Union
Nazi Soldiers March Into Austria
Hitler used the political unrest (that he himself had caused) to justify entering Austria to restore order, as he called it. He had even, he said, received a request for assistance from within the Austrian government. In fact, an Austrian Nazi had sent the transmission. The Nazi forces were greeted by cheering crowds and streets bedecked with Nazi flags. Austria had been conquered without a single armed conflict. On March 13th, 1938, Hitler announced the Anschluss “union” of Austria and Germany.
The Vote
A month later, the decision was preemptively put to the vote. It is uncertain to what extent the vote was rigged, but the Anschluss earned a 99.7% acceptance rate. The results were not confidential and "no" votes's owners could easily be found (ballots were not anonymous). Normally, a dissenter would be imprisoned, tortured, or even killed, so fear ran rampant and could have easily swayed the election. Neither Roma nor Jews could vote in the election.