Austria's Trade Route Shutdown In World War 1

Austria's role in the First World War is well-documented, but the question of whether it closed trade routes is more complex.

Austria-Hungary was a large empire with a complex history of trade and colonisation. From the 17th century through to the 19th century, the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire, and (from 1867 to 1918) the Austro-Hungarian Empire made several attempts to expand overseas colonial trade through the acquisition of factories. However, these attempts were short-lived, and often ended due to international pressure or a lack of interest from the Imperial government.

The Ostend East India Company was a private merchant company formed in 1715, based in the Southern Netherlands (now Flemish Belgium). The company was funded by Emperor Charles VI, who provided 6 million guilders, but no Austrians were involved in its operations. The Ostend Company traded in the East and Canton, and by 1720 it was transporting 7 million pounds of tea. However, the company's success caused tension with other European powers, and it was eventually dissolved in 1732.

In 1776, an expelled British trade official, Colonel William Bolts, approached the Austrian Imperial Court with a request to found a trading company to explore possible routes in Africa, India, and China. This led to the formation of the Austrian Asiatic Company of Trieste, which established a trading post in Delagoa Bay (now Maputo Bay) in 1779. The factory was expelled by the Portuguese in 1781.

In 1858, the SMS Novara sailed to the Nicobar Islands as part of its circumnavigation of the globe. The Austrians explored the islands and collected artefacts, but ultimately decided against colonisation.

In 1873, an Austrian expedition set out to find the Northeast Passage but became locked in pack ice. The explorers discovered an archipelago, which they named Franz-Joseph's Land after the current Emperor.

In 1899, Austria-Hungary participated in the Eight-Nation Alliance to contain the Boxer Rebellion in China, but it sent the smallest force of any nation. In 1902, Austria gained a concession zone in Tianjin as part of the reward for its contribution to the Alliance. However, the concession was swiftly occupied by China when it declared war on the Central Powers in 1917.

In summary, while Austria-Hungary had a history of trade and colonisation, there is no clear evidence that it closed trade routes during the First World War.

Austria's role in the First World War

Austria-Hungary was part of the Central Powers, along with Germany, and fought against the Allies on the Eastern Front. The Eastern Front was a brutal theatre of war, with both sides suffering heavy losses. Austria-Hungary's main foe on this front was Russia, and the two empires fought each other to the point of exhaustion.

Austria-Hungary's entry into the war was driven by its desire to maintain control over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which had been annexed in 1908 and was a significant source of tension with Russia. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was merely the spark that ignited existing tensions and rivalries.

Austria-Hungary's performance in the war was mixed. While it enjoyed some early successes, such as the Serbian Campaign in 1914, it also suffered significant defeats, including the Brusilov Offensive in 1916 and the Battle of Vittorio Veneto in 1918. The empire's multi-ethnic nature also proved to be a challenge, with nationalist and separatist sentiments causing internal divisions.

By the end of the war, Austria-Hungary was exhausted and on the brink of collapse. The empire was dissolved, and Austria became a republic, losing significant territory in the process. The war had far-reaching consequences for the region, reshaping the political landscape of Central and Eastern Europe.

The Anschluss and unification with Germany

The idea of unifying Austria and Germany into a "Greater Germany" was born after the 1871 unification of Germany, which excluded Austria and German Austrians from the Prussian-dominated German Empire. Support for the unification grew after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, and the subsequent creation of the rump state of German-Austria. The Treaty of Saint Germain and Treaty of Versailles, which followed the end of World War I, forbade the unification of Austria and Germany, as well as the continued use of the name "German-Austria". The treaties also stripped Austria of some of its territories, such as the Sudetenland.

By the 1920s, the unification proposal had strong support in both Austria and Germany, particularly among Austrian citizens of the political left and center. However, popular support for the unification faded with time. After Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933, the desire for unification could be associated with the Nazis, for whom it was an integral part of their ideology.

In the mid-1930s, Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss was assassinated by Austrian Nazis in a failed coup. This was followed by increasing pressure from pro-unification activists, which led Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg to announce a referendum on a possible union with Germany, to be held on March 13, 1938. Hitler threatened an invasion and pressured Schuschnigg to resign, and the day before the planned referendum, the German army crossed the Austrian border, unopposed by the Austrian military. A plebiscite was held on April 10, in which the ballot was not secret, and threats and coercion were employed to manipulate the vote, resulting in 99.7% approval for the unification.

While the true opinions of the Austrian population are unknown, it is estimated that about 70% would have voted to preserve Austrian independence. The unification of Austria and Germany was enshrined in a law passed on March 13, 1938, and Austria was reorganised along German lines with Nazi regional governors. The Austrian government was dissolved, and the name "Österreich" (Austria's name in German) was banned from public use. The unification marked the beginning of a period of terror for many Austrians, particularly Jews, who were rounded up and sent to concentration camps.

Austria's role in the Second World War

Austria played a complex and multifaceted role in the Second World War. In the lead-up to the war, Austria was a landlocked country of around 6.5 million people, facing economic struggles and political strife between left-wing and right-wing forces. The nation was divided between the conservative countryside population and Red Vienna, controlled by the Social Democrats. This instability set the stage for the Nazi takeover.

On March 11, 1938, Adolf Hitler blackmailed Austria, demanding the resignation of the Austrian government or threatening a German invasion. The following day, German troops marched into Austria, and Hitler himself entered his birthplace, Braunau am Inn, receiving an enthusiastic welcome from the population. This event marked the end of Austria as a sovereign state and the beginning of its unification with Nazi Germany, known as the "Anschluss."

