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155-626: After the Anschluss , the Reichswerke absorbed Austrian heavy industries, including those owned by private German investors. The cluster of steel mills and supporting companies in Linz became its most important asset. Nazi leadership regarded captured assets as the property of the state and were not willing to share the spoils with German businesses. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia ,

310-518: A Großdeutsche Lösung (greater Germany solution), whereby the German states would unite under the leadership of the Austrian House of Habsburg . This solution would have included all the German states (including the non-German regions of Austria), but Prussia would have had to accept a secondary role. This controversy, called dualism , dominated Prusso-Austrian diplomacy and the politics of

465-480: A Reichsminister without portfolio, receiving the same salary, but was excluded from participation in the government. He retired to his house in the country, but continued to occasionally voice private criticisms, culminating in a letter to Göring in November 1942. In it, he assailed the government's decision to begin calling up 15-year-olds for service in the airfield defense forces, and cited this as one more item in

620-645: A " Greater Germany ") arose after the 1871 unification of Germany excluded Austria and the German Austrians from the Prussian-dominated German Empire . It gained support after the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell in 1918. The new Republic of German-Austria attempted to form a union with Germany, but the 1919 Treaty of Saint Germain and Treaty of Versailles forbade both the union and the continued use of

775-540: A "German state" that would always follow Germany's lead in foreign policy, and members of the "National Opposition" were allowed to enter the cabinet, in exchange for which the Austrian Nazis promised to cease their terrorist attacks against the government. This did not satisfy Hitler and the pro-German Austrian Nazis grew in strength. In September 1936, Hitler launched the Four Year Plan that called for

930-634: A German minority. The empire caused tensions between the various ethnic groups. Many Austrian pan-Germans showed loyalty to Bismarck and only to Germany, wore symbols that were temporarily banned in Austrian schools and advocated the dissolution of the empire to allow Austria to rejoin Germany, as it had been during the German Confederation of 1815–1866. Although many Austrians supported pan-Germanism, many others still showed allegiance to

1085-458: A Greater Germany. Bismarck had not chosen to include Austria in his 1871 unification of Germany , and there was genuine support from Germans in both Austria and Germany for an Anschluss . Hitler's forces suppressed all opposition. Before the first German soldier crossed the border, Heinrich Himmler and a few Schutzstaffel (SS) officers landed in Vienna to arrest prominent representatives of

1240-527: A better solution. Romanian assets, almost all of the country's coal and steel capacity, were acquired through a series of friendly arrangements and placed under joint German-Romanian control. Particular care was given to the largest Romanian shipyard at Galați . In 1942, the Romanian shipyard signed an agreement for "assistance in technical matters" with the Reichswerke. The shipyard's capital increased eleven-fold, from 50 to 550 million lei . That same year,

1395-578: A car, crossed the border at his birthplace, Braunau am Inn , with a 4,000 man bodyguard. In the evening, he arrived at Linz and was given an enthusiastic welcome. 250,000 Austrians gathered in Linz to meet Adolf Hitler and support Anschluss . The enthusiasm displayed toward Hitler and the Germans surprised both Nazis and non-Nazis, as most people had believed that a majority of Austrians opposed Anschluss . Many Germans from both Austria and Germany welcomed

1550-867: A client relationship with Berlin that began with the formation of the Berlin–Rome Axis in 1937. The Austrian Nazi Party failed to win any seats in the November 1930 general election , but its popularity grew in Austria after Hitler came to power in Germany. The idea of the country joining Germany also grew in popularity, thanks in part to a Nazi propaganda campaign which used slogans such as Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer ("One People, One Empire, One Leader") to try to convince Austrians to advocate for an Anschluss to

1705-430: A coup d'état against Hitler if he started a war against Czechoslovakia . Goerdeler, his colleague in 1935–36, was the civilian leader of resistance to Hitler. Schacht talked frequently with Hans Gisevius , another resistance figure; when resistance organizer Theodor Strünck 's house (a frequent meeting place) was bombed out, Schacht allowed Strünck and his wife to live in a villa he owned. However, Schacht had remained in

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1860-614: A dramatic increase in military spending and to make Germany as autarkic as possible with the aim of having the Reich ready to fight a world war by 1940. The Four Year Plan required huge investments in the Reichswerke steel works, a programme for developing synthetic oil that soon went wildly over budget, and programmes for producing more chemicals and aluminium; the plan called for a policy of substituting imports and rationalizing industry to achieve its goals that failed completely. As

2015-630: A further increase of state control over heavy industries and industrialization of the eastern territories at the expense of the Ruhr. The Reichswerke clearly favored industrial development in Central Europe, rather than Germany itself, in part because it was out of reach of Allied bombers. By 1943–1944 half of the Reichswerke iron and steel were produced in the occupied territories, the other half in Germany (including annexed Austria). The Soviet coal and steel industry captured in 1941–1942 became

2170-532: A great deal – he telephoned in every direction and to every German or foreign place that had anything to do with money and foreign exchange as well as with the Reichsbank and the Finance Minister. And he smoked. We did not eat much during that time. We usually went home late, often by the last suburban train, travelling third class. Apart from that he did nothing. Hjalmar Schacht has been portrayed by

2325-599: A litany of factors that he concluded would strengthen the public's "misgivings as to how this war will actually end". The response to the letter was that Hitler dismissed him as a Reichsminister without portfolio on 22 January 1943, and he was also dismissed from the Prussian State Council by Göring who cited his "defeatist letter, calculated to undermine the German people's powers of resistance". Another letter from Martin Bormann demanded that Schacht return

2480-641: A rapprochement with the United Kingdom by pegging the Reichsmark to the pound sterling failed. Beginning in 1929 he increasingly criticized German foreign and financial policy since 1924 and demanded the restoration of Germany's former eastern territories and overseas colonies . Schacht became closer to the Nazis between 1930 and 1932. Though never a member of the NSDAP, Schacht helped to raise funds for

2635-469: A secret speech before a group of German industrialists, Göring stated that the only solution to the problems with meeting the steel production targets laid out by the Four Year Plan was to annex Austria, which Göring noted was rich in iron. Göring did not give a date for the Anschluss , but given that Four Year Plan's targets all had to be met by September 1940, and the current problems with meeting

2790-651: A self-sufficient steel industry, and against the steel barons. His radical calls improved his own political weight and silenced the opposition. Göring's aim of bringing the economy in line with Adolf Hitler 's strategic plans was fully supported by the Nazi press. The danger of relying on ore imports was proven by the strikes and anti-Nazi sentiment in Sweden and by the success of the Popular Front in France . In July 1937

2945-489: A slim majority in the event of a plebiscite, and not the 75 per cent necessary, and that the number of Anschluss supporters in 1919 was not more than 50 per cent of the population. Even Otto Bauer, leader of the Social Democratic party had to admit that both the bourgeoisie and the peasantry wanted 'an independent Austria fully capable of a national life of its own'. More telling is Bauer's admission that, because of

3100-629: A split in the SPÖ . Austrian left circles vehemently opposed Anschluss, and Renner's declaration prompted many to defect to Revolutionary Socialists under Otto Bauer or the KPÖ . The relevance of Innitzer's endorsement is also disputed—he was reportedly "despised" by Austrian workers, and the Anschluss sparked Catholic protests in Austria under the slogan "Our Führer is Christ" (rather than Hitler). According to Hungarian historian Oszkár Jászi , writing in 1938,

