Austria's Nazi Past: Complicity And Collaboration

Austria was a part of Nazi Germany from 13 March 1938 until 27 April 1945, when Allied-occupied Austria declared independence from Nazi Germany. This event was known as the Anschluss, and it was met with enthusiasm by most Austrians. During World War II, 950,000 Austrians fought for the Nazi German armed forces, and many others participated in the Nazi administration, from death camp personnel to senior Nazi leadership.

After World War II, many Austrians sought to distance themselves from Nazi Germany, with the myth of Austria as the first victim of the Nazis gaining traction. However, this narrative has been disputed, as Austria's role in Nazi crimes cannot be ignored.

Austria was part of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945

Austria was completely absorbed into Germany, and any official memory of Austrian existence was destroyed and suppressed. Austria was renamed Ostmark (Eastern March), and Upper and Lower Austria became Upper and Lower Danube. The Nazis arrested many leaders of the anti-Nazi Austrian political parties and a great number of political opponents, particularly communists and socialists. Many Austrians, especially those of Jewish origin, were forced into exile.

The Viennese events during Kristallnacht—a short but devastating period of pogroms against Jewish people and property throughout Germany on November 9–10, 1938—proved that anti-Semitism was more virulent and violent in Austria than in most other German areas. A significant percentage of the Jews killed were in Vienna, where dozens of synagogues and hundreds of Jewish shops and apartments were destroyed and plundered.

By the time World War II began in 1939, more than 100,000 Jews—roughly half of all Austrian Jews—had left Austria. When the war ended, more than 65,000 Austrian Jews had perished, many of them in extermination camps. Jews were not the only victims of Nazi persecution. Thousands of Roma (Gypsies) were also deported or murdered, and tens of thousands of Austrians with mental or physical disabilities were killed, most of them at Hartheim Castle, a so-called euthanasia centre near Linz.

During the war, hundreds of thousands of Austrians fought as German soldiers, and a substantial number served in the SS, the elite military corps of the Nazi Party. By the end of the war, approximately 250,000 Austrians had been killed or were missing in action. An even greater number were held as prisoners of war, and more than 20,000 Austrians were killed in US and British bombing raids.

Austria was occupied by the Allies and declared independent from Nazi Germany on April 27, 1945. However, the process of denazification in Austria was only half-hearted, and the country used its stance as the "'first victim'" of Hitlerite Germany to deflect guilt and strengthen its position in the negotiations on the State Treaty. The so-called victim theory determined Austria's policy of dealing with its history for decades and marginalised the victims of the Nazis.

The Allies agreed to treat Austria as the first victim of Nazi aggression

The Allies recognised that Austria had played a role in Nazi crimes, with many Austrians participating in the Nazi administration and the majority of bureaucrats who implemented the Final Solution being Austrian. However, they also acknowledged that Austrian statehood had been interrupted by the Anschluss in 1938, and that the newly revived Austria of 1945 should not be held responsible for the Nazis' crimes.

This "victim theory" became a fundamental myth of Austrian society, allowing previously bitter political opponents to unite and bring former Nazis back into social and political life. It also enabled veterans of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS to take an honourable place in society, while the actual victims of Nazism—first and foremost, the Jews—were depreciated as attempting to obtain illicit enrichment.

It was not until the 1990s that the Austrian people and political administration began to admit collective responsibility for the crimes committed during the Nazi occupation and officially abandoned the "victim theory".

Austrians were overrepresented in the system of terror against Jews

The reasons for this overrepresentation are complex and multifaceted. One factor may be the deep-rooted antisemitism in Austria, which was possibly even more prevalent than in Germany. Austrians' desire to participate in the Final Solution may have been driven by this entrenched antisemitism. Additionally, network effects and area expertise played a role. Austrian Nazis were barred from top bureaucracy positions until the Anschluss, so when Austria was annexed, many top positions became available to them. Austrian Nazis also gained expertise in dealing with the Jewish community due to the high percentage of Jews in Austria, particularly in Vienna. This expertise was then leveraged as the Nazi regime expanded, leading to the recruitment of more Austrians into positions of power.

The overrepresentation of Austrians in the system of terror against Jews had devastating consequences. The Viennese events during Kristallnacht, a period of pogroms against Jewish people and property, demonstrated the virulence and violence of antisemitism in Austria. Synagogues, shops, and apartments were destroyed and plundered, and many Jews were killed or exiled. By the start of World War II in 1939, more than 100,000 Jews had left Austria, and over 65,000 Austrian Jews perished during the war, many in extermination camps.

