Why Isn't Austria Part of Germany?

Austrians speak German. For almost four centuries the emperor of the German lands lived in Vienna, not Berlin. In 1918 the new Republic of German-Austria even wrote into its constitution that it was part of Germany. So why are they two countries today? From the Habsburg emperors of the Holy Roman Empire to the rivalry with Prussia, the Greater vs. Smaller Germany debate of 1848, Bismarck's seven-week war of 1866, the multinational empire of Austria-Hungary, the "state nobody wanted" after 1918, the Anschluss of 1938, the four-power occupation and the State Treaty of 1955: this is how Germany was built without Austria, and how Austria rebuilt itself without Germany. Chapters 0:00 Why isn't Austria part of Germany? 0:27 The Emperor in Vienna (1438–1806) 2:21 Big or Small Germany? (1815–1850) 4:51 Seven Weeks (1862–1871) 6:55 An Empire of Many Nations (1867–1914) 8:37 The State Nobody Wanted (1918–1931) 11:19 Anschluss (1933–1945) 13:36 Four in a Jeep (1945–1955) 15:57 The Answer Do you know other countries that share a language but went their own way? Tell us in the comments. Sources Founding of the Republic of German-Austria, Article 2 of 12 November 1918, and the 1921 referendums in Tyrol and Salzburg (habsburger.net): https://ww1.habsburger.net/en/chapter... Treaty of Saint-Germain, 1919: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_...) First Republic of Austria (Austria-Forum): https://austria-forum.org/af/AEIOU/Er... Treaty of Versailles, Article 80 (US Office of the Historian, FRUS): https://history.state.gov/historicald... 1919 Vorarlberg referendum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_Vo... The 1921 referendums (Austrian Philately): https://austrianphilately.com/rep-one... The 1931 customs union and the Hague court ruling, 8 to 7: https://www.weimarer-republik.net/en/... The April 1938 Anschluss referendum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938_Au... The Holocaust in Austria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hol... Moscow Declaration on Austria, 1943: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Dip/... Battle of Königgrätz, 1866: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_... Ethnic and religious composition of Austria-Hungary (1910 census): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_... History of Czechs in Vienna: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History... Allied-occupied Austria, 1945–1955: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-... Austria country study: the 1945 election (US Library of Congress): https://countrystudies.us/austria/44.htm Austrian State Treaty, full text incl. Article 4 (CVCE): https://www.cvce.eu/content/publicati... Austrian State Treaty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria... German property in Austria and the 1955 payments (Austria-Forum): https://austria-forum.org/af/AEIOU/de... The "victim thesis" and Vranitzky's 1991 statement (Haus der Geschichte Österreich): https://hdgoe.at/victim_thesis_en Austrian national identity polls, 1966–1990 (US Library of Congress): https://countrystudies.us/austria/61.htm Austrian nation (Austria-Forum): https://austria-forum.org/af/AEIOU/Na... Migration & Integration 2025: Germans in Austria (Statistik Austria): https://www.statistik.at/fileadmin/an... GDP per capita 2023, Austria and Germany (WIFO): https://wifo.ac.at/wp-content/plugins... Notes Historical maps are simplified and borders approximate (the hundreds of states of the Holy Roman Empire are stylised; the occupation zones and the Vienna sectors are schematic). Austria-Hungary's 51.4 million people are from the 1910 census. The 1921 results: Tyrol 98.8%, Salzburg 99.3%; Vorarlberg 1919: 80.7%. Bismarck's "iron and blood" is from his speech of 30 September 1862. The Holocaust figures (about 192,000 Jews in Austria in 1938, around two in three escaped, about 65,000 murdered) follow the sources above. GDP per person: current US dollars, 2023 (WIFO). All maps and animation are original and made in code. Map data: Natural Earth (public domain). Music: "Angevin", "Lord of the Land", "Minstrel Guild" and "Anguish" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... #history #austria #germany