3255-417: A stream of love as I have never experienced. Not as tyrants have we come, but as liberators." Hitler said as a personal note to the Anschluss : "I, myself, as Führer and Chancellor, will be happy to walk on the soil of the country that is my home as a free German citizen." Hitler's popularity reached an unprecedented peak after he fulfilled the Anschluss because he had completed the long-awaited idea of

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3410-626: A triumphal tour that climaxed in Vienna on 15 March 1938, when around 200,000 cheering German Austrians gathered around the Heldenplatz (Square of Heroes) to hear Hitler say that "The oldest eastern province of the German people shall be, from this point on, the newest bastion of the German Reich" followed by his "greatest accomplishment" (completing the annexing of Austria to form a Greater German Reich) by saying "As leader and chancellor of

3565-482: A unification with the Weimar Republic . Further plebiscites were then forbidden. However, Erich Bielka notes that the plebiscites were marred by electoral fraud and voter manipulation, and therefore do not reflect what the general Austrian opinion was at that time: In addition to the massive propaganda campaign and not insignificant Reich German influence, 'Ja' ballot papers were pre-printed and provided at

3720-422: A union, Schuschnigg met Hitler at Berchtesgaden on 12 February 1938, in an attempt to avoid the takeover of Austria. Hitler presented Schuschnigg with a set of demands including appointing Nazi sympathizers to positions of power in the government. The key appointment was that of Arthur Seyss-Inquart as Minister of Public Security, with full, unlimited control of the police. In return Hitler would publicly reaffirm

3875-480: A young age. Whilst infiltrating the German Workers' Party (DAP), Hitler became involved in a heated political argument with a visitor, a Professor Baumann, who proposed that Bavaria should break away from Prussia and found a new South German nation with Austria. In vehemently attacking the man's arguments he made an impression on the other party members with his oratorical skills and, according to Hitler,

4030-464: Is no longer willing to tolerate the suppression of ten million Germans across its borders." On 3 March 1938, Austrian Socialists offered to back Schuschnigg's government in exchange for political concessions, such as legalising socialist press, returning confiscated funds and "the lifting of the ban on the wearing of Social Democrat badges, show Social Democrat flags and standards and singing Social Democrat songs." Schuschnigg agreed to these demands and

4185-546: The Industrielleneingabe (Industrial petition), requesting president Paul Von Hindenburg to appoint Adolf Hitler as Chancellor . After Hitler took power in January 1933, Schacht won re-appointment as Reichsbank president on 17 March. On 2 August 1934, when Reich and Prussian Minister of Economics Kurt Schmitt went on an extended medical leave of absence, Hitler provisionally appointed Schacht to take over

4340-669: The 8th Army of the German Wehrmacht crossed the border into Austria. The troops were greeted by cheering Austrians with Nazi salutes, Nazi flags, and flowers. For the Wehrmacht , the invasion was the first big test of its machinery. Although the invading forces were badly organized and coordination among the units was poor, it mattered little because the Austrian government had ordered the Austrian Bundesheer not to resist. That afternoon, Hitler, riding in

4495-418: The Anschluss as they saw it as completing the complex and long overdue unification of all Germans into one state. Hitler had originally intended to leave Austria as a satellite state with Seyss-Inquart as head of a pro-Nazi government. However, the overwhelming reception caused him to change course and absorb Austria directly into the Reich. On 13 March Seyss-Inquart announced the abrogation of Article 88 of

4650-805: The Anschluss was ambivalent; but, since the Social Democratic Party of Austria leader Karl Renner and the highest representative of the Roman Catholic church in Austria Cardinal Theodor Innitzer both endorsed the Anschluss , approximately two-thirds of Austrians could be counted on to vote for it. What the result of the plebiscite meant for the Austrians will always be a matter of speculation. Nevertheless, historians generally agree that it cannot be explained exclusively by simply either opportunism or

4805-622: The Entente with justification for demanding territorial compensations". During the Paris Peace Conference the French sought to forbid a union between Austria and Germany, with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephen Pichon stating that they "must see that Germany is not given an opportunity to rebuild her strength by utilizing the Austrian populations which remain outside of Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Jugoslavia". A compromise

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4960-750: The First Nationalization Law enacted by the Austrian parliament on 26 July 1946. The ore mines in Erzberg and the steel mills in Linz, destroyed by allied air raids, were reorganized into the state-owned VÖEST (now part of Voestalpine ). Reconstruction of these assets became a key priority of the Marshall Plan in Austria. Nationalization was supported by the US Department of State and opposed by US Army generals, who called for privatization. Steyr-Daimler-Puch , once owned by

5115-540: The Habsburg monarchy and wished for Austria to remain an independent country. Erich Ludendorff wrote to the Federal Foreign Office on 14 October 1918 about the possibility of conducting an Anschluss with the German areas of Austria-Hungary as its dissolution removed the problem of the country's numerous ethnic groups. Secretary Wilhelm Solf opposed the proposal, stating that it "would provide

5270-622: The Kriegsmarine commander Admiral Erich Raeder and the Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring recorded in the Hossbach Memorandum . At the conference, Hitler stated that economic problems were causing Germany to fall behind in the arms race with Britain and France, and that the only solution was to launch in the near-future a series of wars to seize Austria and Czechoslovakia , whose economies would be plundered to give Germany

5425-549: The Luftwaffe , also established close ties between the Reichswerke and the oil and aircraft industries. Relationships between the state and steel barons continued to deteriorate, and Göring used the same pattern of intimidation to extort other Austrian and later Czech assets from their past owners. The Reichswerke absorbed 50 to 60 per cent of Czech heavy industry, and a slightly lesser share in Austria. Takeover mechanisms ranged from bona fide stock purchase to control by proxy through dependent local banks to outright confiscation, as

5580-527: The Non-Aligned countries; however, some of his suggestions were opposed, one of which was in the Philippines by the former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas head Miguel Cuaderno , who firmly rebuffed Schacht, stating that his monetary schemes were hardly appropriate for an economy needing capital investment in basic industry and infrastructure. Indirectly resulting from his founding of the bank, Schacht

5735-462: The Nuremberg Laws in 1935. The plan went awry when it became apparent that Hitler would not stand by while Austria declared its independence by public vote. Hitler declared that the referendum would be subject to major fraud and that Germany would never accept it. In addition, the German ministry of propaganda issued press reports that riots had broken out in Austria and that large parts of

5890-676: The Prussian State Council . Following the Kristallnacht of November 1938, Schacht publicly declared his repugnance at the events, and suggested to Hitler that he should use other means if he wanted to be rid of the Jews. He put forward a plan in which Jewish property in Germany would be held in trust, and used as security for loans raised abroad, which would also be guaranteed by the German government. Funds would be made available for Jewish emigrants , in order to overcome

6045-595: The Reich or living outside it in order to create an "all-German Reich ". Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf (1925) that he would create a union between his birth country Austria and Germany by any means possible. The First Austrian Republic was dominated from the late 1920s by the Christian Social Party (CS), whose economic policies were based on the papal encyclical Rerum novarum . The First Republic gradually disintegrated in 1933, when parliament

