The political context changed in 1938 when the hitherto independent Federal State of Austria was integrated into Germany, which ushered in a more uncompromising approach to political opposition by the security services. The "Anschluss" also made unavoidable - if it was not already unavoidable - national involvement in the forthcoming war, which broke out in September 1939. Maria Olip's home region was now on the mountainous southern frontier of an enlarged and increasingly embattled enlarged German state. Between 1941 and 1943 that part of Slovenia, directly to the south of Austrian Carinthia was under German military occupation. German occupation was resisted by Slovene partisans from north of the border who would have classified themselves as (Slovene speaking) Austrian/German citizens. Maria Olip worked as an "underground messenger" for her brother, , who had been a founder of the Slovene partisan movement in Carinthia.