl Renner,declared the country's regainedindependencein the context of after the fall of Third Reich. Austria's democratic constitution was reinstated and elections in late 1945 paved the way for a new federal government.Leopold Figlbecame the firstChancellor of Austria.Germany, however, was occupied by the Allied Powers and divided into four governing zones: British, French, American and the Soviet. Military occupation of Germany ended in 1949 when such zones were organised into theFederal Republic of Germany (West Germany)and theGerman Democratic Republic (East Germany).

After theSecond World War,there has been no serious effort among the citizens or political parties to unite Germany and Austria. In addition, theAustrian State Treatyforbids such a union and the constitution required Austria's neutrality. A 1987 survey revealed that only 6% of Austrians identified themselves as 'Germans'. Austria began to develop aseparate national identity from Germany,although both countries continued to co-operate closely in economic and cultural fields during the Cold War. Moreover, political relations between both countries have been strong and amicable.

In addition to a form of identity in Austria that looked toward Germany, there have also been forms of Austrian identity that rejected reunification of Austria with Germany and German identity on the basis of preserving Austrians'Catholicreligious identity from the potential danger posed by being part of aProtestant-majority Germany, as well as their different historical heritage regarding their mainlyCeltic(It is location of first Celtic culture and Celts were its first settlers),Slavic,Avar,RhaethianandRomanorigin prior to the colonization of theGermanicBaiuvarii(ancient German Bavarians).In addition; some regions of Austria recognize minority languages asofficial languagesbeside German such asBurgenland Croatian,Slovenian,andHungarian.

European Union

Main article:European Union

Foreign ministerAlexander Schallenbergwith German foreign ministerAnnalena Baerbockin 2022

In 1995, Austria joined theEuropean Unionand itsSchengen Area.This effectively removed the physical land-border between Germany and Austria and allowed both countries to further consolidate their already strong links. In 1999, Germany and Austria became two of the founding members of theEurozoneand adopted the Euro as their legal currency in 2001.

Espionage

According to reporting inDer Standardandprofil,theBundesnachrichtendienstengaged in espionage in Austria between 1999 and 2006, spying on targets including theInternational Atomic Energy Agency,theOrganization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries,theAustria Press Agency,embassies, and Austrian banks and government ministries.The government of Austria has called on Germany to clarify the allegations.

Resident diplomatic missions

Austria has an embassy inBerlinand a consulate-general inMunich;Germany has an embassy inVienna.

• 
  Embassy of Austria in Berlin
• 
  Consulate-General of Austria in Munich
• 
  Embassy of Germany in Vienna

See also

• German nationalism in Austria
• Pan-Germanism
• Austria–NATO relations
• European Union–NATO relations

Further reading

• Armour, Ian D. (2007).A History of Eastern Europe 1740-1918.Hodder Arnold.ISBN978-0340760406.
• Katzenstein, Peter J.Disjoined partners: Austria and Germany since 1815(1976)online