1933-1935

• Engelbert Dollfuss was the dictator of Austria.
• Austrian Nazis carried out terrorist attacks, encouraged from Germany. The German government tried to persuade Dollfuss to appoint ministers who were Nazi sympathisers. Dollfuss rejected all their demands
• In July 1934, a group of Austrian Nazis attempted a coup. They killed Dollfuss and took control of the government buildings. However, the coup was poorly organised and the government soon restored control after Italian troops moved to the border to warn Hitler off
• Hitler quickly denied any connection to the unsuccessful coup. It's still not known how far he was involved. It's likely that Hitler planned for the Austrian government to be overthrown from within - he knew he didn't have the military strength to take Austria by force. However, he may not have wanted Dollfuss to be killed - it could have led other countries to intervene, and he wasn't ready for this yet
• The Dollfuss Affair showed Hitler is quite vulnerable in the early years of his rule. This episode made him realise that he needed to be patient and increase his military strength
• After the Dollfuss Affair, Hitler turned his attention to the valuable Saar - he wanted it bacl
• The Saar was an industrialised region of Germany about 30 miles wide, bordering France. Under the ToV, the Saar was put under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years from 1920. After this time, the plan was for the territory's status to be decided by popular vote
• When this plebiscite took place in January 1935, 90% of voters chose reunion with Germany - the Saar was returned to Germany in March
• • The vote showed that people were willing to live under Hitler and the Nazis just in order to be part of the country again
  • Lots of historians think that regaining the Saar was Hitler's first step to the Second World War. It gave him the confidence to demand more territory for Germany
  • However, it also showed that Hitler's armed forces were still weak at this point. Some Nazis had threatened to invade the Saar, but backed down as soon as Britain threatened to send troops
• In October 1933, Hitler withdrew Germany from the League of Nations' Disarmament Conference in Geneva. At the same time, he withdrew Germany from the League of Nations itself
• In March 1935, he brought in military conscription in Germany - breaking the terms of the treaty of Versailles. This was condemned by France, Britain and Italy at Stresa
• Britain, France and Italy met for the Stresa Conference in northern Italy, in April 1935
• Britain and France were worried about German rearmament and conscription, announced in March. Mussolini was concerned about the threat to his northern borders if Hitler united Austria with Germany
• In the final Stresa agreement the countries condemned German rearmament. They also agreed to work together to maintain peace in Europe and to defend Austrian independence. However, they didn't decide how this would be done
• The agreement gave Mussolini more confidence to wage his war in Abyssinia because it only referred to peace in Europe. He also felt that Britain and France wouldn't confront Hitler
• In June 1935, Hitler reached a naval agreement with Britain. It allowed Germany to build up to 35% of British naval strength and up to 45% of their submarine strength