6200-558: The Reichsbank , and the newly created Rentenmark managed by Schacht. Havenstein died on 20 November 1923. On 22 December 1923, after Schacht's economic policies had helped battle German hyperinflation and stabilize the German Reichsmark ( Helfferich Plan), he was appointed President of the Reichsbank at the requests of president Friedrich Ebert and Chancellor Gustav Stresemann . In 1926, Schacht provided funds for

6355-675: The Romanian Navy submarines Marsuinul and Rechinul , laid down in 1938, were finally completed. Another notable achievement of that year was the launching of Romania's first locally-built tanker, SRT-128 . In 1943, four modified M-class minesweepers were built in Romania from German materials. This German-Romanian collaboration also benefited the Kriegsmarine , as the Romanian shipyard assembled six coastal U-boats between 1942 and 1943. The Romanian shipyard also took part in

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6510-600: The Ruhr area, recovered from the Great Depression and reached nearly full utilization of its mills. It was dominated by privately held Vereinigte Stahlwerke (VS), Krupp , Gutehoffnungshütte and Mannesmann . Three quarters of iron ore processed in Germany was imported; domestic ore reserves in the Salzgitter area were deemed to be of too poor quality to be economical. Demand for iron and steel rose in line with

6665-503: The Social Democrats and their trade unions in return for their support in the referendum. He also set the minimum voting age at 24 to exclude younger voters because the Nazi movement was most popular among the young. In contrast, Hitler had lowered the voting age for German elections held under Nazi rule, largely to compensate for the removal of Jews and other ethnic minorities from the German electorate following enactment of

6820-707: The "free-market" faction in the German government. They urged Hitler to reduce military spending, turn away from autarkic and protectionist policies, and reduce state control in the economy. Schacht and Goerdeler were opposed by a faction centering on Hermann Göring . Göring was appointed "Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan " on 18 October 1936, with broad powers that conflicted with Schacht's authority. Schacht objected to continued high military spending, which he believed would cause inflation, thus coming into conflict with Hitler and Göring. In 1937 Schacht met with Chinese Finance Minister Dr. H. H. Kung . Schacht told him that "German-Chinese friendship stemmed in good part from

6975-590: The "professor" left the hall acknowledging unequivocal defeat. Impressed with Hitler, Anton Drexler invited him to join the DAP. Hitler accepted on 12 September 1919, becoming the party's 55th member. After becoming leader of the DAP, Hitler addressed a crowd on 24 February 1920, and in an effort to appeal to wider parts of the German population, the DAP was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). As its first point,

7130-682: The 1920 National Socialist Program stated, "We demand the unification of all Germans in the Greater Germany on the basis of the people's right to self-determination." Hitler argued in a 1921 essay that the German Reich had a single task of, "incorporating the ten million German-Austrians in the Empire and dethroning the Habsburgs, the most miserable dynasty ever ruling." The Nazis aimed to re-unite all Germans who were either born in

7285-508: The 1920s it was a target for German investment capital. By 1937, rapid German rearmament increased Berlin's interest in annexing Austria, rich in raw materials and labour. It supplied Germany with magnesium and the products of the iron, textile and machine industries. It had gold and foreign currency reserves, many unemployed skilled workers, hundreds of idle factories, and large potential hydroelectric resources. Hitler, an Austrian German by birth, picked up his German nationalist ideas at

7440-550: The Anschluss. While the population's true opinions are unknown, it has been estimated that about 70% of Austrians would have voted to preserve Austrian independence. The idea of grouping all Germans into one nation-state had been the subject of debate in the 19th century from the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the break-up of the German Confederation in 1866. Austria had wanted

7595-471: The Austrian Jews as well as "old Hapsburgist officers and officials and by a considerable part of Austrian capitalism". Most contemporary writers estimated that about two-thirds of Austrians wanted Austria to remain independent. Hjalmar Schacht Hjalmar Schacht (born Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht ; 22 January 1877 – 3 June 1970, German pronunciation: [ˈjalmaʁ ˈʃaxt] )

7750-583: The Austrian Nazis, cooperated with Catholic groups, and wanted to preserve a measure of Austrian identity within Nazi Germany. On 20 February, Hitler made a speech before the Reichstag which was broadcast live and which for the first time was relayed also by the Austrian radio network . A key phrase in the speech which was aimed at the Germans living in Austria and Czechoslovakia was: "The German Reich

7905-417: The Austrian government looked to a possible customs union with the German Republic in 1931. However, ultimately regional patriotism was stronger than pan-German sentiment. In the Austrian Empire, each Kronland had its own functional government and enjoyed a fair amount of autonomy from Vienna , with "each looking to their own capital" instead. According to Jody Manning, the idea of unification with Germany

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8060-406: The Austrian population were calling for German troops to restore order. Schuschnigg immediately responded that reports of riots were false. Hitler sent an ultimatum to Schuschnigg on 11 March, demanding that he hand over all power to the Austrian Nazis or face an invasion. The ultimatum was set to expire at noon, but was extended by two hours. Without waiting for an answer, Hitler had already signed

8215-631: The Austro-Hungarian Empire and offered to form a customs union with Austria. However, Austrian Chancellor Ignaz Seipel , an Anschluss opponent, rejected the offer. Seipel was replaced in 1929 by Johannes Schober , who pursued a pro-Germany policy and attempted to form a customs union. However, a political crisis led to Schober losing power and Seipel returning to the government as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Negotiations were restarted after Otto Ender became chancellor and were finalized with German Foreign Affairs Minister Julius Curtius on 5 March 1931, before being approved by Germany on 18 March. France opposed

8370-651: The Catholic elements of Austria's national identity and staunchly opposed union with Nazi Germany . Engelbert Dollfuss and his successor, Kurt Schuschnigg , turned to Benito Mussolini 's Fascist Italy for inspiration and support. Mussolini supported the independence of Austria, largely due to his concern that Hitler would eventually press for the return of Italian territories which had once been ruled by Austria. However, Mussolini needed German support in Ethiopia ( see Second Italo-Abyssinian War ). After receiving Hitler's personal assurance that Germany would not seek territorial concessions from Italy, Mussolini entered into

8525-410: The Dresdner Bank from 1908 to 1915. He was then a board member of the German National Bank  [ de ] for the next seven years, until 1922, and after its merger with the Darmstädter und Nationalbank ( Danatbank ), a board member of the Danatbank. Schacht was a freemason , having joined the lodge Urania zur Unsterblichkeit in 1908. During the First World War , Schacht was assigned to

8680-452: The First Republic, such as Richard Schmitz , Leopold Figl , Friedrich Hillegeist , and Franz Olah . During the few weeks between the Anschluss and the plebiscite, authorities rounded up Social Democrats, Communists, other potential political dissenters, and Austrian Jews , and imprisoned them or sent them to concentration camps . Within a few days of 12 March, 70,000 people had been arrested. The disused northwest railway station in Vienna

8835-453: The Four Year Plan fell further and further behind its targets, Hermann Göring , the chief of the Four Year Plan office, began to press for an Anschluss as a way of securing Austria's iron and other raw materials as a solution to the problems with the Four Year Plan. The British historian Sir Ian Kershaw wrote: ...above all, it was Hermann Göring, at this time close to the pinnacle of his power, who far more than Hitler, throughout 1937 made

8990-413: The German Reich. Hugo Preuss , the drafter of the German Weimar Constitution , criticized efforts to prevent an Anschluss; he saw the prohibition as a contradiction of the Wilsonian principle of self-determination of peoples. The constitutions of the Weimar Republic and the First Austrian Republic both included the political goal of unification, which parties widely supported. In the early 1930s,

9145-433: The German Reich. Anschluss might have occurred by democratic process had Austrian Nazis not begun a terrorism campaign. According to John Gunther in 1936, "In 1932 Austria was probably eighty percent pro- Anschluss ". When Germany permitted residents of Austria to vote on 5 March 1933, three special trains, boats and trucks brought such masses to Passau that the SS staged a ceremonial welcome. Gunther wrote that by

9300-411: The German boycott was too great. That summer Schuschnigg told Mussolini that his country had to come to an agreement with Germany. On 11 July 1936 he signed an agreement with German ambassador Franz von Papen , in which Schuschnigg agreed to the release of Nazis imprisoned in Austria and Germany promised to respect Austrian sovereignty. Under the terms of the Austro-German treaty, Austria declared itself

9455-415: The German economic sphere of influence was sufficient. In this context, having Austria annexed to Germany was the key towards bringing Eastern Europe into Göring's desired Grossraumwirtschaft ("greater economic space"). Faced with problems in the Four Year Plan, Göring had become the loudest voice in Germany, calling for an Anschluss , even at the risk of losing an alliance with Italy. In April 1937, in

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9610-451: The German economy. His views in this regard led Schacht to clash with Hitler and most notably with Hermann Göring . He resigned as President of the Reichsbank in January 1939. He remained as a Minister-without-portfolio, and received the same salary, until he left the government in January 1943. In 1944, Schacht was arrested by the Gestapo following the assassination attempt on Hitler on 20 July 1944 because he allegedly had contact with

9765-420: The German nation and Reich I announce to German history now the entry of my homeland into the German Reich." Hitler later commented: "Certain foreign newspapers have said that we fell on Austria with brutal methods. I can only say: even in death they cannot stop lying. I have in the course of my political struggle won much love from my people, but when I crossed the former frontier (into Austria) there met me such

9920-404: The German states in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1866 the feud finally came to an end during the Austro-Prussian War in which the Prussians defeated the Austrians and thereby excluded the Austrian Empire and German Austrians from Germany. The Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck formed the North German Confederation , which included most of the remaining German states, aside from a few in

10075-400: The Golden Party Badge that he had received in 1937. When Schacht returned to his Berlin home, he found that it was being watched by the Gestapo . Schacht was said to be in contact with the German resistance to Nazism as early as 1934, though at that time he still believed the Nazi regime would follow his policies. By 1938, he was disillusioned, and was an active participant in the plans for

10230-430: The Nazi Arthur Seyss-Inquart as his replacement. Hitler's plan was for Seyss-Inquart to call immediately for German troops to rush to Austria's aid, restoring order and giving the invasion an air of legitimacy. In the face of this threat, Schuschnigg informed Seyss-Inquart that the plebiscite would be cancelled. To secure a large majority in the referendum, Schuschnigg dismantled the one-party state. He agreed to legalize

10385-449: The Nazi regime. Thus he was arrested by the Allies in 1945. He was put on trial at Nuremberg for "conspiracy" and "crimes against peace" (planning and waging wars of aggression), but not war crimes or crimes against humanity. Schacht pleaded not guilty to these charges. He cited in his defense that he had lost all official power before the war even began, that he had been in contact with Resistance leaders like Hans Gisevius throughout

10540-534: The Nazis, for whom it was an integral part of the Nazi " Heim ins Reich " ("back home to the realm") concept, which sought to incorporate as many Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans outside Germany) as possible into a " Greater Germany ". Nazi Germany's agents cultivated pro-unification tendencies in Austria, and sought to undermine the Austrian government, which was controlled by the Austrofascist Fatherland Front , which opposed unification. During an attempted coup in 1934 , Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss

10695-452: The Netherlands and other countries. It produced its first pig iron in October 1939 and its first steel in August 1940. A large metalworking plant, Stahlwerke Braunschweig, was built nearby, starting in March 1940; eventually it became one of the largest plants in the country, employing ten thousand workers. The majority of Salzgitter area staff, 47,000 workers, were non-Germans. In five years, 1937 to 1942, population increased fivefold. Housing

10850-411: The Reichswerke absorbed between 50 and 60 per cent of Czech heavy industries. The pattern was repeated in occupied Poland , France and the Soviet Union . The Reichswerke operated captured assets as far from its base as Liepāja in Latvia and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine . It provided one-eighth of German steel output during the Second World War and created a Nazi-controlled military complex that

11005-495: The Reichswerke and controlled by the US Army, became a pilot model for the private modernization advocated by Mark W. Clark . Eventually the Department of State prevailed and the Austrians were allowed to nationalize the plants at will. The Reichswerke assets in the Soviet zone of occupation were taken over by the Administration for Soviet Property in Austria and returned to Austria for a ransom in 1955. The Salzgitter furnaces were shut down and earmarked for dismantling, devastating

11160-539: The Reichswerke continued operation under Göring's supervision until the end of the war, albeit at a loss. The conglomerate was dismembered by the Allies in 1944–1945, but the Salzgitter plant continued operations as Reichswerke until 1953. The Reichswerke logo, which resembled Göring's coat of arms , remained in use by Peine+Salzgitter until the middle of the 1980s. In 1935–1936 German steel industry, concentrated in

11315-661: The Reichswerke to coal, iron, and steel production. The Reichswerke passed control over its weapons and munitions plants to Organisation Todt and its successor, the Ministry of Armaments . Still, the organization operated at a loss; in fact, Block A posted losses in every year of its existence, from 1939 to 1945. The French operations fared even worse. The assets of the Reichswerke acquired by conquest were recaptured by Allied troops between 1943–1945 - these included assets of ARBED (Luxembourg) and Skoda Works . The Reichswerke assets in allied-occupied Austria were nationalized by

11470-452: The Reichswerke would begin mining and processing Salzgitter ores and that the government would take over privately held ore deposits in exchange for minority shares in the new enterprises. Paul Pleiger became the managing director. Critics argued that the Salzgitter project would consume more steel than it could produce in three years. The Ruhr attempted a coordinated response, but wire-tapping and surveillance gave Göring advance knowledge of

11625-513: The Reichswerke's ammunition plants from 1942 (see List of subcamps of Neuengamme , Celler Hasenjagd ). Salzgitter was the target of Allied bombings several times but damage to the plant was insignificant. Its blast furnaces operated until captured by the Americans in April 1945. After the removal of Schacht in November 1937, the Reichswerke rapidly grew while privately held steel mills of

11780-452: The Reichswerke's most challenging task. Hitler tasked the Reichswerke with harvesting the abandoned plants as soon as possible. Pleiger compelled the old steel barons of the Ruhr to send in their managing teams and literally "adopt" the Soviet assets. Reluctant steel barons objected but had to comply with Hitler's explicit order. Radical Nazis objected, for different reasons, but could not offer

11935-508: The Republic by reason rather than conviction) who had reservations over the parliamentary democratic system of the new Weimar Republic but supported it anyway for pragmatic reasons. He helped found the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP), which took a leading role in the governing Weimar Coalition . However, Schacht later became an ally of Gustav Stresemann , the leader of the center-right German People's Party (DVP). Despite

