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

His father died young; in 1938, when Rudi was 16, he and his mother immigrated to California six months after the Nazi Anschluss.

From Washington Post • Mar. 29, 2022

“Just whistle a happy tune,” she wrote, “and leave the Anschluss behind.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2021

It is, then, ironic that Wojtek’s Salzburg Festival poster was quickly removed after the Anschluss; it wasn’t degenerate, but it was uncomfortably modern for the Nazis.

From New York Times • Aug. 11, 2021

Now it’s the Anschluss, and now Poland falls, and now France.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood