Poll: 3% of Austrians want annexation to Germany, 90% opposed

[Tender Branson]

Part of the left-liberal "Standard" newspaper's "Christmas Poll":

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  3% support
90% oppose
  7% undecided

https://derstandard.at/2000094808388/Oesterreicher-sehen-Deutschland-als-wichtig-aber-nicht-als-Vorbild-an

[Tender Branson]

On the other hand, I wonder how many Germans want to be annexed by Austria

Do you think more or less than 3% ?

[Tender Branson]

Here's an interesting question in a highly unlikely case Austria were to be annexed to Germany: would Austria become a land, or each of Austrian lands would separately gain the status?

Austria would become the 17th state of course. It's very unlikely that the 9 different states would become individual German states, making it 25 states.

Also, the re-organisation mentioned by tack50 and True Federalist is unlikely, because citizens of the 9 Austrian states are very associated with their own states and do not like these states to be abolished or merged with other states. For example, I as a Salzburg resident would not like to be merged with Carinthia. I cannot say why exactly, but it is like that. I assume many people from Virginia would also object to being merged with West Virginia ...

All of this assumes a democratic scenario of a merger with Germany, assuming that the population of Austria and its states have a say about what to do in terms of re-organisation.

If there was a dictatorial takeover, none of this would matter anyway - as Germany would re-organise Austria and its territory as they wish (like the Nazis).

[Tender Branson]

For example, I as a Salzburg resident would not like to be merged with Carinthia.

You'd be in Tyrol-Voralberg if the Nazi-era borders were restored. It was only East Tyrol (Lienz) that was added to Carinthia, which makes sense if you hate exclaves and aren't willing to start an irredentist war with Italy over South Tyrol.

But what if the Nazi-era borders were not used, and the merger with Germany was in a democratic manner (hypothetically) and the population has a say ?

I think in this case, Austrians would like to be the 17th state at-large and the 9 Austrian states some kind of Regierungsbezirke (governing districts), like it is the case now already in the 16 other German states. It's virtually impossible that people here would be willing to give up their alignment to their states voluntarily.

[Tender Branson]

 Had an annexation referendum been held right after WW1, a strong majority of Austrians would have supported it, probably. Fascinating question is what would a free and fair referendum held in the 1930's have yielded, when yes voters knew that a vote for Anschluss was a vote to join Nazi run Germany?

I would assume that a free and fair (lol) referendum without any interference after the economic crisis of the late 1920s would still have resulted in a big annexation wish: the referendum would have passed with something like 70-30 or 75-25. But there were still numerous people opposed, in Social Democracy and among the Catholics/CS voters.

Wait, the Nazi Party still literally exists in Austria?

I think you don't necessarily have to be a Nazi now to support joining Germany.

You only have to be a weirdo or someone who likes the 2 countries combined ...

I think there are also some 2-5% of Canadians who want to join the US (maybe not now under Trump, but under Obama).