12090-817: The Ruhr were deprived of capital (their capacity remained at 16 million tons p.a. until the outbreak of the Second World War ). In February 1938 Göring pumped up the Reichswerke capital from 5 to 400 million  ℛ︁ℳ︁ , starting a chain of mergers. In April the Reichswerke moved into weapons production by absorbing Rheinmetall . In a few following months the Reichswerke consolidated most of Austrian heavy industries, from extraction of ore to production of advanced weapons. Göring turned his eyes to Austrian steel in 1937. The Anschluss of March 1938 gave him practically unlimited access to Austrian resources. The Reichswerke's activities in Austria demonstrated that Göring regarded captured assets as state property and

12245-708: The Treaty of Saint-Germain , which prohibited the unification of Austria and Germany, and approved the replacement of the Austrian states with Reichsgaue . The seizure of Austria demonstrated once again Hitler's aggressive territorial ambitions, and, once again, the failure of the British and the French to take action against him for violating the Versailles Treaty. Their lack of will emboldened him toward further aggression. Hitler's journey through Austria became

12400-651: The United States, originally decided on the name Horace Greeley Schacht, in honor of the American journalist Horace Greeley . However, they yielded to the insistence of the Schacht family grandmother, who firmly believed the child's given name should be Danish. After completing his Abitur at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums , Schacht studied medicine, philology , political science , and finance at

12555-783: The United States. But years later, Roosevelt seemed to "enjoy" recalling how Dr. Schacht was "weeping on his [FDR's] desk about his poor country." He also introduced the "New Plan", Germany's attempt to achieve economic " autarky ", in September 1934. Germany had accrued a massive foreign currency deficit during the Great Depression , which continued into the early years of Nazi rule. Schacht negotiated several trade agreements with countries in South America and southeastern Europe , under which Germany would continue to receive raw materials, but would pay in Reichsmarks. This ensured that

12710-606: The Universities of Munich , Leipzig , Berlin , Paris and Kiel before earning a doctorate at Kiel in 1899 – his thesis was on mercantilism . He joined the Dresdner Bank in 1903. In 1905, while on a business trip to the United States with board members of the Dresdner Bank, Schacht met the famous American banker J. P. Morgan , as well as U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt . He became deputy director of

12865-768: The Young Plan during the Second Conference of The Hague (January 1930), he resigned as Reichsbank president on 7 March 1930. During 1930, Schacht campaigned against the war reparations requirement in the United States. Schacht became a friend of the Governor of the Bank of England, Montagu Norman , both men belonging to the Anglo-German Fellowship and the Bank for International Settlements . Norman

13020-570: The appellate court reversed the criminal conviction, but found that the publisher had violated Schacht's general right of personality. Schacht died in Munich , West Germany, on 3 June 1970. Schacht wrote 26 books during his lifetime, of which at least six have been translated into English: What did he do? He sat on his chair and smoked in his little dark room which still smelled of old floor cloths. Did he read letters? No, he read no letters. Did he write letters? No, he wrote no letters. He telephoned

13175-662: The assassins. Subsequently, he was interned in the concentration camps and later at Flossenbürg . In the final days of the war, he was one of the 139 special and clan prisoners who were transported by the SS from Dachau to South Tyrol . This location is within the area named by Himmler the " Alpine Fortress ", and it is speculated that the purpose of the prisoner transport was the intent of holding hostages. They were freed in Niederdorf, South Tyrol , in Italy, on 30 April 1945. Schacht

13330-661: The assembly of S-boats . By the end of 1941 the Reichswerke became the largest company in Europe. The conglomerate experienced a series of reorganizations; in January 1941 its assets were arranged in three divisions: A fourth division was added later for captured Soviet assets – Kryvbas and Donets Basin plants and mines in Ukraine , with lesser interests in Belarus , Latvia and central Russia. The Reichswerke amassed too many plants to run them effectively. Instead of pinpointing

13485-548: The blemish on his record from his service with von Lumm, on 12 November 1923, Schacht became currency commissioner for the Weimar Republic and participated in the introduction of the Rentenmark , a new currency the value of which was based on a mortgage on all of the properties in Germany. Germany entered into a brief period where it had two separate currencies: the Reichsmark managed by Rudolf Havenstein , President of

13640-417: The changes and allowed the Nazis to take over the government 'to avoid the shedding of fraternal blood [ Bruderblut ]'. Seyss-Inquart was appointed chancellor after midnight on 12 March. It is said that after listening to Bruckner's Seventh Symphony , Hitler cried: "How can anyone say that Austria is not German! Is there anything more German than our old pure Austrianness?" On the morning of 12 March 1938,

13795-588: The customs union, stating that it was in violation of Article 88 of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye . When the Nazis , led by Adolf Hitler , rose to power in the Weimar Republic, the Austrian government withdrew from economic ties. Like Germany, Austria experienced the economic turbulence which was a result of the Great Depression , with a high unemployment rate, and unstable commerce and industry. During

13950-660: The deficit would not get any worse, while allowing the German government to deal with the gap which had already developed. Schacht also found an innovative solution to the problem of the government deficit by using mefo bills . Schacht also was made a member of the Academy for German Law . He was appointed General Plenipotentiary for the War Economy in May 1935 by provision of the Reich Defense Law of 21 May 1935 and

14105-445: The desire of socioeconomics and represented the genuine German nationalist feeling in Austria during the interwar period. Also, the general anti-Semitic consensus in Austria meant that a substantial amount of Austrians were more than ready to "fulfill their duty" in the "Greater German Reich". However, British historian Donny Gluckstein notes that Austrian socialists reacted with "disgust" to Renner's endorsement of Anschluss, provoking

14260-472: The end of 1933 Austrian public opinion about German annexation was at least 60% against. On 25 July 1934, chancellor Dollfuss was assassinated by Austrian Nazis in a failed coup. Afterwards, leading Austrian Nazis fled to Germany but they continued to push for unification from there. The remaining Austrian Nazis continued terrorist attacks against Austrian governmental institutions, causing a death toll of more than 800 between 1934 and 1938. Dollfuss's successor

14415-445: The entire world just how little hold National Socialism really had on that tiny country." Schuschnigg desperately sought support for Austrian independence in the hours following the ultimatum. Realizing that neither France nor Britain was willing to offer assistance, Schuschnigg resigned on the evening of 11 March, but President Wilhelm Miklas refused to appoint Seyss-Inquart as Chancellor. At 8:45 pm, Hitler, tired of waiting, ordered

14570-541: The first NSDAP-led government . He served in Adolf Hitler 's government as President of the Central Bank ( Reichsbank ) 1933–1939 and as Minister of Economics (August 1934 – November 1937). While Schacht was for a time feted for his role in the German " economic miracle ", he opposed elements of Hitler's policy of German re-armament insofar as it violated the Treaty of Versailles and (in his view) disrupted

14725-583: The formation of IG Farben . He collaborated with other prominent economists to form the 1929 Young Plan to modify the way that war reparations were paid after Germany incurred large foreign debts under the Dawes Plan . In December 1929, he caused the fall of the Finance Minister Rudolf Hilferding by imposing upon the government his conditions for obtaining a loan. After modifications by Hermann Müller 's government to

14880-463: The government and, after 1941, Schacht took no active part in any resistance. Still, at Schacht's denazification trial (subsequent to his acquittal at the Nuremberg trials ) it was declared by a judge that "None of the civilians in the resistance did more or could have done more than Schacht actually did." After the attempt on Hitler's life on 20 July 1944 , Schacht was arrested on 23 July. He

