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GrossdeutschlandGrossdeutschland (literally Greater Germany) is a term that has been used in two separate contexts over history. Grossdeutschland and Kleindeutschland Grossdeutschland was firstly a 19th century political idea postulating the (never realized) idea of a unified Germany, led by Habsburg Austria and with Vienna as its capital, as opposed to the Prussian-led alternative, known as Kleindeutschland (Small Germany). With the foundation of the German Empire in 1871, which did not include Austria, the Kleindeutschland solution was put into practice. Following that idea, the Deutsches Reich (German Empire) was informally named to Grossdeutsches Reich when Austria became part of the Third Reich after the Anschluss (annexation) in 1938. Grossdeutschland, the military unit Grossdeutschland Division was also the name of an élite German combat unit during World War II. It was established as a motorized infantry regiment in 1939, upgraded to a motorized infantry division in April 1942, and finally re-designated a Panzergrenadier division in June 1943. Its establishment strength was far greater than that of regular Panzergrenadier divisions, and was in fact closer to a panzer corps in size and strength. Grossdeutschland is sometimes mistakenly perceived as being a part of the Waffen-SS, wheras it was actually a Heer unit, and its involvement in war crimes against the population of occupied countries has never been proven. The unit became known in the West through the book The Forgotten Soldier, by the Alsatian veteran Guy Sajer (a pseudonym), who served as a volunteer. The book was first published in 1967 in France as Le Soldat Oublié. While the historical accuracy of Sajer's autobiographical work has been questioned, it nevertheless offers a vivid and moving account of the horrors of war on the Eastern Front.
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