Austria's infrastructure was damaged during the war

Austria's infrastructure was damaged during World War II, and the country emerged from the war as one of the poorest in Europe. The Allied victory in the Vienna Offensive in April 1945 led to the liberation of Austria from Nazi Germany and its subsequent independence. However, the country's infrastructure had suffered extensive damage during the war.

The impact of the war on Austria's infrastructure was significant. The country's cities, particularly Vienna, bore the brunt of the destruction. Vienna, the capital city, was a key target for Allied bombing raids, resulting in the devastation of its historical centre and critical infrastructure. The Battle of Vienna in 1945, which resulted in the liberation of the city by Soviet troops, also caused substantial damage to the city's buildings and transportation network.

In addition to the direct destruction caused by military engagements, Austria's infrastructure was further degraded by the systematic looting and expropriation of resources by the occupying forces. The Soviet Union, in particular, engaged in the wholesale dismantling and removal of industrial equipment, machinery, and transportation assets. This plunder had a debilitating effect on Austria's ability to recover economically in the post-war period.

Moreover, the country's transportation network was severely disrupted during the war. Bridges, railways, and roads were targeted by bombing raids and ground combat, impeding the movement of goods and people. The disruption to transportation routes also hindered the distribution of food and other essential supplies, contributing to the food shortages and near-starvation conditions experienced by the Austrian population in the immediate post-war years.

The damage to Austria's infrastructure extended beyond physical structures and transportation systems. The country's agricultural sector was also adversely affected. The displacement of agricultural workers, the requisition of farmland for military purposes, and the disruption of farming activities during the war resulted in a significant decline in food production. This, coupled with the difficulties in distributing food aid due to transportation challenges, led to widespread food shortages and malnutrition among the Austrian populace.

The impact of the war on Austria's infrastructure was not limited to the conflict years but persisted long after the fighting had ceased. The task of rebuilding and rehabilitating the country's infrastructure was daunting, and the lack of resources and investment in the immediate post-war period further compounded the challenges. However, with the implementation of the Marshall Plan and other international aid initiatives, Austria was able to gradually rebuild its infrastructure and lay the foundation for its eventual economic recovery.

Austria's victim theory was repudiated in the 1980s and 1990s

The "victim theory" was repudiated in the 1980s and 1990s, but it had been the ideological basis of Austria from 1949 to 1988. The theory stated that the 1938 Anschluss was an act of military aggression by the Third Reich, and that Austrian statehood had been interrupted. Therefore, the newly revived Austria of 1945 could not be considered responsible for the Nazis' crimes. The theory held that all Austrians, including those who supported Hitler, had been unwilling victims of the Nazi regime.

The "victim theory" became a fundamental myth in Austrian society, allowing previously bitter political opponents—such as the Social Democrats and conservative Catholics—to unite and bring former Nazis back into social and political life. For almost half a century, the Austrian state denied the existence of any continuity between itself and the political regime that existed in Austria from 1938 to 1945. Postwar denazification was quickly wound up, and veterans of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS took an honourable place in society. The struggle for justice by the actual victims of Nazism—primarily Jews—was dismissed as an attempt to obtain illicit enrichment at the expense of the rest of the Austrian nation.

In 1986, the election of Kurt Waldheim, a former Wehrmacht intelligence officer, as federal president put Austria on the verge of international isolation. Powerful external pressure and an internal political discussion forced Austrians to reconsider their attitude to the past. Starting with the political administration in 1988, and then followed by most Austrian people, the nation admitted its collective responsibility for the crimes committed during the Nazi occupation and officially abandoned the "victim theory".

The abandonment of the "victim theory" by the Austrian state and the gradual admittance of responsibility began in 1988. Austria contributed to an existing fund for Nazi victims and established a new fund for emigrants. For the first time, it made payments to benefit emigrants and widened the scope of legally recognised victims (particularly Gypsy and Carinthian Slovenes). These actions were prompted by changes in Austrian society and an unparalleled crisis in foreign politics. During Waldheim's term of office, Austria's international situation deteriorated, and the governments of the US and Israel joined the pressure exerted by Jewish diasporas. They did not want to admit such a "Nazi country", which had also supported Yasser Arafat and Muammar Gaddafi, to the world political stage.

In July 1991, Chancellor Franz Vranitzky admitted responsibility (but not guilt) for the crimes of the past on behalf of the nation. However, neither Americans nor Israelis were impressed by this cautious confession. Things started to move only after Vranitzky officially visited Israel in 1993; during his visit, he admitted the responsibility of the state, but under the condition that the concept of collective guilt was not applicable to Austrians. A year later, public apologies were made by the new conservative president, Thomas Klestil.

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