Austro-German relations
Encyclopedia
Relations between Austria
and Germany
are close, due to German
being the common language of the two European countries.
Throughout the middle
and early modern
ages, the Holy Roman Empire
(HRE) encompassed all of Germany, including Austria. The House of Habsburg became the ruling family
of the Empire in 1440; it would remain so for the rest of the Empire's existence. Austria
was the Habsburg's seat of power, and it was the dominant state in the realm. The numerous states of Germany (within the HRE) constantly jostled for power and influence and often warred against each other. In the 18th century, the Kingdom of Prussia
rose as another power in the HRE, and became Austria's main rival for dominance in Germany. Prussia and Austria fought a series of wars
over the province of Silesia
.
During the Napoleonic Wars
, Austria and Prussia were allied against the French Empire
. Francis II
, the Holy Roman Emperor, proclaimed the Austrian Empire
, dissolving the Holy Roman Empire shortly thereafter. The remaining German States became clients
of the French Empire and comprised the Confederation of the Rhine
. After Napoleon's defeat, the German Confederation
was created as a new association of German States. Under the Confederation, Germany lacked a monarch, a central government and any real unifying force. As a result, Prussia and Austria struggled to unite Germany under their different proposals
. Austria hoped to unite the German states in a union centered on, and dominated by, Austria. Prussia hoped to unite Germany by excluding Austria. Prussia succeeded in creating a German Customs Union
, and after the Austro-Prussian War
, a new North German Confederation
, both of which formed around Prussia and excluded Austria. The German Confederation was dissolved, excluding Austria from German affairs. In 1871, Germany was unified when the German Empire
was proclaimed.
and the Dual Alliance
, which became the basis for the Austro-German alliance during the First World War
.
The Great War ended badly for the Central Powers, however, and both empires were disbanded.
. Some in that state wanted to join the new German republic
but this was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles
. On September 1, 1920, an economic agreement was concluded between the two countries. After Austrian-born Adolf Hitler
came to power in Germany, he demanded the right to Anschluss
or Union between Austria and Germany. This was initially blocked by the Italian government under Benito Mussolini
, who cooperated with his Austrian counterparts Engelbert Dollfuss
and Kurt Schuschnigg
, fearing that a German occupation of Austria would lead to territorial demands on the former Austrian territories annexed by Italy after WWI. It was under Italian pressure that on July 11, 1936, the German and Austrian governments signed a friendship agreement in which the German Reich renounced all claims to Austria. Later, however, Hitler and Mussolini developed closer ties and Hitler committed to refrain from any territorial demands in Italy. As a result, Mussolini decided to abandon the policy of protecting Austrian independence. In March 1938, the German army took Austria without meeting any resistance.
declared the country's regained independence. Austria's democratic constitution was reinstated, and later that year elections paved the way for a new federal government, with Leopold Figl
as the Chancellor of Austria
. The former Germany remained a territory controlled by the Allied Forces until 1949 when both the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic
emerged as new German states.
Since the end of the Second World War there has been no serious effort to unite the two countries again. Indeed no mainstream political party in either country officially advocates political union. One reason for this is Austria's constitutional commitment to neutrality was (and is) in contrast to West Germany's commitiment to being an active member of Nato. Moreover, the mainstream view that has been established in Austria since WWII is that Austria has its distinct national identity, with great emphasis on the rejection of a German identity. Indeed, views that promote a stronger identification with Germany or even reunification are often associated with the far right or even neonazism within Austria. However, economic and political ties between the two states have been strong and mostly amicable since the post-war period. Relations were further strengthened through Austria's accession to the European Union
in 1995 and the establishment of the Eurozone
(of which both states are founding members) in 1999, giving to two states ipso facto
a common currency.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
are close, due to German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
being the common language of the two European countries.
The Holy Roman Empire to German Unification
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and early modern
Early modern period
In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
ages, the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
(HRE) encompassed all of Germany, including Austria. The House of Habsburg became the ruling family
Royal House
A royal house or royal dynasty consists of at least one, but usually more monarchs who are related to one another, as well as their non-reigning descendants and spouses. Monarchs of the same realm who are not related to one another are usually deemed to belong to different houses, and each house is...
of the Empire in 1440; it would remain so for the rest of the Empire's existence. Austria
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
was the Habsburg's seat of power, and it was the dominant state in the realm. The numerous states of Germany (within the HRE) constantly jostled for power and influence and often warred against each other. In the 18th century, the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
rose as another power in the HRE, and became Austria's main rival for dominance in Germany. Prussia and Austria fought a series of wars
Silesian Wars
The Silesian Wars were a series of wars between Prussia and Austria for control of Silesia. They formed parts of the larger War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War. They eventually ended with Silesia being incorporated into Prussia, and Austrian recognition of this...
over the province of Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
.
During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, Austria and Prussia were allied against the French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. Francis II
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
, the Holy Roman Emperor, proclaimed the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, dissolving the Holy Roman Empire shortly thereafter. The remaining German States became clients
Client state
Client state is one of several terms used to describe the economic, political and/or military subordination of one state to a more powerful state in international affairs...
of the French Empire and comprised the Confederation of the Rhine
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...
