Between the Wars - Anschluss

The Anschluss (German: Annexation or Connection) was the Nazi propaganda term for the invasion and forced incorporation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938.As Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Edgar A Mowrer, reporting from Paris for CBS, observed: "There is no one in all France who does not believe that Hitler invaded Austria not to hold a genuine plebiscite, but to prevent the plebiscite planned by Schusschnigg from demonstrating to the entire world just how little hold National Socialism really had on that tiny country." Clearly it was Hitler, and not von Schuschnigg, who was terrified by the potential results of the scheduled plebiscite, and that was the best indication of where Austrians' loyalty lay.A public referendum on the Anschluss held in Austria on 10 April 1938 indicated that 99.73% of the voters were in favour, with a 99.71% turnout.