The ''Juliabkommen'' ("July Agreement") was an agreement—officially, a gentleman's agreement—between the Federal State of Austria and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

signed on 11 July 1936. The agreement was not initially published. It was negotiated by the German ambassador,

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany i ...

, and the Austrian chancellor,

Kurt von Schuschnigg Kurt Alois Josef Johann von Schuschnigg (; 14 December 1897 – 18 November 1977) was an Austrian Fatherland Front politician who was the Chancellor of the Federal State of Austria from the 1934 assassination of his predecessor Engelbert Dollfu ...

.Christian Zentner, Friedemann Bedürftig and Amy Hackett (eds.), ''The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich'' (Macmillan, 1991)
vol. 1, p. 478
Austro-German relations had been strained since the German-backed putsch of 25 July 1934. The impetus for a rapprochement came from

Fascist Italy Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

, which, by 1936, was pursuing its own rapprochement with Germany over the latter's support for its invasion of Ethiopia. This left Austria diplomatically isolated. The agreement was the result of Italo-German pressure.Juliabkommen 1936
in ''AEIOU: Das Lexikon aus Österreich'' (Austria-Forum, 2016). Translated from R. Bamberger, M. Bamberger, E. Bruckmüller and K. Gutkas (eds.), 'Österreich-Lexikon'' (Verlagsgemeinschaft Österreich-Lexikon, 1995). Schuschnigg personally took over negotiations after a meeting with

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

on 5–6 June 1936 at Rocca delle Caminate.Frederick R. Zuber
''The Watch on the Brenner: A Study of Italian Involvement in Austrian Foreign and Domestic Affairs, 1928–1938''
PhD diss. (Rice University, 1975), pp. 199–206. The agreement had ten articles. Germany recognized Austria's "full sovereignty". It promised not to intervene in Austria's internal affairs and to cease support for Austrian National Socialism. In return, Austria promised to amnesty incarcerated National Socialists and two bring two into the government. Germany agreed to lift the

thousand-mark ban The thousand-mark ban was an economic sanction imposed on Austria by the German Reich government on May 29, 1933, which came into effect on July 1, 1933. Henceforth, German citizens had to pay a fee of (equivalent to € in 2017) to the German Rei ...

, while Austria agreed to align its foreign policy to that of Germany—the ''deutsche Weg'' (German way). The agreement also covered joint administration of the press and common cultural goals. Austria agreed that it was "German state". As a result of the agreement, Schuschnigg appointed the Nazis

Edmund Glaise-Horstenau Edmund Glaise-Horstenau (also known as Edmund Glaise von Horstenau; 27 February 1882 – 20 July 1946) was an Austrian Nazi politician who became the last Vice-Chancellor of Austria, appointed by Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg under pressure from Ado ...

and

Guido Schmidt Guido Schmidt (15 January 1901 – 5 December 1957) was an Austrian diplomat and politician, who served as Foreign Minister from 1936 to 1938. Life Born in Bludenz, Vorarlberg, Schmidt attended the Stella Matutina Jesuit school in Feldkirc ...

as minister without portfolio and foreign minister, respectively. The Austrian National Socialist party remained illegal and Germany pursued its aims by less confrontational means. On 23 October 1936, the Italo-German rapprochement culminated in a nine-point protocol, which included Italian acceptance of the new Austro-German ''status quo''.Christian Goeschel, ''Mussolini and Hitler: The Forging of the Fascist Alliance'' (Yale University Press, 2018), pp. 69–70. The agreement was a failure. Less than two years later,

Germany annexed Austria The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the Nazi Germany, German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Ger ...

References

{{reflist

External links

French Yellow Book, No. 1: Austro-German Agreement of July 11, 1936
– at the Avalon Project July 1936 events 1936 treaties Treaties of Nazi Germany Treaties of the First Austrian Republic Austria–Germany relations Interwar-period treaties Nazi terminology Franz von Papen