| The procession of Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reichchancellor”) Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) proceeds along the Ringstraase on the way to the Imperial Hotel, Hitler’s residence during his stay in Vienna after Anschluss. Around 1700 Hours on March 14, 1938, Hitler passed Schönbrunn and Mariahilfer Strasse. Under the ringing of all bells triumphal entry into Vienna. The Führer and his entourage stayed overnight at the Hotel Imperial. Shortly before 1900 Hours, Hitler makes an appearance on the balcony and gives a short speech. Hitler only uses the presidential suite for business and moves into a small apartment on the 1st floor. Earlier that morning, in Linz, the crowds had been cheering again. At 1040 Hours, Adolf Hitler showed himself once more outside the Hotel Weinzinger. Shouts of “Sieg Heil!” and chanted Nazi slogans accompanied Hitler’s procession as it made its way out of the Upper Austrian regional capital in the direction of Vienna. A long journey of 189 kilometers (117.4 miles) along the old Nibelungenstrasse lay ahead of them. Cheering crowds were everywhere. The schools were out on holiday; shops closed. Shortly after 1300 Hours, the procession reached the Abbey at Melk. Here a detachment of the Austrian Army was drawn up. Their commanding officer reported to Hitler. For the 1st time, Austrian troops presented arms to the Nazi German Führer, to whom they had sworn allegiance a few hours previously. Bells rang and cannon fired a salute. At 1345 Hours, the convoy halted at Saint Pölten. At an inn owned by a veteran Party member, lunch was laid for the local Nazi Party leaders and the Chancellor’s entourage. During the meal there was a telephone call from Vienna. It was a message from Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Theodor Innitzer (December 25, 1875 – October 9, 1955), bidding Hitler welcome to Austria. The Cardinal had ordered that the bells of Vienna should be rung when the Reichskanzler entered the city. After stopping for an hour, Hitler set out once more, to drive the last 66 kilometers (41 miles) to Vienna. On the road as far as Saint Pölten, it had still been possible to drive at 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour). Now the speedometer needle in Hitler’s Mercedes hovered at a little over 20 kilometers per hour (12 and half miles per hour). The cheering Austrians would not let him drive by any faster. 3 hours after leaving Saint Pölten, Hitler’s cavalcade drove on to the Ringstrasse in Vienna. It was 1740 Hours. A Journey through flag-decked villages lay behind them. The people had often been packed so tight that the outrider escort vehicles driving behind Hitler were forced to squeeze right into the main convoy. Hitled entered Vienna to the sound of cheering and the ringing of all the church bells. At the Riederberg, just outside Vienna, the Austrian Chancellor, Arthur Seyß-Inquart (July 22, 1892 – October 16, 1946), and Wilhelm Frick (March 12, 1877 – October 16, 1946), the German Minister of the Interior, had joined Hitler’s convoy. Standing up in his car, his right hand raised in the Hitler salute, the Führer und Reichskanzler of the German Reich drove into the city where almost 30 years previously he had lived on an allowance, and as a painter of postcards. His escort of security guards had a hard job on their hands. Not only were the streets lined with people; there were people at every window and even enthusiastic supporters sitting on the rooftops. The Schutzstaffel SS men on the running boards of the cars were on the alert for would-be assassins. But everywhere there were only jubilant crowds to be seen. At the Hotel Imperial, the whole Austrian cabinet was asssembled. Seyß-Inquart presented the individual members. A telegram had arrived for Hitler. It contained Italian Duce and Prime Minister Benito Mussolini’s (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945) reply to the telegram Hitler had sent him, thanking him for his approval of the invasion. It was addressed to: “Hitler/Vienna” The text read: “My attitude is determined by the friendship between our two countries sealed in the Axis Pact. Mussolini.” That evening found the Viennese still on their feet. Thousands were standing in the street, particularly outside the Hotel Imperial, where Hitler was staying. The chanting rang out over the broad Ringstrasse: “We want to see our Führer!” At 1910 Hours, the Viennese were asked over the loudspeakers to moderate their enthusiasm. “At this time the Führer has urgent work and urgent military and Party vehicles parked near the hotel directed their lights towards the balcony of the Imperial. Hitler showed himself to the crowd. He was scarcely able to speak 1 complete sentence. Again and again he was interrupted by cheering. Hitler said, “My fellow Germans, men and women! What you are feeling now I have shared with you at the most profound level during these last days. Our German nation has experienced a great historical turning point. What you are experiencing now is being experienced with you by the whole German nation.” For several minutes the shouts of “Sieg Heil!” interrupted his speech. “Not only two million people in this city but the seventy-five million people within the Reich. They are all deeply stirred and moved by this historical turning point and all of them now make a solemn vow: that whatever may happen no one will ever again destroy and no one will ever again divide the German Reich, as it exists today. No hardship, no threat and no force can break this vow! And today this vow is being made by all Germans from Königsberg to Cologne, and from Hamburg to Vienna!” It seemed as if the cheering in the streets would never die down. On March 15, After an interview with an Italian journalist from the newspaper Popolo d’Italia, Hitler attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial of the unknown soldier. At 1400 Hours, he took the salute of German and Austrian soldiers on the Ringstraase. Then, the Nazi Germans gave a reception for Cardinal Theodor Innitzer at the Imperial Hotel. He also met with his sister Paula (January 21, 1896 – June 1, 1960). He visited the grave of his niece Geli Raubal (June 4, 1908 – September 18, 1931) at Vienna Central Cemetery. On March 16, Hitler drove to Munich and flew to Berlin’s Tempelhof Aerodrome at 1700 Hours. Hugo Jaeger (January 18, 1900 – January 1, 1970), a photographer, worked for Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reich Chancellor”) Adolf Hitler’s (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann (September 12, 1885 – December 16, 1957), from 1936 to 1945. This gave him direct access to the Führer and his entourage. He was a pioneer of color photography, working with Agfa film and developing chemicals. After the war, he managed to hide around 2,000 negatives near Munich, which he sold to LIFE magazine in the 1960s. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0820.jpg |
| Image Size | 396.82 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2185 x 1469 |
| Photographer | Hugo Jaeger |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 14, 1938 |
| Location | |
| City | Vienna |
| State or Province | Vienna |
| Country | Austria |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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