Anschluss

American  

[ahn-shloos] / ˈɑn ʃlʊs /

noun

1. union, especially the political union of Austria with Germany in 1938.

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Anschluss British  

/ ˈænʃlʊs /

noun

1. a political or economic union, esp the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany (1938)

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Etymology

Origin of Anschluss

1920–25; < German: consolidation, joining together, equivalent to an- on, to + Schluss a closing

Example Sentences

"I found out that he became a member of the Nazi Party around 21st of April 1938, just a few days after the Anschluss," when Adolf Hitler annexed Austria to Germany, he said.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

Other questions have arisen about what happened to the artwork during the Anschluss, when Austria was annexed into the Third Reich.

From New York Times • Apr. 22, 2024

He asked a million questions — about her family, her apartment, the lifestyle, the intellectual circle she grew up in, the lead-up to the Anschluss and the atmosphere in Vienna in the 1930s.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2022

Life for the Freud family became intensely difficult after Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss of 1938.

From Washington Post • Jun. 7, 2022

Furthermore, the treaty forbade an Anschluss, or “union,” between Austria and Germany, even though a large population of ethnic Germans lived in Austria.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti