Unified statement of the bishops of Austria for election Poster expressing Austrian Bishops' support for Anschluss
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 46.750 inches (118.745 cm) | Width: 33.125 inches (84.138 cm)
Creator(s)
- Theodor Innitzer (Subject)
Biographical History
Theodor Innitzer was born December 25, 1875 in Weipert, Bohemia (now Vejprty, Czech Republic). Innitzer was ordained as a priest in 1902. He lectured at the University of Vienna, and eventually became head of the theological faculty and rector of the university. On Sept. 20, 1932, Innitzer was consecrated archbishop of Vienna, Austria, becoming cardinal in March 1933. On March 12, 1938, German troops entered Austria, receiving enthusiastic support from most of the population. Austria was incorporated into Germany they next day in what would become known as the Anschluss. Innitzer publicly supported the Anschluss and also urged the Austrian clergy to support Hitler and the Nazis. In October, Innitzer, backed by the Vatican, criticized the Nazis’ restrictions on the free press and urged Catholics to resist anti-Catholic measures. His remarks elicited attacks on the archiepiscopal palace by Nazi mobs. Theodor Innitzer, aged 79, died on December 9, 1955 in Vienna.
Archival History
The poster was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Scope and Content
Poster displaying three typed letters written by Austrian Bishops and other Catholic clergy members expressing support for Anschluss, the German annexation of Austria in 1938. The letters are marked with the signature and seal of Theodore Innitzer, Archbishop of Vienna. Austria had experienced a prolonged period of economic stagnation, political dictatorship, and intense Nazi propaganda. When German troops entered the country on March 12, 1938 they received the enthusiastic support of most of the population, including the clergy, and Austria was incorporated into Germany the next day. The poster is an attempt to curry support for a referendum that would legitimize the annexation. In April, the German annexation was retroactively approved in a referendum that was manipulated by the Germans to indicate that about 99 percent of the Austrian people wanted the union.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Offset lithographic poster printed on faded off white paper with a linen backing. The poster has a white border and a black background with the image of a typed memorandum on white paper in the center and two smaller typed sheets to the left. The largest page has a centered, underlined title with four short paragraphs of black typed text below and seven signatures at the bottom. The top left page bears the coat of arms of the Archbishop of Vienna, Theodor Innitzer. Below is a title followed by a paragraph and two signatures. The lower page has two lines of black text followed by two paragraphs and two signatures. The main poster text is in red, with three large lines at the top and two paragraphs of smaller red text with "Ja" at the bottom in white text. The poster is creased with two large vertical tears on the top right side.
front, bottom right, pencil : pII 56 back, bottom right, pencil : pII 56 back bottom left, pencil : 16/L
Corporate Bodies
- Catholic Church
Subjects
- Austria--History--Anschluss, 1938.
- National socialism--Austria.
- Austria--History--Anschluss, 1938--Pictorial works.
- Austria
- Germany--Foreign relations--Austria.
Genre
- Object
- Posters