15035-552: The hard struggle of both for independence". Kung said, "China considers Germany its best friend ... I hope and wish that Germany will participate in supporting the further development of China, the opening up of its sources of raw materials, the upbuilding of its industries and means of transportation." On 26 November 1937, Schacht resigned as Reich and Prussian Minister of Economics and as General Plenipotentiary at both his and Göring's request. He had grown increasingly dissatisfied with Göring's near-total ignorance of economics, and

15190-471: The idea of Anschluss was opposed amongst most political circles in Austria. Jászi noted that "the annihilation of the German labor movement showed to Austrian socialism what it could expect from an Anschluss under Nazi rule", while "Austrian Catholicism realized what its fate would be under a system which crushed the great Catholic Party of Germany, the Centrum ". It was also opposed by other groups, such as

15345-492: The invasion to commence at dawn on 12 March regardless. Around 10 pm, a forged telegram was sent in Seyss-Inquart's name asking for German troops, since he was not yet Chancellor and was unable to do so himself. Seyss-Inquart was not installed as Chancellor until after midnight, when Miklas resigned himself to the inevitable. In the radio broadcast in which Schuschnigg announced his resignation, he argued that he accepted

15500-714: The lead in the arms race. In early 1938, Hitler was seriously considering replacing Papen as ambassador to Austria with either Colonel Hermann Kriebel , the German consul in Shanghai , or Albert Forster , the Gauleiter of Danzig. Significantly, neither Kriebel nor Forster was a professional diplomat, with Kriebel being one of the leaders of the 1923 Munich Beerhall putsch who had been appointed consul in Shanghai to facilitate his work as an arms dealer in China, while Forster

15655-801: The leadership of Bismarck and Prussia formed—this excluded Austria. Besides ensuring Prussian domination of a united Germany , the exclusion of Austria also ensured that Germany would have a substantial Protestant majority. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 , the Ausgleich , provided for a dual sovereignty, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary , under Franz Joseph I . This diverse empire included various different ethnic groups including Hungarians, Slavic ethnic groups such as Croats, Czechs, Poles, Rusyns, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenes, and Ukrainians, as well as Italians and Romanians ruled by

15810-462: The most promising assets, it spread the available resources over everything it had. Its managers did not feel the pressure of competition that shaped the management of private companies. Richard Overy noted that Göring's obsession with long-term mega-projects not only drained the economy, but was in stark contrast with the ideology of blitzkrieg . Inability to control the huge conglomerate became evident in 1942, and Pleiger persuaded Göring to limit

15965-538: The name "German-Austria" ( Deutschösterreich ); they also stripped Austria of some of its territories, such as the Sudetenland . This left Austria without most of the territories it had ruled for centuries and amid economic crisis. By the 1920s, the Anschluss proposal had strong support in both Austria and Germany, particularly to many Austrian citizens of the political left and center. One vehement supporter

16120-435: The new technology removed the barriers for Göring's plans. In December 1936 Göring announced that domestic ore, iron and steel program had become a national priority and that he would not tolerate hesitation or obstruction by private owners of the resources. Private capital raised their objections against rapid growth, and Göring settled to take ore mining under state control. Throughout the first half of 1937 Göring rallied for

16275-492: The objections of countries that were hesitant to accept penniless Jews. Hitler accepted the suggestion, and authorised him to negotiate with his London contacts. Schacht, in his book The Magic of Money (1967), wrote that Montagu Norman and Lord Bearstead , a prominent Jew, had reacted favourably, but Chaim Weizmann , leading spokesman for the British Zionist Federation , opposed the plan. A component of

16430-478: The order to send troops into Austria at one o'clock. Nevertheless, the German Führer underestimated his opposition. As Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Edgar Ansel Mowrer , reporting from Paris for CBS News , 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 Schuschnigg from demonstrating to

16585-457: The outbreak of the war, the Reichswerke abandoned peacetime formalities and simply took over all "German" assets it found attractive. It declared itself "a trustee for the German state" for the duration of the war, a white knight saving occupied countries from " colonialism " of big business. Settlements and compensations, when recognized, were delayed until the end of the war. But the Reichswerke's own post-war plans, developed in 1942, called for

16740-523: The party after meeting with Adolf Hitler . Close for a short time to Heinrich Brüning 's government, Schacht shifted to the right by entering the Harzburg Front in October 1931. Schacht's disillusionment with the existing Weimar government did not indicate a particular shift in his overall philosophy, but rather arose primarily out of two issues: Schacht believed that if the German government

16895-479: The philosophy Austrians were "superior Germans"). Schuschnigg called Austria the "better German state" but struggled to keep Austria independent. In an attempt to put Schuschnigg's mind at rest, Hitler delivered a speech at the Reichstag and said, "Germany neither intends nor wishes to interfere in the internal affairs of Austria, to annex Austria or to conclude an Anschluss." By 1936, the damage to Austria from

17050-535: The plan fell through when it became news. He served as a hired consultant for Aristotle Onassis , a Greek businessman, during the 1950s. He also advised the Indonesian government in 1951 following the invitation of economic minister Sumitro Djojohadikusumo . In 1953, Schacht started a bank, Deutsche Außenhandelsbank Schacht & Co. , which he led until 1963. He also gave advice on economics and finance to heads of state of developing countries, in particular

17205-422: The plan was that emigrating Jews would have taken items such as machinery with them on leaving the country, as a means of boosting German exports. The similar Haavara Agreement allowing German Jews to emigrate to Mandatory Palestine under similar terms had been signed in 1933. On 20 January 1939, Hitler dismissed Schacht from his post as President of the Reichsbank and replaced him with Funk. Schacht remained

17360-537: The polling stations and ballots were to be handed to an election official, undermining voter confidentiality. In addition, voter eligibility rules were liberally conceived and, therefore, open to abuse. Not only were those registered for the Nationalrat elections of October 1920 permitted to vote, but also those who registered themselves as living in Tyrol before April 1921, that is, less than a fortnight before going to

17515-466: The polls, as were all those Tyroleans who lived outside of the state; a train was even chartered from Bavaria to mitigate the financial burden of travelling 'home'. In the aftermath of a prohibition of an Anschluss, Germans in both Austria and Germany pointed to a contradiction in the national self-determination principle because the treaties failed to grant self-determination to the ethnic Germans (such as German Austrians and Sudeten Germans ) outside of

17670-479: The popular will in Austria and Germany, Hitler threatened an invasion and secretly pressured Schuschnigg to resign. A day before the planned referendum, the German Army crossed the border into Austria on 12 March, unopposed by the Austrian military. A plebiscite was held on 10 April, in which the ballot was not secret, and threats and coercion were employed to manipulate the vote, resulting in 99.7% approval for

17825-665: The private business refused for fear of overproduction. The Reichswerke purchased a non-controlling share in Alpine and then wrestled complete control over the company for six months. Regulatory pressure threatened to devalue Alpine, and in March 1939 VS stepped aside. Alpine's ore resources were vital for Göring's second great project – the new vertically integrated cluster of steel mills in Linz which also included Eisenwerke Oberdonau and numerous construction and shipping companies. Göring, in his functions of President of Prussia and Chief of