The "Anschluss" was not universally accepted as voluntary, and there has been much debate about whether Austrians were victims or collaborators. While some Austrians fled the country, many cheered the German troops and supported the unification. A plebiscite in April 1938, which was manipulated by the Nazis, indicated that about 99% of Austrian voters supported the union. This overwhelming result was achieved through a combination of propaganda, manipulation, and terror.

Following the "Anschluss," Austria was completely absorbed into Germany, and any memory of Austrian existence was suppressed. The Nazis quickly extended anti-Jewish legislation to Austria, leading to the deportation and murder of thousands of Austrian Jews. The Mauthausen concentration camp, established near Linz, became the main Nazi camp in Austria, and forced labour using concentration camp prisoners became common.

During the war, hundreds of thousands of Austrians fought as German soldiers, and many served in the SS. By the end of the war, approximately 250,000 Austrians had been killed or were missing in action. Austria also experienced heavy bombing, resulting in the deaths of over 20,000 civilians.

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Austria was occupied by the Allies and divided into four zones controlled by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France. Vienna was similarly subdivided, with the central district collectively administered. The occupation ended in 1955, and Austria regained its independence and neutrality.

The Allied occupation of Austria

During World War II, Austria was considered an integral part of the Third Reich, with many Austrians joining the Nazi Party and fighting for Germany. However, in 1943, the Allies agreed in the Declaration of Moscow that Austria would be regarded as the first victim of Nazi aggression and treated as a liberated and independent country after the war.

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Austria was divided into four occupation zones: the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France each controlled a portion of the country. Vienna, the capital, was also subdivided, with the central district collectively administered by the four powers.

During the first year of the occupation, the Soviet Union played a dominant role in Austrian politics. The Soviet commander, Fyodor Tolbukhin, established contact with the Austrian politician Karl Renner, who formed a provisional government. Renner's cabinet included Austrian Communists, which raised suspicions among the Western Allies that a puppet state was being established. However, Renner managed to secure inter-party control by designating two Under-Secretaries of State from different parties in each ministry.

The Western Allies arrived in Austria in late April and early May 1945, but their presence did not diminish Soviet influence. The Soviets pushed Renner to surrender Austrian oil fields, and while the Americans objected, they ultimately assumed control over Austrian oil in their zone.

The first general elections after the war, held on November 25, 1945, dealt a blow to the Communist Party of Austria, which received only around 5% of the vote. A coalition of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats assumed control over the cabinet and offered the position of Federal Chancellor to Christian Democrat Julius Raab. However, the Soviets vetoed Raab due to his previous membership in the austrofascist Fatherland Front. Instead, President Karl Renner appointed Leopold Figl, who was acceptable to the Soviets.

The Potsdam Agreement allowed the confiscation of "German external assets" in Austria, which the Soviets used to expropriate Austrian economic assets. This, along with the presence of occupation troops, imposed a significant economic burden on the Austrian government.

Throughout the occupation, there were tensions between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union regarding the future of Austria. The Western powers suspected Soviet intentions to establish a communist regime in Austria, similar to what happened in East Germany. There were also concerns about the Soviet Union's military presence in the country, with the Americans secretly training an underground Austrian military.

The turning point came in 1955, when Chancellor Julius Raab steered Austria towards a more neutral policy. Raab negotiated with the Soviet Union, and on May 15, 1955, the Austrian State Treaty was signed, granting Austria full independence. The last occupation troops left on October 25, 1955, and Austria enacted a Declaration of Neutrality, committing to remain neutral in the Cold War and not join military alliances such as NATO or the Warsaw Pact.

Austria's post-war independence

Austria's independence after the First World War was established in the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which brought about the First Austrian Republic. This treaty ceded German-populated regions to Czechoslovakia, Italy, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (also known as Yugoslavia). It also forbade Anschluss, or union, with Germany without the consent of the League of Nations. The Allies were not willing to allow a defeated Germany to expand its borders by absorbing what remained of Austria.

The new Republic was marked by violent strife between left-wing and right-wing political paramilitary forces. The country was divided between the conservative countryside population and Vienna, controlled by the Social Democrats. This strife escalated into the Austrian Civil War of 1934.

In 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in the Anschluss. However, in 1943, the Allies agreed in the Declaration of Moscow that Austria would be regarded as the first victim of Nazi aggression and treated as a liberated and independent country after the war.

Following World War II, Austria was divided into four occupation zones jointly occupied by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France. Vienna was similarly subdivided, with the central district collectively administered by the Allied Control Council.

In 1945, Austrian politician Karl Renner established contact with the Soviets and formed a provisional government, declaring independence from Nazi Germany and calling for the creation of a democratic state. The Western Allies initially refused to recognize this government, suspecting it was a puppet state.

In 1947, the first allied talks on Austrian independence were held, but they deadlocked over the issue of "German assets" in Soviet possession. Austria's independence was further complicated by the Cold War and the development of the Soviet-Yugoslav conflict.

Finally, in 1955, negotiations with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov secured a breakthrough. On May 15, 1955, the Austrian State Treaty was signed in Vienna, establishing Austria as a sovereign state. The treaty included provisions for Soviet oilfield concessions and property rights of oil refineries in Eastern Austria, as well as the transfer of assets of the Danube Shipping Company to the USSR. Austria also promised perpetual neutrality. The last occupation troops left on October 25, 1955, and on October 26, Austria's parliament declared the country's neutrality.

Frequently asked questions