Ostmark

Ostmark, meaning "Eastern March" or "Eastmark," is a historical term used in German-speaking regions to describe eastern frontier territories of the Holy Roman Empire and related polities. The designation referred to frontier districts or marches established on the empire’s eastern borders to defend and administer newly acquired or contested lands. Over time, the label could refer to different territories at different periods and was not tied to a single fixed political entity.

In the medieval and early modern periods, several eastern marches existed along the empire’s eastern frontier. The term Ostmark was used in various sources to denote these border zones, some of which contributed to or overlapped with the later expansion of the Habsburg lands. The exact territorial scope of Ostmark varied with changes in administration, conquest, and imperial policy.

With the Anschluss in 1938, Nazi Germany designated Austria as the Ostmark, a term intended to reflect its status as an eastern border province of the Reich. The designation was used in official and propaganda contexts during World War II and persisted in some usages until the Nazi regime fell.

In contemporary historiography, Ostmark is primarily encountered as a historical term. It is referenced in studies of medieval frontier administration and of the Nazi period. Today, Austria is referred to as Österreich, and the modern use of Ostmark is largely constrained to historical discussion rather than current political terminology.