And a peculiar sort of madness took over.
. . . or click on the link here for Audio Player – News From Radio Austria – News From Radio Prague – March 11, 1938 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection.
The ominous tones in news for this March day in 1938 were inescapable. The situation in Europe had escalated and a new word was injected into the world vocabulary; Anschluss. The annexation of Austria by Germany into a federation, thus completing what had been attempted in 1918, but was prevented by the Treaty of Versailles.
Argued that the reunification of Austria with Germany was a return to the way it was prior to the 1866 Austro-Prussian War when the German Confederation was dismantled. Under pressure from Germany and the Austrian Nazi Party, a referendum vote was planned. But on March 11th a well-organized coup d’ètat by the Austrian Nazi Party took place, seizing control of Austria’s state institutions in Vienna. The vote was subsequently cancelled and the Anschluss paved the way for German troops to take control on March 12.
Here is news from Austrian Radio’s English Service, as well as a report from Radio Prague on March 11, 1938.
The post The Word Is Anschluss – March 11, 1938 appeared first on Past Daily.