17980-580: The racial dogmatism central to Hitler's ideology. Göring was far more interested in the return of the former German colonies in Africa than Hitler was, believed up to 1939 in the possibility of an Anglo-German alliance (an idea that Hitler had abandoned by late 1937), and wanted all Eastern Europe in the German economic sphere of influence . Göring did not share Hitler's interest in Lebensraum ("living space") as for him, merely having Eastern Europe in

18135-401: The referendum. On 9 March 1938, in the face of rioting by the small, but virulent, Austrian Nazi Party and ever-expanding German demands on Austria, Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg called a referendum (plebiscite) on the issue, to be held on 13 March. Infuriated, on 11 March, Adolf Hitler threatened invasion of Austria, and demanded Chancellor von Schuschnigg's resignation and the appointment of

18290-475: The requisitions. After Schacht's dismissal from public service, he had another brief stint at the Dresdner Bank, and then various positions at other banks. In 1923, Schacht applied and was rejected for the position of head of the Reichsbank , largely as a result of his dismissal from Lumm's service. During the German Revolution of 1918–1919 Schacht became a Vernunftrepublikaner (a supporter of

18445-540: The rise in military spending, further increasing dependence on imports. Influential people inside the Nazi Party , including Hitler's economic advisor Wilhelm Keppler , rallied to increase domestic iron ore mining. Iron ore became the principal problem of the Four Year Plan (1936–1940). In October 1936 Göring learned that Stewarts & Lloyds foundry in Corby , United Kingdom, had successfully smelted low-grade ores;

18600-506: The rump Republic of German-Austria after 1918 largely favored some sort of union with Germany. An Austrian provisional national assembly drafted a provisional constitution that stated that "German Austria is a democratic republic" (Article 1) and "German Austria is a component of the German Republic" (Article 2). Later plebiscites in the Austrian border provinces of Tyrol and Salzburg yielded majorities of 98% and 99% in favor of

18755-485: The running and pushed the hardest for an early and radical solution to the 'Austrian Question'. Göring was not simply operating as Hitler's agent in matters relating to the 'Austrian Question'. His approach differed in emphasis in significant respects...But Göring's broad notions of foreign policy, which he pushed to a great extent on his own initiative in the mid-1930s drew more on traditional pan-German concepts of nationalist power-politics to attain hegemony in Europe than on

18910-425: The running of the ministries. The appointment was made permanent on 31 January 1935, after Schmitt formally resigned. Schacht supported public-works programs, most notably the construction of autobahnen (highways) to attempt to alleviate unemployment – policies which had been instituted in Germany by Kurt von Schleicher 's government in late 1932, and had in turn influenced Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal in

19065-623: The southwestern region of the German-inhabited lands, and further expanded the power of the Kingdom of Prussia . Bismarck used the Franco-Prussian war (1870–1871) as a way to convince southwestern German states, including the Kingdom of Bavaria , to side with Prussia against the Second French Empire . Due to Prussia's quick victory, the debate was settled and in 1871 the " Kleindeutsch " German Empire based on

19220-528: The staff of General Karl von Lumm (1864–1930), the Banking Commissioner for German-occupied Belgium , to organize the financing of Germany's purchases in Belgium. He was summarily dismissed by General von Lumm when it was discovered that he had used his previous employer, the Dresdner Bank, to channel the note remittances for nearly 500 million francs of Belgian national bonds destined to pay for

19375-557: The steel barons were stunned by a decree which instituted the Reichswerke , an integrated state company tasked with surpassing the Ruhr in finished steel output. Fearing creation of excessive industrial capacity and cutthroat competition with the state, they cautiously discussed the ways of curbing Göring's ambitions. They joined arms with Göring's adversary, Reichsminister of Economics Hjalmar Schacht , who denied state financing to Göring's project. On 23 July 1937 Göring announced that

19530-411: The steel barons' moves and he preempted their organized action through personal threats and promises. The steel barons escaped an open confrontation with the regime but the trust between Nazi leadership and big business was lost forever. Schacht was compelled to resign in November 1937, his function passed to Göring. The Salzgitter project recruited its workforce from all over Germany, Austria , Italy ,

19685-625: The steel production targets, suggested that he wanted an Anschluss in the very near-future. Hitler told Goebbels in the late summer of 1937 that eventually Austria would have to be taken "by force". On 5 November 1937, Hitler called a meeting with the Foreign Minister Konstantin von Neurath , the War Minister Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg , the Army commander General Werner von Fritsch ,

19840-473: The strength of the conservative opposition to Anschluss and the real possibility that the majority would have voted against the Anschluss, the Socialists did not dare to hold a referendum in 1919. The French attempted to prevent an Anschluss by incorporating Austria into a Danubian Confederation in 1927. German Minister of Foreign Affairs Gustav Stresemann opposed it, as he saw it as an attempt to re-form

19995-564: The town's economy. Dismantling began in earnest in 1947 and ended with the demolition of furnaces and foundries. Salzgitter was flooded with forty four thousand German refugees from the East , unemployment exceeded 30%, and the British considered physically resettling the residents in fear of a communist uprising. Of the thirty seven thousand displaced persons (mostly from Poland) working in Salzgitter in 1945, many refused to be resettled, and deportations continued until mid-1950s. In February 1950

20150-407: The treaty of 11 July 1936 and reaffirm his support for Austria's national sovereignty. Browbeaten and threatened by Hitler, Schuschnigg agreed to these demands and put them into effect. Seyss-Inquart was a long-time supporter of the Nazis who sought the union of all Germans in one state. Leopold argues he was a moderate who favoured an evolutionary approach to union. He opposed the violent tactics of

20305-455: The war, and that he had been arrested and imprisoned in a concentration camp himself. His defenders argued that he was just a patriot, trying to make the German economy strong. Furthermore, Schacht was not a member of the NSDAP and shared very little of their ideology. The British judges favored acquittal, while the Soviet judges wanted to convict and execute. The British prevailed and Schacht

20460-420: The workers stood up against demolition of their plants and eventually won the bloodless standoff with British troops. Dismantling continued for another year, but steelmaking in Salzgitter was saved. The state-owned plant operated under the name Reichswerke until 1953, was renamed AG für Bergbau- und Hüttenbetrieb, and eventually became Salzgitter AG . The Reichswerke logo, which resembled Göring's coat of arms ,

20615-426: Was Kurt Schuschnigg , who followed a political course similar to his predecessor. In 1935 Schuschnigg used the police to suppress Nazi supporters. Police actions under Schuschnigg included gathering Nazis (and Social Democrats) and holding them in internment camps . The Austrofascism of Austria between 1934 and 1938 focused on the history of Austria and opposed the absorption of Austria into Nazi Germany (according to

20770-496: Was Otto Bauer , the prominent Social Democrat leader who served as Austria's Foreign Minister after the war. Support for unification with Germany came mainly from the belief that Austria, stripped of its imperial land, was not viable economically. Popular support for the unification faded with time, although it remained as a concept in the contemporary Austrian political discourse. After 1933, when Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, desire for unification could be identified with

20925-537: Was tried at Nuremberg , but was acquitted despite Soviet objections. Later, a German denazification tribunal sentenced him to eight years of hard labour, which was also overturned on appeal. Schacht was born in Tingleff , Prussia , German Empire (now in Denmark ) to William Leonhard Ludwig Maximillian Schacht and Baroness Constanze Justine Sophie von Eggers, a native of Denmark. His parents, who had spent years in

