| Original caption: “Osterreich wird Deutsche. Einmarsch der Deutschen polizei in Imst, Tirol. (‘Austria becomes German. Entry of German police into Imst, Tirol’).” Ordnungspolizei (Order Police) march through Imst near Johannesplatz after Anschluss. The German uniformed police, or Ordnungspolizei, paraded through Imst as part of the coordinated Nazi annexation of Austria. These units, including Schutzpolizei (“Protection Police”) and Gendarmerie (“Rural Police”), were tasked with Establishing German authority and continuity of law enforcement following the takeover; replacing Austrian police forces with German-controlled units; and projecting Nazi legitimacy and control through visible displays of uniformed presence. The Anschluss (“Union”) in Tirol was similar to other cities and provinces of Austria during the hectic days of March 1938. Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg (December 14, 1897 – November 18, 1977) announced that there would be a referendum on a possible union with Germany versus maintaining Austria’s sovereignty to be held on March 13. The Sturm Abteiliung (SA) marched in Innsbruck against the plebiscite on March 11, pushing back barriers. They encountered no resistance. The Austrian Secret Police and the Gendarmerie were strongly permeated by National Socialism, so the few members loyal to the regime felt powerless. The Nazis took over the telephone exchange, isolating the front line Austrian Army units. By the morning of March 12, United Kingdom Embassy Consul in Innsbruck Ian Leslie Henderson (July 6, 1901 – May 11, 1971) reported that Nazis controlled all stations of the railway line from the Austrian-Swiss border to Innsbruck. “Swastika flags flew from all station buildings; only in Imst was the red and white Tyrolean flag hoisted.” There, in Imst on March 10, 8 Gendarmes fixed bayonets and attempted to clear the square in front of the Zum Lamm Gasthaus, where a 100 Nazis had gathered. Without orders from Vienna, the Gendarmes were unsure what to do. The SS-Führer reached a compromise that the National Socialists would not hold a demonstration for the time being and would instead be allowed to gather in the inn’s courtyard. After the announcement of Schuschnigg’s resignation on the evening of March 11, however, the National Socialists could no longer be held back. They stormed the gendarmerie post “like a wild horde,” “jumping onto the tables, tearing all the pictures of Austrian statesmen from the walls, and throwing everything with an Austrian name or frame to the floor with appropriately strong words.” The gendarmes were treated “like prisoners” and had to begin arresting “patriotic” Austrians that very night under the supervision of young National Socialists. In the following days, 2 of the gendarmes were arrested by SA men “like dangerous criminals”; the others had to be seen as “figures of the system and ridicule” during the repeated “triumphal processions” behind schoolchildren. But the gendarmes were not the only Austrians that stayed loyal to the Schuschnigg regime. In Tyrol, the Austrian Federal Army almost opened fire on the invading Heer (“Nazi German Army”). Austrian troops, supported by 2 mountain howitzers, blocked the Fern Pass. They voted a 100 percent “Yes!” for Austria before heading to their positions. But they were not only cut off from instructions from their superiors, they were isolated from the other units at Achen Pass and other stations. They did not know that those units had agreed to abandon their posts in the face of advancing Heer forces. So on March 12, the Austrian soldiers at the Fern Pass turned back a car full of Nazis; the commander thought they were there to reconnoiter their positions. He told his men to prepare for action. On March 13, however, they heard by radio that Nazi German Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reichchancellor”) Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was in Linz, and that Anschluss was happening across Austria. Shocked, they returned to find the Swastika flag flying above their barracks. As a last measure, loyal Austrian forces were ordered to cross the border into Switzerland or Italy. According to the statement of the then regimental adjutant, the regiment’s officers were “horrified:” “This planned surrender to the Italians outraged us deeply…the order about the planned departure to Italy hung over us like the sword of Damocles and burdened us more than the situation in Vienna!” Outraged, the adjutant tried to obtain clarification of this impossible order in Vienna; but he received no response. Disgusted, the soldiers did not follow these orders. Anschluss thus proceeded in Tyrol unopposed. The National Archives and Records Administration attributes this photo to Heinrich Hoffmann (September 12, 1885 – December 16, 1957) but Austrian photographer Lothar Rübelt (1901 – 1990) was present in Imst and took photos of this Politzei march. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0807.jpg |
| Image Size | 743.04 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2924 x 1924 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 12, 1938 |
| Location | |
| City | Imst |
| State or Province | Tyrol |
| Country | Austria |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-242-HLB-2658(16) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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