Unusual German-Austria Passport 1919
Unusual German-Austria Passport
Here comes a wonderful and rare collectible in excellent condition. Once again I have to thank my German fellow collector for supporting me to grab this pretty historical document.
The Republic of German-Austria (Republik Deutschösterreich or Deutsch-Österreich) was created following World War I as the initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking population within what had been the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
German-Austria claimed sovereignty over all the majority-German territory of the former Habsburg realm: a total area of 118,311 km2 (45,680 sq mi) with 10.4 million inhabitants. This included nearly all the territory of present-day Austria, plus South Tyrol and the town of Tarvisio, both now in Italy; southern Carinthia and southern Styria, now in Slovenia; and Sudetenland and German Bohemia (which later became part of Sudetenland), now in the Czech Republic. In practice, however, its authority was limited to the Danubian and Alpine provinces of the old Habsburg realm—with few exceptions, most of present-day Austria. This “construct” was excising only from 12 Nov 1918 till 21 Oct 1919 hence less than a year! Unusual German-Austria Passport
Despite the prohibition of the use of the term “German-Austria”, the republic’s unofficial national anthem between 1920 and 1929 was “German Austria, you wonderful country” (Deutschösterreich, du herrliches Land). Its words were penned by then-Chancellor Karl Renner, a signatory of the Treaty of Saint Germain. Unusual German-Austria Passport
