Why did Austria want to merge with Germany?

[hauptmannn]

I've been wondering as to why Austria initially after ww1 wanted to merge with Germany? And why the Western powers did not want Austria to merge with Germany?

[Orok]

Pan-German Nationalism had long been one of the more important movements, both cultural and political, in the German-speaking part of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. It was not a phenomenon appeared after WWI, although it indeed gained more traction after the Great War for multiple reasons, one of them was the doubt as to the viability of a small Austria as a European power. The great leader and first national organizer of this movement, Georg von Schönerer (1842-1921), was most active before the War. It was a movement originated in student movements and most popular in German-speaking middle class and intellectuals (Dr. Sigmund Freud was an ardent follower of the movement when he was a young student! 8) ).

Gordon Shepherd's The Austrian Odyssey, London, 1957, has some excellent analyses of this unique Austrian psyche. For Pan-German Nationalism as a political movement before the Great War in Vienna, read Carl Schorske's essay Politics in a New Key: An Austrian Trio, in Fin-de-Siecle Vienna: Politics and Culture, New York, 1980.

Best Regards!

[maxxx]

true, the most important reason was that after ww1 the habsburg empire broke up into its former nationalities. all nationalities formed their states (Czechs and slowaks, hungarians) or joined their mother-states (like the polish, the romanians, the ukrainians, the italians), those who were left were the german speaking in todays austria (who had never before belonged to a german empire, but vice versa germany had been part of the "austrian" habsburg empire).

They had been used to living in europe´s second largest monarchy. they could not trust in living in such a small nation left.(6,5 millions) Even the revolutionaries wanted to join their comrades in germany.

after ww2 it was just the other way around. ..

[Karl]

Yeah right, also, after the endings of hostilities, large numbers of ‘resistance fighters’ mysteriously emerged from the most unexpected quarters, complete with their red-white-red armbands… :roll:

[hauptmannn]

Why didn't the allies let them, afterall those 6.5 million people were Germans (perhaps it may be controversial to say that so anyone can lecture me on that ).

[Gwynn Compton]

Quite possibly because they wanted to still weaken the possibility of Germany coming back at them in the future. Creating Austria was a useful means of trying to limit the resources at Germany's disposal in a future war.

Gwynn

[Karl]

Well when did Cold War really begin. Tehran?

[maxxx]

i beg your pardon? What has teheran (1945) to to with our 1919 (trianon, saint germaine) thread? Maybe your posting got wrong ?

[Karl]

You are right of course but this got me a little excited:

after ww2 it was just the other way around. ..

So pursued the thread post WWII…

Not our finest hour IMO but that is neither here nor there and who am I to judge.

[maxxx]

sorry, no wise-cracking. But I really did not get the point...

The Cold War was definitely not about keeping germany weak, was it?

[Karl]

No, a clash of ideologies. My reference to Tehran (’43) was to point out the start of this struggle and Austria being quite important geopolitically, the ‘allies’ basically nipped the dilemma in the bud by neutralizing Her. Also, there is small matter regarding the amputation of ancient Austrian lands in pursuit of the same goal and possibly to reward/chastise certain other countries.

[Tanker]

After WW1,Germany was lead by a social-demacratic government.And in the chaos of the breaking Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy,the Austrian socialdemocrates also wanted Austria to be lead by a socialdemocratic government.So they wanted to merge with germany. An anti patriotic behavoir,which those circles had to pay under the dictatorship of Dr. Engelbert Dollfuß in the early 30's.

The Allies feared a powerful germany after the war,and did everything that could garanty this.In the contract of St.Germain,Austria was not allowed to join Germany.

[Orok]

For those members who do not read German, here are two more English language books bearing on this topic:

Bukey, Evan Burr. Hitler’s Austria: Popular Sentiment in the Nazi Era 1938-1945, Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2000

Pauley, Bruce F. Hitler and the Forgotten Nazis: A History of Austrian National Socialism, Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1987

The Pauley book is particularly well researched and written. As to the Bukey book, although some what dry, it offers a more balanced view than the Austrophil Gordon Shepherd does in his book I recommended in my previous post.

Although there is a really good biography of Karl Lueger in English (Geehr, Richard S. Karl Lueger: Mayor of Fin de Siècle Vienna, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990), I am not aware of a comparable one for Georg Ritter von Shönerer, I would appreciate it very much if anyone can recommend one.

Best Regards!