How was Adolf Hitler’s Foreign Policy deeply rooted in Rassenpolitik? A Case Study of the Anschluss Österreich

• Adolf Hitler’s Foreign Policy was deeply rooted in the racial ideology of Rassenpolitik, legitimising and framing his approach to the unification of all German-speaking countries. 
• The Treaty of Versailles (1919)shifted European power dynamics, causing resentment in Germany and Austria for the loss of territory and punishment by the international community, giving rise to Nationalism and fascist ideas. 
• The Anschluß of Austria of 1938 is an example of Nazi Germany’s expansionist foreign policy combining racial ideology and strategic diplomacy. 
• Achieving the annexation of Austria – the Anschluss – was a failure of the International community to confront Germany’s expansionary policies. 

What factors allowed the Anschluß in 1938? Even though Adolf Hitler’s determination to expand was one of the main drivers, there has to be an explanation for why Austrians lacked resistance to be absorbed by the German power. The slogan frequently used by the NSDAP, “Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer,” gives a tridimensional approach to the ideological foundations and implications of Nazi policy imposed on Austrian society before and during the Anschluß. This perhaps explains how Adolf Hitler’s ideology succeeded in gaining the support of Austrians. The idea of a homogeneous society was developed back in the time of Germany’s Wilhelmine era, “Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Gott.” Adolf Hitler grabs onto this idea to build his concept of the German hegemony, linking Prussia’s past territorial domination to a mission of national “revival” from times of the wars of liberation with a claim to reverse the unfortunate outcomes of 1918. In his eyes, the Treaty of Versailles was a disgrace that destroyed the regional hegemonic position of the pre-World War I German Reich. Hitler claimed the treaty imposed boundaries that “neither unite all people of German nationality nor served strategic political necessity.”

Hitler succeeded in ingraining the “promises” of Nazism in society as a ‘Volksgemeinschaft’, a society united by ‘the same blood,’ the same cultural heritage, and the same language. The concept of Volksgemeinschaft is not just a justification for Hitler’s expansionist agenda but also goes beyond his domestic motivations to his foreign ambitions. His racial ideology and the idea of a Volksgemmeinshaft combined with Lebensraum were later translated into further expansion through the occupation of Poland and Sudetenland. 

Lebensraum was a concept first introduced in Mein Kampf rooted in the work of Friedrich Ratzel, who contended that Germany required overseas territory to address overpopulation. Based onDarwin’s ideas on the survival of the fittest, particularly Darwin’s argument that “nations too struggled over resources for survival”—deepened Hitler’s desire for further expansion and his drive to clear Eastern Europe of “inferior” populations for the “well-being” of the Germanic people. 

Hitler’s racialised view of a united society resonates particularly in the case of the annexation of Austria, where systemic factors, alongside Hitler’s motivations, serve as a clear example of the intersection of how Hitler’s racial ideologies shaped his foreign policy. German foreign policy is only one side of the coin; Austria’s collective consciousness shift is essential in allowing the Anschluss to occur without significant resistance. 

The Anschluss is a combination of systemic external factors. Among them are the intense propaganda of Germany, social fear,external pressures, and Austria’s domestic political and economic instability combined with intense social divisions, polarisation, and rising fascism – it facilitated paving the road towards a Nazi Austria. Blending Austria’s nationalism with Hitler’s idea of a Volksgemmeinschaft was not caused by subversion to Germany or entirely by external pressures. For many Austrians, it was easy to accept this idea of belonging to the greater German Reich.

Austrian Vulnerability

Adolf Hitler’s ideas of a Volksgemmeinschaft and a common greater Reich resonated with many Austrians, especially during economic hardships caused by the Great Depression Widespread unemployment, poverty, stark economic disparities, polarization, and social discontent plagued Austria. Alongside the post-World War I hardships, fascism arrived, promising a strict rule of law and centralised administration to restore the losses of the Treaty of Versailles. In the case of Austria, the losses of the treaty of St. Germain dissolved the Austro-Hungarian empire, turning Austria into a smaller, landlocked state. The treaty diminished Austrian regional power and prestige, which fueled resentment and discontent among Austrians. The result? A fast-rising fascist tide, combining nationalist pride and radical ideas with a dictatorial mandate. Fascism became the political fiction of the post-WWI 20th century. 

The International Response 

The Treaty of Versailles played a leading role in the history of the period leading up to the Anschluss of 1938. The post-World War I era left Germany in a position of economic, political, and social weakness: an unsatisfactory government, a radical and fragmented society, and a destroyed economy. Resentment, social discontent, and the anger of being punished after the events of the First World War gave Adolf Hitler a stage to step in, paving the way for the rise of fascism and Nazism. While the Treaty of Versailles did not directly cause the Anschluss, it is a key history factor that systematically put Germany in a weak and fragmented position,thus allowing the rise of expansionism and fascist ideologies to return Germany to its former glory as  a greater Reich, back to the Prussian and Wilhemische times. 