. After Napoleon's defeat, the German Confederation
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
was created as a new association of German States. Under the Confederation, Germany lacked a monarch, a central government and any real unifying force. As a result, Prussia and Austria struggled to unite Germany under their different proposals
German question
The German question was a debate in the 19th century, especially during the Revolutions of 1848, over the best way to achieve the Unification of Germany. From 1815–1871, a number of 37 independent German-speaking states existed within the German Confederation...
. Austria hoped to unite the German states in a union centered on, and dominated by, Austria. Prussia hoped to unite Germany by excluding Austria. Prussia succeeded in creating a German Customs Union
Zollverein
thumb|upright=1.2|The German Zollverein 1834–1919blue = Prussia in 1834 grey= Included region until 1866yellow= Excluded after 1866red = Borders of the German Union of 1828 pink= Relevant others until 1834...
, and after the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
, a new North German Confederation
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation 1866–71, was a federation of 22 independent states of northern Germany. It was formed by a constitution accepted by the member states in 1867 and controlled military and foreign policy. It included the new Reichstag, a parliament elected by universal manhood...
, both of which formed around Prussia and excluded Austria. The German Confederation was dissolved, excluding Austria from German affairs. In 1871, Germany was unified when the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
was proclaimed.
Austria-Hungary and the German Empire
Austria changed itself from a German-focused power into a multi-national Central European one with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. Afterwards relations with the new Prussian-dominated German Empire improved but Germany was now clearly the stronger of the two powers. They cooperated in the League of the Three EmperorsLeague of the Three Emperors
The League of the Three Emperors was an unstable alliance between Tsar Alexander II of Russia, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary and Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany.- Formation 1873 :...
and the Dual Alliance
Dual Alliance, 1879
The Dual Alliance was a defensive alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary, which was created by treaty on October 7, 1879 as part of Bismarck's system of alliances to prevent/limit war. In it, Germany and Austria-Hungary pledged to aid one another in case of an attack by Russia...
, which became the basis for the Austro-German alliance during the First World War
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
.
The Great War ended badly for the Central Powers, however, and both empires were disbanded.
Interwar
After the war Austria lost its many non-German territories and was reduced to a rump called German AustriaGerman Austria
Republic of German Austria was created following World War I as the initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking population within what had been the Austro-Hungarian Empire, without the Kingdom of Hungary, which in 1918 had become the Hungarian Democratic Republic.German...
. Some in that state wanted to join the new German republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
but this was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. On September 1, 1920, an economic agreement was concluded between the two countries. After Austrian-born Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
came to power in Germany, he demanded the right to Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
or Union between Austria and Germany. This was initially blocked by the Italian government under Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, who cooperated with his Austrian counterparts Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government...
and Kurt Schuschnigg
Kurt Schuschnigg
Kurt Alois Josef Johann Schuschnigg was Chancellor of the First Austrian Republic, following the assassination of his predecessor, Dr. Engelbert Dollfuss, in July 1934, until Germany’s invasion of Austria, , in March 1938...
, fearing that a German occupation of Austria would lead to territorial demands on the former Austrian territories annexed by Italy after WWI. It was under Italian pressure that on July 11, 1936, the German and Austrian governments signed a friendship agreement in which the German Reich renounced all claims to Austria. Later, however, Hitler and Mussolini developed closer ties and Hitler committed to refrain from any territorial demands in Italy. As a result, Mussolini decided to abandon the policy of protecting Austrian independence. In March 1938, the German army took Austria without meeting any resistance.
Postwar
In late April 1945, a provisional Austrian government led by Karl RennerKarl Renner
Karl Renner was an Austrian politician. He was born in Untertannowitz in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and died in Vienna...
declared the country's regained independence. Austria's democratic constitution was reinstated, and later that year elections paved the way for a new federal government, with Leopold Figl
Leopold Figl
Leopold Figl was an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party and the first Federal Chancellor after World War II...
as the Chancellor of Austria
Chancellor of Austria
The Federal Chancellor is the head of government in Austria. Its deputy is the Vice-Chancellor. Before 1918, the equivalent office was the Minister-President of Austria. The Federal Chancellor is considered to be the most powerful political position in Austrian politics.-Appointment:The...
. The former Germany remained a territory controlled by the Allied Forces until 1949 when both the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
emerged as new German states.
Since the end of the Second World War there has been no serious effort to unite the two countries again. Indeed no mainstream political party in either country officially advocates political union. One reason for this is Austria's constitutional commitment to neutrality was (and is) in contrast to West Germany's commitiment to being an active member of Nato. Moreover, the mainstream view that has been established in Austria since WWII is that Austria has its distinct national identity, with great emphasis on the rejection of a German identity. Indeed, views that promote a stronger identification with Germany or even reunification are often associated with the far right or even neonazism within Austria. However, economic and political ties between the two states have been strong and mostly amicable since the post-war period. Relations were further strengthened through Austria's accession to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
in 1995 and the establishment of the Eurozone
Eurozone
The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...
(of which both states are founding members) in 1999, giving to two states ipso facto
Ipso facto
Ipso facto is a Latin phrase, directly translated as "by the fact itself," which means that a certain phenomenon is a direct consequence, a resultant effect, of the action in question, instead of being brought about by a subsequent action such as the verdict of a tribunal. It is a term of art used...
a common currency.