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Austrian Anschluss has lessons for Taiwan

‘Germany’s “peaceful unification” with Austria remains a prime example of how the collapse of democracy undermines sovereignty.’

In 1938, Adolf Hitler carried out a “peaceful unification” of Germany and Austria. Is the same thing about to happen between Taiwan and China?

Let us take a look at the process through which the Austrians voted in favor of joining Germany in a referendum.

Germany and Austria share both language and people, and just like the Republic of China’s Constitution aims for unification with China, unification with Germany was the political goal of the Austrian Constitution at the time.

Hitler’s intent to annex Austria was also obvious. When he met then Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg in 1938, he pushed hard for the legalization of the Austrian National Socialist party and forced von Schuschnigg to appoint two members of the Nazi party to his Cabinet.

Hitler then demanded the dismissal of Alfred Jansa, the Austrian chief of staff who had defended the Austrian border from German invasion, a move that left the border wide open.

Under renewed pressure from Hitler, von Schuschnigg announced a defensive referendum in an attempt to guarantee Austrian independence. On the eve of the referendum, however, German troops invaded Austria — and were warmly welcomed. The Germans then held the referendum and unification was supported by 99.7 percent of the voters.

Not even the United Kingdom, the world’s super power at this time, had expected such expediency, and then British prime minister Neville Chamberlain was forced to adopt a policy of appeasement.

Prior to the Austrian invasion, Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler was already busy orchestrating the arrest of prominent individuals opposed to the Nazis. Within a few days of the invasion, more than 70,000 socialists, communists and members of the nobility who opposed unification had been arrested. Arrests on this scale would have been impossible without name lists put together with the help of the Austrian Nazi Party.

Looking at the cooperation between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party — the promotion of a cross-strait common market, refusing to treat China as an enemy, the diplomatic truce, the appointment of former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) to represent Taiwan at the APEC meeting, the judiciary’s score settling with the pan-green camp, and so on — in the light of Hitler’s “peaceful unification” with Austria is a terrifying exercise and there are many lessons to be learned.

There was the initial establishment of an economic alliance followed by the elimination of Austria’s military force, the forcing of the Austrian government to appoint specific people to key positions, the orchestration of the arrests of Nazi opponents and finally the domestic cooperation by the Austrian Nazis.

Germany’s “peaceful unification” with Austria remains a prime example of how the collapse of democracy undermines sovereignty. Will 400 years of colonial history repeat itself in Taiwan four years from now?



Lai I-chung is an executive committee member of the Taiwan Thinktank.

TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON
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