anschluss means political annexation, specifically that of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
Why this word is great
ANSCHLUSS — [Noun] The political annexation, specifically the 1938 incorporation of Austria into Nazi Germany. From German Anschluss ("annexation, connection"), from anschließen ("to join, unite"). Unlike "annexation," a general, clinical term for forcible acquisition, or "unification," which implies a merger of equals, *Anschluss* denotes a predatory absorption disguised as homecoming, meticulously cloaked in the mendacious language of fraternal union. It is the thunder of boots on the Heldenplatz mislabeled as a homecoming, the sudden proliferation of swastika banners on familiar baroque façades, and the grim, bureaucratic efficiency with which a nation’s sovereignty is extinguished—a word that forever binds the act of conquest to the specific, oily theater of its consent.
noun
- Political annexation, specifically that of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938.“‘Some of us students protested against the Anschluss.’”