The ''Juliabkommen'' ("July Agreement") was an agreement—officially, a

gentleman's agreement ''Gentleman's Agreement'' is a 1947 American drama film based on Laura Z. Hobson's best-selling 1947 novel of the same title. The film is about a journalist (played by Gregory Peck) who pretends to be Jewish to research an exposé on the wid ...

—between the

Federal State of Austria The Federal State of Austria (; colloquially known as the "") was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and politi ...

and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

signed on 11 July 1936. The agreement was not initially published. It was negotiated by the German ambassador,

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and army officer. A national conservative, he served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932, and then as Vice-Chancell ...

, and the Austrian chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg.Christian Zentner, Friedemann Bedürftig and Amy Hackett (eds.), ''The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich'' (Macmillan, 1991)
vol. 1, p. 478
Austro-German relations had been strained since the German-backed putsch of 25 July 1934. The impetus for a rapprochement came from

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

, which, by 1936, was pursuing its own rapprochement with Germany over the latter's support for its invasion of Ethiopia. This left Austria diplomatically isolated. The agreement was the result of Italo-German pressure.Juliabkommen 1936
in ''AEIOU: Das Lexikon aus Österreich'' (Austria-Forum, 2016). Translated from R. Bamberger, M. Bamberger, E. Bruckmüller and K. Gutkas (eds.), 'Österreich-Lexikon'' (Verlagsgemeinschaft Österreich-Lexikon, 1995). Schuschnigg personally took over negotiations after a meeting with

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

on 5–6 June 1936 at

Rocca delle Caminate Rocca delle Caminate is a Middle Ages, medieval castle located in Meldola, around from Predappio in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It functioned as the summer home of Benito Mussolini, who was born in Predappio. History The ''Rocca delle Ca ...

.Frederick R. Zuber
''The Watch on the Brenner: A Study of Italian Involvement in Austrian Foreign and Domestic Affairs, 1928–1938''
PhD diss. (Rice University, 1975), pp. 199–206. The agreement had ten articles. Germany recognized Austria's "full sovereignty". It promised not to intervene in Austria's internal affairs and to cease support for

Austrian National Socialism Austrian Nazism or Austrian National Socialism was a pan-German movement that was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. The movement took a concrete form on 15 November 1903 when the German Worker's Party (DAP) was established in Austri ...

. In return, Austria promised to amnesty incarcerated National Socialists and to bring two into the government. Germany agreed to lift the

thousand-mark ban The thousand-mark ban was an economic sanction imposed on Austria by the German Reich government on May 29, 1933, which came into effect on July 1, 1933. Henceforth, German citizens had to pay a fee of (equivalent to € in 2017) to the German Rei ...

, while Austria agreed to align its foreign policy to that of Germany—the ''deutsche Weg'' (German way). The agreement also covered joint administration of the press and common cultural goals. Austria agreed that it was "German state". As a result of the agreement, Schuschnigg appointed the Nazis

Edmund Glaise-Horstenau Edmund Hugo Guilelmus Glaise von Horstenau (also known as Edmund Glaise-Horstenau; 27 February 1882 – 20 July 1946) was an Austrian Nazi politician who became the last vice-chancellor of Austria, appointed by Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg under ...

and

Guido Schmidt Guido Schmidt (15 January 1901 – 5 December 1957) was an Austrian diplomat and politician, who served as Foreign Minister of Austria, Foreign Minister from 1936 to 1938. Life Born in Bludenz, Vorarlberg, Schmidt attended the Stella Matutina ...

as minister without portfolio and foreign minister, respectively. The Austrian National Socialist party remained illegal and Germany pursued its aims by less confrontational means. On 23 October 1936, the Italo-German rapprochement culminated in a nine-point protocol, which included Italian acceptance of the new Austro-German ''status quo''.Christian Goeschel, ''Mussolini and Hitler: The Forging of the Fascist Alliance'' (Yale University Press, 2018), pp. 69–70. From the Austrian perspective, the agreement was a failure. Less than two years later, Germany annexed Austria.

References

{{reflist

External links

French Yellow Book, No. 1: Austro-German Agreement of July 11, 1936
– at the Avalon Project July 1936 in Europe 1936 treaties Treaties of Nazi Germany Treaties of the First Austrian Republic Austria–Germany relations Interwar-period treaties Nazi terminology Franz von Papen