Further on the externalities that allowed Hitler to annex Austria, the weak international response and intervention in the Anschluss played a crucial role in enabling him to succeed with his plans of expansion. International appeasement, coupled with Hitler’s desire to set forward his agenda, led to the invasion without significant resistance. Both politics in Britain and France were in turmoil at the time of the Anschluss. In Britain, Anthony Elden, the foreign secretary, had resigned due to Prime Minister Chamberlain’s decision to negotiate with Mussolini. There was no British will to create friction with Germany, combined with the sentiment that “there was no good reason why Austria and Germany shouldn’t unify.” On the other hand, the entire French government had resigned just two days before the invasion of Austria, causing the neighbour to be in a weak position to intervene. For the French, it was a priority to stabilise domestic policy rather than focusing on foreign affairs. 

Hitler’s Ideology as the Main Driver of Foreign Policy 

What was Adolf Hitler’s motivation for annexing Austria? Systemic pressures allowed the Anschluss to occur, yet the driving force was rooted in Adolf Hitler’s way of thinking, in his idea of a Volksgemmeinschaft. Although the systemic pressure points were merely political, social, and economic, the desire for expansion was not. Hitler’s desire for a greater German Reich was fundamentally ideological and rooted in his past and deep connection with Austria. Born Austrian, Adolf Hitler denied his heritage due to his rejection of the fragmented Austro-Hungarian multicultural society. Instead, he believed he belonged to a Germanic country, giving rise to his pan-German ideas of unifying all German speakers into a German single Reich. 

During his formative years living in Vienna, described by him as the “saddest of his life,” the frustrated young artist became interested in politics, where he was exposed to antisemitism and pan-Germanism. The bond between Austria and Hitler is imminent and more profound than just economic and political. His childhood living on the German-Austrian border, his Realschule days in Linz, and his formative years in Vienna shaped Adolf Hitler’s disdain for Austro-Hungarian multicultural society, pushing forward his pan-Germanistic ambitions, which later evolved into his idea of a Volksgemmeinshaft. In his autobiographical manifesto, Mein Kampf, he talks about his early days “Im Elternhaus” and the “Wiener Leidenzeiten” as fundamental in developing his conviction:

Adolf Hitler’s past and deep connection with Austria were vital for developing his motivations for the Anschluss. The decision to invade Austria was rooted in his ideological stances, profiting from international appeasement and the weaknesses of Austria to make it possible. The slogan “Ein Volk, Ein Reich, and Ein Führer” developed around the idea of a Volksgemmeinschaft, which became central to Hitler’s vision of a unified German Reich. His ideological stance, presented in Mein Kampf, justified the Anschluss of Austria and later his further expansionist desire. Therefore, the main driving force of the Anschluss under Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy was the manifestation of his ideological mission to reshape Austro-German power dynamics along ethnocentric lines.

Ideological Foundations

Undoubtedly, Adolf Hitler’s early life laid the foundations for his obscure ideology that led to the Anschluss of Austria. His childhood and formative years, where Hitler spent the first 24 years of his life, had a substantial impact on instilling the desire for a unified German society. The regions where he lived on the Austrian-German border had very homogeneous characteristics as in the German ‘Mutterland,’ culturally, socially, and especially in terms of language. 

Antisemitic ideas, alongside the desire for expansion towards all German-speaking regions, were developed during his early days in Austria, where he was exposed to antisemitic and pan-German ideas through political figures such as Franz Linghofer, the mayor of Öberösterreich, who, similarly to the Mayor of Vienna, Karl Lueger, used a negative image of Jewish and Czechs as a critical discourse for political success. This, through an ethnocentric lens, emphasised the common identity of a Deutscher-Österreich Volk. 

From 1934 onwards, with the Juliputsch, it was clear that Germany’s foreign policy was beginning to take shape towards intervention in Austria’s internal affairs. For Adolf Hitler, achieving the Anschluss of Austria would not only be a victory for his regime, shifting the power dynamics set by the Treaty of Versailles back to a European power position, but also a victory in fulfilling his ideological desires and stances. The Anschluss signified the success of Adolf Hitler’s relentless pursuit of territorial unity, underscoring Volksgemmeinschaft and Rassenpolitik as  central elements of the Nazi agenda. 

Featured image provided by Süddeutsche Zeitung.