July Agreement
The July Agreement was signed on July 11, 1936 between the governments of the Federal State of Austria and the German Reich .
“ In the conviction that they are giving valuable support to the overall development of Europe in order to maintain peace, as well as in the belief that this would best serve the diverse and mutual interests of the two German states, the governments of the federal state of Austria and the German Reich decided to restore their relationships to normal and amicable . On this occasion it is declared:
1. In accordance with the findings of the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor of May 21, 1935 , the German Reich Government recognizes the full sovereignty of the Federal State of Austria .
2. Each of the two governments regards the internal political structure existing in the other country , including the question of Austrian National Socialism , as an internal affair of the other country on which it will not have any direct or indirect influence .
3. The Austrian Federal Government will always keep its policy in general, especially with regard to the German Reich, on the fundamental line that corresponds to the fact that Austria professes to be a German state . This does not affect the Roman Protocols of 1934 and their additions from 1936, as well as Austria's position towards Italy and Hungary as the partners of these Protocols .
Whereas that desired by both sides relaxation can only be achieved if to certain pre-conditions are created by the governments of both countries, the Austrian federal government both as the national government in a number of is individual measures the undersigned, being necessary conditions create. "
Hitler literally added the following sentence to the official communique :
"Germany has neither the intention nor the desire , in the internal conditions in Austria meddle ; About annexing or joining Austria . "
In the course of the day of July 11th, at the suggestion of Chancellor Schuschnigg , the Austrian Federal President Miklas emphasized the two national ones (that meant Edmund Glaise von Horstenau as Minister without Portfolio and Guido Schmidt as State Secretary in their diction that was not Nazi-oriented in their diction at the time) appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It was a consequence of the rapprochement between Hitler's Germany and fascist Italy , which had hitherto represented Austria's foreign policy pillar, as well as Austria's efforts to have the thousand-mark barrier lifted .
In addition, Austria also tried to counteract the state-directed Nazi propaganda , which has been very intensive, state-directed, and the ideological infiltration of the state , which has been very intense, especially in the print media , since the National Socialists seized power in the German Reich . While Austria has been banning newspapers from Germany ever more strongly since 1933, Germany imposed an import ban on books by certain authors who did not follow National Socialist ideas. In 1935 negotiations began between the German envoy in Vienna, Franz von Papen, and the Austrian government with the aim of lifting these obstacles.
In the agreement, the Austrian corporate state undertook to amnesty the members of the NSDAP , which had been imprisoned since the July coup , and had been illegal since 1933 . In addition, individual German newspapers were permitted again, but not the Völkische Beobachter , the party organ of the NSDAP. The German thousand-mark block , introduced on June 1, 1933, was not lifted until August 24, 1936.
Historians also refer to the following Austrian policy as the “German way”. The NSDAP was still banned; The loosening of the agreement made it much easier for her to circumvent the Austrian restrictions, to infiltrate the state apparatus and to fill important positions with members of the Nazi party and sympathizers. Schuschnigg, who had tried to maintain Austria's sovereignty with the July Agreement, ultimately contributed significantly to the fact that Austria's statehood was ended less than two years later with the “Anschluss” of Austria .
See also
- Roman Protocols (1934)
- Entry on the July Agreement in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
- Berchtesgaden Agreement (1938)
literature
- Ludwig Jedlicka and Rudolf Neck (eds.): The July Agreement of 1936. Prehistory, background and consequences. Minutes of the symposium in Vienna on June 10th and 11th 1976 (= publications of the Scientific Commission of the Theodor-Körner-Stiftungsfonds and the Leopold-Kunschak-Prize for the Research of Austrian History from 1927 to 1938, Vol. 4). Vienna 1977, ISBN 3-7028-0094-8 .
- Yannik Mück: Austria between Mussolini and Hitler - The way to the July agreement 1936. Bonn 2015, ISBN 978-3-95421-086-2 .
- Gabriele Volsansky: Temporary pact. The German-Austrian July Agreement 1936 (= Böhlaus Zeitgeschichtliche Bibliothek, vol. 37). Böhlau Verlag , Vienna a. a. 2001, ISBN 3-205-99214-8 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Deutsches Nachrichtenbüro ( Memento of the original from March 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and Wiener Zeitung of July 12, 1936; Originally "blocked" print is shown here underlined in the quote . - Reference is made to the Roman Protocols of 1934 and additions to the Vienna Tripartite Conference 11-12 November 1936 of the Roman Protocol States .
- ^ Wiener Zeitung of July 12, 1936, page 2, right column; Originally "blocked" print is shown here underlined in the quote .
- ^ Wiener Zeitung of July 12, 1936, page 1, left column.
- ^ Introduction and repeal of the 1000 Reichsmark compulsory levy at the border.
