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Immediately after 1945 the majority of Austrians still saw themselves as Germans, as a broader Austrian national identity took time to develop. In a 1956 survey, 46% of Austrians still considered themselves to be Germans. [34] Another survey carried out in 1964 revealed that only 15% of Austrians still considered themselves to be Germans. [34]
The German Confederation was also led by Austria from 1815 to 1866. In 1866 Austria was firstly separated from Germany and German Confederation was dissolved. In 1867, the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire was established and led by Austria; it was rivaled by the North German Confederation from 1866 to 1871 and German Empire led by the Kingdom of Prussia rivaled Austria.
Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein each have a German-speaking majority, though the vast majority of the population do not identify themselves as German anymore. Austrians historically were identified as and considered themselves Germans until after the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II. Post-1945 a broader Austrian ...
In 1938, Austria became part of Nazi Germany. After the events of World War II and Nazism, Austria declared independence from Germany on 27 April 1945 and Austrian national identity has been popular in Austria since then, and nowadays Austrians do not consider themselves as Germans but as ethnic Austrians. [194]
Austrians of the 1920s–1930s considered themselves Germans and being a part of the Reich for 8 years just confirmed their beliefs. [77] Politicians of 1940s understood that the so-called "Austrian nation" never existed, but they needed an ideology to form a core of national identity – the "victim theory" solved the problem; [77]
[5] [6] After the war, Austrians went as far as describing themselves as "Hitler's first victim". [7] In the post-World War II period proponents who recognize an Austrian nation have rejected a German identity of Austrians and have emphasized the non-Germanic heritage of Austrian culture including Celtic, Illyrian, Roman, Slavic and Magyar. [8]
The English term Germans is derived from the ethnonym Germani, which was used for Germanic peoples in ancient times. [7] [8] Since the early modern period, it has been the most common name for the Germans in English, being applied to any citizens, natives or inhabitants of Germany, regardless of whether they are considered to have German ethnicity.
Engelbert Dollfuss accepted that most Austrians were German and Austrian, but wanted Austria to remain independent from Germany. In 1938, Austrian-born Adolf Hitler annexed Austria to Germany, which was supported by a large majority of Austrians. [1] After the German defeat in World War II, the German identity in Austria was weakened.