Austria's Role: Axis Or Allied?

Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, and thereafter became an integral part of the Third Reich. More than 700,000 Austrians, or 10% of the population, joined the Nazi Party, and over 1.3 million were drafted into the Wehrmacht between 1938 and 1945. 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 1945, Austria was divided into four occupation zones, jointly occupied by the UK, the Soviet Union, the US, and France. Austria remained under joint occupation until 1955, when it was granted full independence after promising perpetual neutrality.

Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938

On March 12, 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria in what became known as the Anschluss. This event is considered the start of World War II, as it united Germany and Italy in a military coalition against the Allies.

The annexation was met with enthusiasm by a significant majority of Austrians, who welcomed German troops and Nazi officials into their country. This union was not entirely unexpected, as Germany and Austria shared far-right ideologies and had been working towards shared expansionist interests since the mid-1930s. However, the annexation was also a strategic move by Germany to gain a military advantage, as evidenced by the drafting of more than 1.3 million Austrian troops to the Wehrmacht between 1938 and 1945.

The Anschluss spelled doom for Austria's Jewish population, and it also served as a precursor to Germany's invasion of other neighbouring countries, including Czechoslovakia and Lithuania, in the lead-up to World War II.

In 1943, the Allies agreed to treat Austria as the first victim of Nazi aggression in the Declaration of Moscow, recognising its role in Nazi crimes while also acknowledging its forced union with Germany. This declaration ultimately led to Austria being declared independent from Nazi Germany in 1945, following the end of World War II.

Austria was occupied by the Allies in 1945

Austria was occupied by the Allies and declared independent from Nazi Germany on 27 April 1945. This was confirmed by the Berlin Declaration for Germany on 5 June 1945. The occupation ended when the Austrian State Treaty came into force on 27 July 1955.

The Moscow Declaration of 1943

In November 1943, the Allies agreed in the Moscow Declaration that Austria would be regarded as the first victim of Nazi aggression and treated as a liberated and independent country after the war. This was despite the fact that Austria had been recognised as part of Nazi Germany following the Anschluss in 1938.

The Occupation

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

The First Year of Occupation

On 29 March 1945, Soviet commander Fyodor Tolbukhin's troops crossed the former Austrian border at Klostermarienberg in Burgenland. On 3 April, at the beginning of the Vienna Offensive, the Austrian politician Karl Renner, then living in southern Lower Austria, established contact with the Soviets. On 20 April 1945, the Soviets instructed Renner to form a provisional government, which took office seven days later.

The End of Occupation

The last occupation troops left on 25 October 1955, after Austria promised perpetual neutrality.

Austria was divided into four occupation zones

After World War II, Austria was divided into four occupation zones: Vorarlberg and North Tyrol were assigned to the French Zone; Salzburg and Upper Austria south of the Danube to the Americans; East Tyrol, Carinthia, and Styria to the British; and Burgenland, Lower Austria, and the Mühlviertel area of Upper Austria, north of the Danube, to the Soviets. Vienna, the capital, was also divided among the four Allies, with the central district being collectively administered by the Allied Control Council.

The division of Austria into four zones was similar to the occupation of Germany, which was split into zones controlled by the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and France. However, unlike Germany, which was divided into East and West in 1949, Austria remained under joint occupation by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union until 1955.

The occupation of Austria ended when the Austrian State Treaty came into force on July 27, 1955, and the last occupation troops left on October 25, 1955, following Austrian promises of perpetual neutrality.

Austria was declared independent from Nazi Germany in 1945

On the 27th of April 1945, Allied-occupied Austria declared independence from Nazi Germany. This was later confirmed by the Berlin Declaration for Germany on the 5th of June 1945.

Austria's independence came after almost four years of brutal combat, during which the troops from the 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, numbering around 1 million troops, approached Austria's border from Hungary in the winter of 1945. The fighting in Hungary was some of the most brutal of the war, with the two Red Army groups suffering 484,300 losses, including 140,000 killed or captured.

Austria's independence was the result of the Vienna Offensive, which began on the 2nd of April 1945. The offensive was led by the Soviet commander Fyodor Tolbukhin, whose troops crossed the former Austrian border at Klostermarienberg in Burgenland on the 29th of March 1945. The offensive was supported by the Austrian politician Karl Renner, who established contact with the Soviets and formed a provisional government on the 27th of April 1945.

Austria's independence was also the result of the Moscow Declaration of 1943, in which the British, Americans, and Soviets proclaimed that Austria was Germany's first victim. This declaration meant that Austria would emerge as an independent state, despite being treated as a defeated Axis power by Moscow.

Austria's independence was not universally welcomed. The Western Allies consented to Moscow's demand that the Soviets should be entitled to German assets in Austria in their zone of occupation. This resulted in Austria paying more than five times what Stalin originally demanded.

Austria's independence was also marred by the sexual violence and looting committed by Soviet troops. In Vienna alone, the Red Army raped between 70,000 and 100,000 women.

Austria's independence was secured when the country was divided into four occupation zones, jointly occupied by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France. This occupation ended when the Austrian State Treaty came into force on the 27th of July 1955, and the last occupation troops left on the 25th of October that year.

Austria was occupied by the Soviets, British, Americans, and French

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Austria was divided into four occupation zones, with Vienna similarly subdivided. The country was jointly occupied by the Soviets, British, Americans, and French. The Western Allies (USA, France, and Great Britain) arrived in September 1945, several months after the Soviets.

The occupation was initially characterized by military control, with an international patrol consisting of one military policeman from each occupying power. The patrol began its work in August 1945, with three soldiers from the Soviet Union, the USA, and Great Britain, and a Frenchman joining in September.

The occupation zones were determined in July 1945, with the French and American zones bordering those countries' zones in Germany, and the Soviet zone bordering future Warsaw Pact states. Vorarlberg and North Tyrol were assigned to the French Zone, Salzburg and Upper Austria to the American Zone, East Tyrol, Carinthia, and Styria to the British Zone, and Burgenland, Lower Austria, and the Mühlviertel area of Upper Austria to the Soviet Zone. Vienna was divided among all four Allies, with the historical center declared an international zone.

The occupation ended in July 1955, with the Austrian State Treaty, which concerned the restoration of a free, independent, and democratic Austria. The treaty was signed in the Marble Hall of Belvedere Palace, and included a declaration of Austrian neutrality. The last occupation troops left in October 1955, and Austrian neutrality came into force in October 1955.

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