FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

The Anschluss (German: [ˈʔanʃlʊs] (listen), or Anschluß,^[1][a] lit. ’joining’ or ‘connection’), also known as the Anschluß Österreichs (pronunciation (help·info), English: Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.

The idea of an Anschluss (a united Austria and Germany that would form a “Greater Germany“)^[b] began after the unification of Germany excluded Austria and the German Austrians from the Prussian-dominated German Empire in 1871. Following the end of World War I with the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1918, the newly formed Republic of German-Austria attempted to form a union with Germany, but the Treaty of Saint Germain (10 September 1919) and the Treaty of Versailles (28 June 1919) forbade both the union and the continued use of the name “German-Austria” (Deutschösterreich); and stripped Austria of some of its territories, such as the Sudetenland.

Prior to the Anschluss, there had been strong support in both Austria and Germany for unification of the two countries. In the immediate aftermath of the dissolution of the Habsburg monarchy—with Austria left as a broken remnant, deprived of most of the territories it had ruled for centuries and undergoing a severe economic crisis—the idea of unity with Germany seemed attractive also to many citizens of the political left and center. Support for unification with Germany was not political, but mainly came from the belief that Austria, stripped of its imperial land, was not viable economically. However, popular support for the unification gradually faded with time, although it remained as a concept in the contemporary Austrian political discourse.

But after 1933, when Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, desire for unification could be identified with the Nazis, for whom it was an integral part of the Nazi “Heim ins Reich” concept, which sought to incorporate as many Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans outside Germany) as possible into a “Greater Germany“. Nazi Germany’s agents cultivated pro-unification tendencies in Austria, and sought to undermine the Austrian government, which was controlled by the Austrofascist Fatherland Front. During an attempted coup in 1934, Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss was assassinated by Austrian Nazis. The defeat of the coup prompted many leading Austrian Nazis to go into exile in Germany, where they continued their efforts for unification of the two countries.

In early 1938, under increasing pressure from pro-unification activists, Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg announced that there would be a referendum on a possible union with Germany versus maintaining Austria’s sovereignty to be held on 13 March. Portraying this as defying the popular will in Austria and Germany, Hitler threatened an invasion and secretly pressured Schuschnigg to resign. A day before the planned referendum, on 12 March, the German Heer crossed the border into Austria, unopposed by the Austrian military. A plebiscite was held on 10 April, in which the ballot was not secret, and threats and coercion were employed to manipulate the vote, resulting in 99.7% approval for the Anschluss.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Daylight Saving Time Begins

Today is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, time for moving the clocks one hour ahead. The exceptions are Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. Credit for Daylight Saving Time belongs to Benjamin Franklin, who first suggested the idea in 1784. The idea was revived in 1907, when William Willett, an Englishman, proposed a similar system in the pamphlet The Waste of Daylight. The Germans were the first to officially adopt the light-extending system in 1915 as a fuel-saving measure during World War I. The British switched one year later, and the United States followed in 1918, when Congress passed the Standard Time Act, which established our time zones. This experiment lasted only until 1920, when the law was repealed due to opposition from dairy farmers (cows don’t pay attention to clocks). During World War II, Daylight Saving Time was imposed once again (this time year-round) to save fuel.

Question of the Day

How do I get rid of fire ants for good?

You don’t. There are several species of fire ants—some native, some imported—but by far the most active and most aggressive are the imported red fire ants. Nothing has yet been devised to eradicate them. The only recourse is to knock the population down to a manageable level with baits and mound drenches.

Advice of the Day

Prune your wisteria and American ivy now.

Home Hint of the Day

Portable electric heaters should be used with great caution. Don’t use old electric heaters if the wiring appears at all worn.

Word of the Day

Plough Monday

The first Monday after Epiphany and Plough Sunday was so called because it was the day that men returned to their plough, or daily work, at the end of the Christmas holiday. It was customary for farm laborers to draw a plough through the village, soliciting money for a “plough-light,” which was kept burning in the parish church all year. In some areas, the custom of blessing the plough is maintained.

Puzzle of the Day

Why is a dog dressed more warmly in summer than he is in winter?

Because in winter he wears a fur coat, and in summer he wears a fur coat and pants.

Born

• Thomas Augustine Arne (composer) – 1710
• William Lyon Mackenzie (politician) – 1795
• Jane Means Appleton Pierce (U.S. First Lady) – 1806
• Clement Studebaker (wagon, carriage, & auto manufacturer) – 1831
• Simon Newcomb (astronomer & mathematician) – 1835
• Jane Delano (nurse) – 1862
• Gordon MacRae (actor) – 1921
• Jack Kerouac (author) – 1922
• Edward Albee (dramatist) – 1928
• Andrew Young (politician) – 1932
• Al Jarreau (singer) – 1940
• Barbara Feldon (actress) – 1941
• Paul Kanter (musician) – 1942
• Liza Minnelli (singer) – 1946
• James Taylor (musician) – 1948
• Darryl Strawberry (baseball player) – 1962

Died

• Henry Bergh (ASPCA founder) – 1888
• Dr. Sun Yat-Sen (Chinese revolutionary leader and statesman) – 1925
• Billy Barker (Canadian WWI ace) – 1930
• Charlie Parker (jazz saxophonist) – 1955
• Olive Patricia Dickason (Métis Canadian historian) – 2011

Events

• United States Post Office was established– 1789
• Coca-Cola was first sold in bottles– 1894
• Girl Scouts started by Juliette Low in Savannah, Georgia– 1912
• First transatlantic radio broadcast made– 1925
• Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi began his second civil disobedience campaign to protest the British government’s salt tax– 1930
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first fireside chat” to the nation”– 1933
• Germany invaded and annexed Austria (WW II)– 1938
• Pope Pius XII crowned– 1939
• Less than a year after signing the bill that made the New Hampshire Lottery the first state-run lottery in America, New Hampshire Governor John W. King purchased the first New Hampshire Lottery Sweepstakes ticket– 1964
• Beatle Paul McCartney married photographer Linda Eastman– 1969
• Boston Celtics’ Larry Bird scored 60 points in a basketball game against Atlanta Hawks– 1985
• Les Misérables opened on Broadway– 1987
• Janet Reno became the first woman to serve as attorney general of the U.S.– 1993
• Lance Mackey won his second consecutive Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race– 2008
• Fifty-three year old Mitch Seavey became the oldest winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. In 2012, Seavey’s son Dallas became the youngest winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.– 2013

Weather

• Blizzard of ‘88 dumped 50 inches of snow on Middletown, Connecticut– 1888
• All-New England Flood, the costliest and most widespread ever– 1936
• Wichita Falls, Texas, reported a record high of 95F; but only six days earlier, the town had reported a record low of 8F.– 1989
• “Superstorm” developed in eastern U.S.– 1993

COURTESY www.almanac.com