If Hitler was born in Austria then why did he regard himself as German?

Question

Many years ago I vaguely remember reading something about the town where he was born used to be in Bavaria and the town folk regarded themselves as more German than Austrian.
Is this correct?

I'm looking for sensible answers.

I've found the following info:
In the Austro-Hungarian Empire, "German Austria" was an unofficial term used to describe areas of the empire inhabited by ethnic Germans.
On 11 November 1918, Emperor Charles I of Austria relinquished power and, on 12 November, German Austria was officially declared a republic. The provisional national assembly drafted provisional constitution that stated that "German Austria is a democratic republic" (Article 1) and "German Austria is a component of the German Republic" (Article 2). Later plebiscites in the provinces of Tyrol and Salzburg yielded majorities of 98 and 99% in favor of a unification with Germany. On 22 November, the national assembly officially laid claim to all ethnic German areas of Cisleithania. However, the Allies of World War I opposed such a move and German Austria was largely powerless to resist the forces of Italy, Czechoslovakia, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes from seizing territory.

On 10 September 1919, Chancellor Karl Renner, signed the Treaty of Saint Germain and it was ratified by the national assembly on 21 October. According to its provisions, the name of the republic was changed from "German Austria" to "Austria" and any efforts for the country to unify with Germany were banned. Article 88 of the treaty, sometimes called the Anschluss prohibition, states that "the independence of Austria is inalienable otherwise than with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations." [1] Likewise, in the Treaty of Versailles dictating the terms of peace for Germany, there was a prohibition of unification. With these changes and the settling of Austria's frontiers, the era of the First Austrian Republic began.

Answer 1

Hitler considered the Austrians and Germans to be one people. He served in the German army in WW1 and felt they were betrayed when they lost. He saw Germany as the Father Country because it was the unification of the Germanic states.

Chantel J - the US played a very minor part in WW1 and certainly didn't "blow up" Germany. Hitler sincerely felt betrayed after WW1 and wanted to restore Germany's former glory. He considered himself German long before he took power.

Paul G - Austria was never part of Germany. Prior to the Austro-Prussian war there was an Austrian Empire and after this they formed a dual state with Hungary called the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This broke up into smaller states following WW1. Prussia comprised of the northern German states and parts of present day Poland.

Answer 2

Back in the unification of Germany (was it 1870 or 1871? Italy was one, Germany was the other) they were trying to get Austria to join up too - because Austria was one of the germanic nations, along with Prussia and Bavaria.

I don't know anything about the fluctuation of how the border between Bavaria and Austria went, but that would be an additional pressure if it's true. On the other hand, all the Bavarians I know consider themselves more Bavarian than German...

Answer 3

Hitler was born April 20, 1889 at Braunau am Inn, Austria, a village in Upper Austria, bordering Germany, the third son and fourth child of six.

In 1932, Hitler intended to run against the aging President Paul von Hindenburg in the scheduled presidential elections. Though Hitler had left Austria in 1913, he still had not acquired German citizenship and hence could not run for public office. In February, however, the state government of Brunswick, in which the Nazi Party participated, appointed Hitler to some minor administrative post and also gave him citizenship on 25 February 1932. Since then, he had always regarded himself as German.

Answer 4

Austria grow to be between the autonomous German states. And the only reason Austria did no longer grow to be a piece of Germany (nicely it grow to be quickly portion of the German Confederation) grow to be using fact many of the different autonomous German states feared that fairly than unifying the German speaking lands they have been only signing themselves as much as be a piece of the then Austrian Empire. This all started a civil conflict which Austria and that's allies lost. it is the reason Austria, Switzerland and Lichtenstein are no longer portion of Germany. even inspite of the indisputable fact that there is way less of it right this moment, a number of of Austrians see themselves comparable to Germans. using fact culturally and ethnically they're a similar.

Answer 5

Because Germany and Austria at the time were so united in brotherhood that they were virtually the same state, with many of the same royal families. When World War I started as a result of the Black Hand's assassaination of Austrian royal Franz Ferdinand, Germany's military almost immediately joined up with Austria's declaration of war. This action drew them incredibly close. Their ties made them sister nations that essentially worked as one. Of course, most of the wealth and military and population of the forces is in Germany, so that was his target audience to muster for the war.

It'd be like a Canadian leading Canada & the US into a world war... sure he'd play up his heritage when campaigning back at home in Canada, but if he doesn't give a "God Bless America" speach every 5 minutes, he might lose support from the powerhouse of his alliance. Also he was planning to unite the Axis into one nation upon the completion of his plans, and making one big solid Germany was the most logical choice.

Also consider the geography of Germany and Austria... those in the German heartland are more akin to his prototype of the Aryan race. Austrian territories border alongside slavic nations. (one of the main reasons for tension in WWI was Austria extending towards the croacs and the balkans) This meant that the people of Austria were more genetically mixed than those isolated in Germany... and therefore less "pure" according to his mind.

Ultimately though I think the greatest factor was that since the power and wealth was in germany, he was trying to create one, big, unified German nation. It was simply the most practica choicel for him at the time.

Answer 6

Hitler was born Alois Sicklegruber in Austria. He served in the German army of WWI. WWI ended with the German generals handing over the Kaiser to the Allied army. Hitler always blamed the old army for "losing" the war. He found his talent as a speaker by jumping up onto a bar table in Munich, Barvaria which is kind of like the Texas of Germany -- loud and proud. His friends got him a job as a county clerk in Saxony, thus making him eligible for citizenship in Germany. When I listen to his speeches, he has an Austrian dialect.

PS to Fred J. -- Hitler was a Roman Catholic, as was Hermann Goering. In fact most of the German High Command.

Answer 7

They speak German in Austria. That may have had something to do with it. He was from a town called Linz.

Answer 8

Because Austria was originally part of Germany. It was called "Prussia". In the first world war, the counties were separated, and Austria became a separate country. That is why in your history classes about WWII, you hear about the "reunification" of of Austria and Germany.

Answer 9

Because Austrians are a Germanic peoples. They speak German, and have German culture. The difference is Austrians are predominately Catholic and value life. The northern Germans (Prussians) are Protestant and don't value human life, i.e. the Holocaust.

Answer 10

Hitler was born in Austria because Austria speak germen