Republic of German-Austria

##### German Austria (German: Deutsch-Österreich) or the Republic of German Austria (German: Republik Deutschösterreich) is a state that was created before the end of the First World War and included areas of the German-speaking population within what was Austria-Hungary.

German Austria claimed sovereignty over all the majority German territories of the former Habsburg Monarchy: the entire area of ​​118,311 km² with about 10.4 million inhabitants.

It included almost all the territories of present-day Austria, with the addition of South Tyrol and the city of Tarvisio, which are now part of Italy; southern Carinthia and Styria, now in Slovenia and the Sudetenland, and German Bohemia (which would later become part of the Sudetenland), now part of the Czech Republic.

In practice, however, its authority was limited to the Danube and Alpine areas of the former monarchy, with a few exceptions, most of which were part of today's Austria.

### History

In Habsburg Austria-Hungary, "German Austria" was an unofficial term that referred to areas of the monarchy inhabited by Austrian Germans.

With the impending collapse of the state in late 1918, the ethnic German deputies in the Reichsrat, at the last session in 1911, sought to form a new truncated state of German Austria.

The "provisional national assembly of the independent state of German Austria" was proclaimed and Franz Dinghofer from the German National Movement, Jodok Fink from the Christian Social Party and Karl Seitz from the Social Democratic Party of Austria were elected as presidents of the assembly.

The Assembly had representatives from Bohemia, Moravia and Austrian Silesia who refused to recognize the newly founded Czechoslovakia, which was proclaimed on October 28, 1918.

On November 11, 1918, Emperor Karl I renounced the right to participate in the affairs of the new Austrian state. The following day, on November 12, the National Assembly officially declared German Austria a republic, and appointed Karl Renner as v. d. chancellor. She drafted a temporary constitution that began with the words "German Austria is a democratic republic" (Article 1) and "German Austria is part of the German Republic" (Article 2).

The second provision reflected the position of the deputies who believed that Austria would lose a large territory in any peace agreement and would no longer be viable as a separate state, and the only solution according to them was union with Germany. This is based on the view that Austria was never a state in the true sense. While the Austrian state existed in one form or another for over 700 years, its only unifying force was the Habsburgs.

A later plebiscite in the provinces of Tyrol and Salzburg gave majorities of 98% and 99% in favor of unification with Germany. On November 22, the National Assembly officially claimed all areas inhabited by ethnic Germans in Cislaytania. However, the Allies in the First World War did not accept such a movement and German Austria, mostly powerless to resist the forces of Italy, Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, failed to prevent the confiscation of territories.

Renner signed the Saint-Germain Treaty on September 10, 1919, which was ratified by the assembly on October 21. According to the provisions, the country had to change its name from "German Austria" to "Austria". She handed over the Sudetenland and German Bohemia to Czechoslovakia, South Tyrol and the city of Tarvizio to Italy, southern Carinthia and Styria to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Article 88 of the treaty, sometimes called the "pre-Anschluss attempt", begins "the independence of Austria is inalienable without the integrity of the League of Nations" - in effect, preventing any attempt to unify Austria with Germany. Also, the Treaty of Versailles, which dictates the terms of peace for Germany, forbids any union between Germany and Austria. With these changes and the settlement of Austrian border areas, the era of the First Austrian Republic begins.

### **Provinces :**

German Austria originally had 9 provinces:

-Upper Austria made up today's Upper Austria with the addition of the Bohemian Šumava area, which today is part of the South Bohemian Region.

-Lower Austria, made up today's Lower Austria with the city of Vienna, with the addition of German South Moravia, which today is divided between the Czech regions of South Bohemia, Vysočina and South Moravia.

-German Bohemia, the area of ​​western Bohemia that became part of the Sudetenland from 1938 to 1945, today part of the Czech Republic.

-Sudetenland, part of the historical regions of Moravia and Austrian Silesia. The borders do not correspond to what will later be known as the Sudetenland.

-Salzburg, the entire territory of today's Salzburg.

-Carinthia, the entire territory of the historical area of ​​Carinthia including today's Carinthia as part of Austria, the Slovenian non-governmental area of ​​Carinthia,

-the Slovenian municipality of Jezersko and now the Italian municipality of Tarvizion, Malborghetto Valbruna and Ponteba.

-German Tyrol, the greater part of the historical region of Tyrol which includes present-day Tyrol in Austria and the present-day Italian district of South Tyrol, but not the Italian district of Trento.

-Vorarlberg, the entire territory of today's Vorarlberg in Austria.