History of Austria wanting to annex the country to the German Third Reich, resulting in the assassination of Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. While the coup failed, Adolf Hitler succeeded in annexing Austria on 12 March 1938 as "Ostmark", until 1945. Austria was partitioned after the Second World War and then in 1955 became the independent sovereign state (Second Republic) that has existed to the present day. In 1995, Austria joined the European Union. The modern state of Austria is considered to have three geographic zones. The biggest third consists of the Alps, which covers 62.8% of the country's landmass. In the north, across the
Heinz-Christian Strache Heinz-Christian Strache Heinz-Christian Strache (born 12 June 1969) is an Austrian politician serving as the Vice-Chancellor of Austria since 2017. He also has been Minister for the Civil Service and Sport since January 2018 and Chairman of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) since April 2005. He previously served as a member of the National Council from October 2006 until December 2017 and as a member of the Gemeinderat and Landtag of Vienna (2001–2006). Strache, who is by profession a dental technician, has been active in the politics of Vienna since 1991. He was elected to the Vienna Parliament in 2001. In