Austria:

Located just south of Germany, Austria has always been closely linked to Germany. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that when the German state began to strengthen their country to its previous level, the Austrians desired an alliance with their German neighbors. However, an agreement with the League of Nations prevented this. As time passed, the condition of the Austrian state continued to weaken, until almost all remnants of the democratic government created after World War I were dissolved, and all political power was held by the executive branch. In 1936, after Austria's Italian ally Benito Mussolini signed the Rome-Berlin Axis, Austria had no choice but to concede to Germany. In 1938, when the Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg called for a popular vote on the issue of independence, Hitler sent in German troops, and annexed Austria, and created a Nazi government. In October, 1943 the Allies signed the Moscow Declaration, which said that an independent Austria should be an Allied war goal, and by 1945, the USSR had in fact liberated the eastern half of the country. After the fall of Germany, the country was divided up into four sections, under the control of France, Great Britain, the United States and the USSR. By 1946, Austria was again independent on all matters, except for the issues of demilitarization and control of Nazi possessions left over from the war.

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