21080-717: Was a Gauleiter who had proven he could get along with the Poles in his position in the Free City of Danzig ; both men were Nazis who had shown some diplomatic skill. On 25 January 1938, the Austrian police raided the Vienna headquarters of the Austrian Nazi Party, arresting Gauleiter Leopold Tavs, the deputy to Captain Josef Leopold , discovered a cache of arms and plans for a putsch . Following increasing violence and demands from Hitler that Austria agree to

21235-551: Was a German economist, banker, politician, and co-founder of the German Democratic Party . He served as the Currency Commissioner and President of the Reichsbank under the Weimar Republic . He was a fierce critic of his country's post- World War I reparations obligations. He was also central in helping create the group of German industrialists and landowners that pushed Hindenburg to appoint

21390-713: Was acquitted on 1 October 1946. However, at a West German denazification trial, Schacht was sentenced to eight years of hard labor. He was freed on appeal in 1948. In 1950, Juan Yarur Lolas , the Bethlehem-born founder of the Banco de Crédito e Inversiones and president of the Arab colony in Santiago , Chile, tried to hire Schacht as a "financial adviser" in conjunction with the German-Chilean community . However,

21545-425: Was also concerned that Germany was coming close to bankruptcy. His replacement was to be Walther Funk who would take over in February 1938, with Göring serving as acting minister in the interim. Hitler, however, knew that Schacht's departure would raise eyebrows outside Germany, and insisted that he remain in the cabinet as minister without portfolio and as President of the Reichsbank . Göring also appointed him to

21700-469: Was assassinated by Austrian Nazis. The defeat of the coup prompted many leading Austrian Nazis to go into exile in Germany, where they continued their efforts to unify the two countries. In early 1938, under increasing pressure from pro-unification activists, Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg announced that there would be a referendum on a possible union with Germany versus maintaining Austria's sovereignty to be held on 13 March. Portraying this as defying

21855-446: Was awarded honorary membership in the NSDAP and the Golden Party Badge in January 1937. Schacht disagreed with what he called "unlawful activities" against Germany's Jewish minority and in August 1935 made a speech denouncing Julius Streicher and Streicher's writing in the Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer . During the economic crisis of 1935–36, Schacht, together with the Price Commissioner Dr. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler , helped lead

22010-479: Was converted into a makeshift concentration camp. American historian Evan Burr Bukey warned that the plebiscite result needs to be taken with "great caution". The plebiscite was subject to large-scale Nazi propaganda and to the abrogation of the voting rights of around 360,000 people (8% of the eligible voting population), mainly political enemies such as former members of left-wing parties and Austrian citizens of Jewish or Romani origin. The Austrians' support for

22165-426: Was dissolved and power was centralized in the office of the chancellor , who was empowered to rule by decree . Rival parties, including the Austrian National Socialists, were banned, and government evolved into a corporatist , one-party government that combined the CS and the paramilitary Heimwehr . It controlled labor relations and the press. ( See Austrofascism and Patriotic Front ). The new regime emphasized

22320-434: Was ever to commence a wholesale reindustrialization and rearmament in spite of the restrictions imposed by Germany's treaty obligations, it would have to be during a period lacking clear international consensus among the Great Powers . After the November 1932 elections , in which the NSDAP saw its vote share fall by four percentage points, Schacht and Wilhelm Keppler organized a petition of industrial and financial leaders,

22475-425: Was independent of private interests. By the end of 1941 the Reichswerke became the largest company in Europe and probably in the whole world, with a capital of 2.4 billion  ℛ︁ℳ︁ and about half a million workers. In 1942 the Reichswerke's inefficient corporate structure was reduced in size. Its weapons and munitions assets were integrated into the Ministry of Armaments ; the mining and steel core of

22630-440: Was not overwhelmingly popular among the Austrian population in 1919, which is one of the reasons why no nationwide referendum was held, even before it was forbidden by the Entente: Despite the initially compelling statistics, overall, it appears doubtful that a qualified majority of Austrians would have supported Anschluss with Germany. From the sparse evidence available, it appears that the pro-Anschluss movement could only hope for

22785-496: Was not replaced until the 1980s. Anschluss The Anschluss ( German: [ˈʔanʃlʊs] , or Anschluß , lit.   ' joining ' or ' connection ' ), also known as the Anschluß Österreichs ( pronunciation , English: Annexation of Austria ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an Anschluss (a united Austria and Germany that would form

22940-411: Was not sufficient even for native Germans; foreign workers had to live in seventy makeshift camps. The Gestapo ran an on-site concentration camp for the delinquent workers. Forced labor of prisoners from Nazi concentration camps was not employed until May 1944; the three camps that supplied slaves to Salzgitter contained up to 6,500 prisoners. Another local camp, Drutte, supplied slave workers for

23095-470: Was not willing to share the fortunes with private German businesses – on the contrary, the Reichswerke absorbed Austrian assets that were already owned by German investors and completely eliminated the barons of Ruhr from Austrian industry. Its primary target in Austria, Alpine Montangesellschaft  [ de ] steel company, was 56% owned by German giant VS. Immediately after the Anschluss, Göring advised VS to speed up mining its Austrian ores, and again

23250-420: Was reached and Article 80 of the Treaty of Versailles stated that "Germany acknowledges and will respect strictly the independence of Austria, within the frontiers which may be fixed in a Treaty between that State and the Principal Allied and Associated Powers; she agrees that this independence shall be inalienable, except with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations ." Elite and popular opinion in

23405-407: Was sent to Ravensbrück , then to Flossenbürg , and finally to Dachau . In late April 1945 he and about 140 other prominent inmates of Dachau were transferred to Tyrol by the SS , which left them there. They were liberated by the Fifth U.S. Army on 5 May 1945 in Niederdorf, South Tyrol , Dolomites , Italy . Schacht had supported Hitler's gaining power, and had been an important official of

23560-403: Was so close to the Schacht family that he was godfather to one of Schacht's grandchildren . By 1926, Schacht had left the shrinking DDP and began increasingly lending his support to the Nazi Party (NSDAP). He became disillusioned with Stresemann's policies after he believed that closer relations with the United States were failing to provide economic benefits, and after his efforts to negotiate

23715-421: Was supported by the united front of socialists and communists, as well as the Heimwehr, monarchist groups and the majority of the Austrian police. The Social Democrats also declared their readiness to support Schuschnigg in the event of a plebiscite under the conditions that immediately after such a plebiscite a definite negotiation be begun to include them in the Government. This support led Schuschnigg to announce

23870-420: Was the case of the British-owned Rothschild family mill in Vitkovice . Sudetenland , annexed in 1938, brought the first substantial coal reserves. In Germany, the Reichswerke effectively subdued the Ruhr barons by forcing them to supply coal to Salzgitter blast furnaces, commissioned in 1939, at below-market price. "Acquisition" of Polish coal mines allowed the Reichswerke to drop coal prices even lower. After

24025-430: Was the plaintiff in a foundational case in German law on the "general right of personality" . A magazine published an article criticizing Schacht, containing several incorrect statements. Schacht first requested that the magazine publish a correction, and when the magazine refused, sued the publisher for violation of his personality rights. The district court found the publisher both civilly and criminally liable; on appeal,

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