Anschluß

Anschluss (German: [ˈʔanʃlʊs], "connection" or "joining") is the term used to describe the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in March 1938. German spelling, until the German orthography reform of 1996, was Anschluß and it was also known as the Anschluss Österreichs (  pronunciation , German: Austrian Annexation).

The idea of an Anschluss (Austria and Germany united to form a "Greater Germany") began after the Unification of Germany excluded Austria and the Austrian Germans from the Prussian-dominated German nation-state in 1871. Following the end of World War I, in 1918, the Republic of German-Austria attempted union with Germany, but the Treaty of Saint Germain (10 September 1919) and the Treaty of Versailles (28 June 1919) forbade both the union and the continued use of the name "German-Austria" (Deutschösterreich) and cutting several territories like the Sudetenland off.

Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. There had been several years of pressure from supporters in Austria and Germany (both Nazis and non-Nazis) for the "Heim ins Reich" movement. Earlier, Nazi Germany had provided support for the Austrian National Socialist Party (Austrian Nazi Party) in its bid to seize power from Austria's Fatherland Front government.

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