USA HISTORY

What term was given to a German union with Austria, an act previously banned by the Treaty of Versailles?

(A) ** Anschluss

(B) Lebensraum

(C) Sonderwag

(D) Lebensborn

Concept note-1: -Anschluss, German: “Union”, political union of Austria with Germany, achieved through annexation by Adolf Hitler in 1938. Mooted in 1919 by Austria, Anschluss with Germany remained a hope (chiefly with Austrian Social Democrats) during 1919–33, after which Hitler’s rise to power made it less attractive.

Concept note-2: -The next day, March 12, 1938, German troops entered Austria, and one day later, Austria was incorporated into Germany. This union, known as the Anschluss, received the enthusiastic support of most of the Austrian population and was retroactively approved via a plebiscite in April 1938.

Concept note-3: -The peace treaties that ended World War I expressly forbade Germany and Austria from uniting. European leaders worried that a united Germany and Austria would be too large and powerful. Subsequent international financial agreements also required that Austria remain independent from Germany.

Concept note-4: -Blitzkrieg, meaning ‘Lightning War’, was the method of offensive warfare responsible for Nazi Germany’s military successes in the early years of the Second World War.

Concept note-5: -According to the Treaty of Versailles, the Rhineland, a strip of land inside Germany bordering on France, Belgium and the Netherlands, was to be de-militarised. That is, no German troops were to be stationed inside that area or any fortifications built.