Austria was occupied and annexed by the German Reich in March 1938. Many Austrians welcomed this “Anschluss”, after which they were treated as Germans. On April 10, 1938, the “Act on the Reunification of Austria with the German Reich” was recognized by a referendum. Austria was integrated into the general administration of the German Reich and subdivided into seven Reichsgaue in 1939. In 1945, the Red Army took Vienna and eastern parts of the country, while the Western Allies occupied the wester...