How did the Anschluss of 1938 affect Austria’s government?

The Anschluss of 1938 effectively ended Austria’s existence as a sovereign state, resulting in its total annexation by Germany.1

Prior to the annexation, the Austrian government under Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg had already been forced to concede significant power to the Nazi Party, including the appointment of Arthur Seyss-Inquart as minister of interior and security. Following German pressure and the subsequent invasion on March 12, 1938, Schuschnigg resigned, and the Austrian Army was ordered not to resist.231

The transition of government involved the following key developments:
* Replacement of Leadership: Arthur Seyss-Inquart replaced Schuschnigg as chancellor on March 11, 1938, serving briefly before the administration was reorganized into a provincial government under German control.21
* Loss of Sovereignty: On March 13, 1938, Hitler formally annexed Austria, stripping the country of its independent political status.1
* Administrative Shift: Seyss-Inquart served as Reichsstatthalter (governor) of the new Austrian provincial administration until 1939, marking the shift from a national government to a regional entity within the German Reich.2

This process was solidified by a controlled plebiscite in April 1938, which provided a veneer of legitimacy to the dissolution of the Austrian state.1