Berlin versus Vienna: Disagreement about Anschluss in the Winter of 1918–1919

Abstract

On November 12, 1918, three days after Germany had been declared a republic in Berlin, the Provisional National Assembly of the German population of Austria unanimously declared in Vienna that “German-Austria is a constituent part of the German Republic.” Had the declaration been accepted as more than a statement of intent, diplomatic relations between the two independent states would have been replaced by German-Austrian participation in the German government. In fact, the two governments continued to function independently and relations between them were conducted primarily through their respective foreign ministries despite the declaration of union (Anschluss). Moreover, just as conflicts between Berlin and Vienna had plagued the alliance between the German and Austro- Hungarian empires during World War I, disagreements about the Anschluss marred relations between the new German and Austrian republics in the weeks following the armistices of 1918. While the governments in both capitals desired the unification of the two states, there was discord between them about the procedure to follow to secure it. During the winter of 1918–19 Berlin and Vienna narrowed the differences between them about questions of tactics, but fundamental disagreement about the ultimate importance of Anschluss was never completely overcome. An examination of the disagreement between the two governments and its partial resolution may shed light on the complexity of the Anschluss issue, both as a problem of the peace settlements of 1919 and as background to the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938.