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
Socialist Students of Austria chapters in all university cities. Their members run in students union elections every two years at every university levels. In a coalition with the Greens, the VSStÖ became the president of the national Student Union in 2001 and remained in this position until 2007. Since 2007, the VSStÖ is in coalition with the Greens and varying independent groups (Fachschaftsliste or FEST). The VSStÖ's international activities include being a member of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) and Young European Socialists (YES). Socialist Students of Austria The Socialist Students of Austria (, VSStÖ) is a socialist and social democratic student