Lexi Webster
Immediately after World War II, Austria was jointly occupied by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France, and divided into four occupation zones. Vienna, too, was subdivided, but the central district was collectively administered by the Allied Control Council. Austria remained under this joint occupation until 1955, and its status was a controversial subject in the Cold War. In the post-war period, the Austrian economy suffered, and the country emerged as one of the poorest in Europe.
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What You'll Learn
The Soviet occupation of Austria
In the winter of 1945, after almost four years of brutal combat, troops from the 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts approached Austria's border from Hungary. The fighting in Hungary was some of the most brutal of the war, with the two Red Army groups suffering a combined 484,300 losses, including 140,000 killed or captured. As the Soviets regrouped to invade Austria, the Germans launched their last major offensive of the war at Lake Balaton in March 1945, aiming to stop the Soviet march into the Third Reich. However, the 3rd Ukrainian Front counterattacked, resulting in the elimination of most German forces in the south and the capture of Vienna, the Austrian capital.
The Soviet troops then advanced towards Linz and Graz in early May, and skirmishes with German soldiers desperate to surrender to the Western Allies to avoid Soviet captivity continued into late May, even after fighting had ceased elsewhere in Europe. The Red Army suffered 94,185 casualties in Austria, including 26,006 killed and 68,179 wounded. Soviet occupation policies in Austria were largely shaped by the Moscow Declaration of 1943, which stated that the German annexation of Austria would be considered "null and void", and that Austria would be 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 jointly occupied by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France. Vienna, the capital, was similarly subdivided, with the central district collectively administered by the Allied Control Council. The Soviet zone included the areas of Burgenland, Lower Austria, and the Mühlviertel area of Upper Austria, north of the Danube.
The Red Army's reputation was harmed by its repression of civilians, including systematic sexual violence against women in the first days and weeks after the Soviet victory. On September 28, 1945, Moscow issued an order forbidding violent interrogations, but desertion and plunder by soldiers continued throughout 1945 and 1946. The Austrian government considered financial aid to the Soviet zone as a lifeline holding the country together, and Marshall Plan funds were distributed in this territory, benefiting some trades while depressing others.
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The Austrian economy after WWII
After 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.
In the immediate post-war period, many of the country's largest firms were nationalized to protect them from Soviet takeover as war reparations. The Austrian government regarded financial aid to the Soviet zone as a "lifeline holding the country together". This was the only case where Marshall Plan funds were distributed in Soviet-occupied territory. The Marshall Plan benefited some trades, like metallurgy, but depressed others, like agriculture. Heavy industries quickly recovered, from 74.7% of pre-war output in 1948 to 150.7% in 1951. American planners deliberately neglected consumer goods industries, construction trades, and small businesses. In 1947, the Austrian economy, including USIA enterprises, reached 61% of pre-war levels, but it was disproportionately weak in consumer goods production (42% of pre-war levels).
In the post-war parliamentary elections, Austrians trounced the Communist Party of Austria. The country remained under joint occupation of the Western Allies and the Soviet Union until 1955. Its status became a controversial subject in the Cold War until the warming of relations known as the Khrushchev Thaw.
In the years following World War II, Austria's economy became closely integrated with other EU member countries, especially Germany. In 1999, Austria introduced the new Euro currency for accounting purposes, and in 2002, Euro notes and coins were introduced, replacing those of the Austrian schilling.
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Austrian Jews and the Holocaust
Austrian Jews have a long history in the country, dating back to at least the 3rd century CE. Over the centuries, they have experienced alternating periods of prosperity and persecution. In the 1930s, Jews in Austria faced increasing antisemitism, economic stagnation, and intense Nazi propaganda. On March 12, 1938, German troops entered Austria and received enthusiastic support from the majority of the population. This led to the annexation of Austria to Germany, known as the Anschluss, and the extension of anti-Jewish legislation to the country.
The Mauthausen concentration camp was established in the summer of 1938, marking the beginning of a systematic persecution, plunder, and killing of Austrian Jews. During Kristallnacht in November 1938, anti-Jewish pogroms occurred throughout Austria, resulting in the desecration and destruction of synagogues and the looting of Jewish homes and businesses. This was followed by the deportation of Austrian Jews to Poland in October 1939 and later to death camps starting in February 1941. The Viennese Jewish community was officially liquidated on November 1, 1942, and by 1945, almost the entire Jewish population that had not fled was murdered in the Holocaust. It is estimated that between 60,000 and 65,500 Austrian Jews lost their lives, with only a few hundred surviving until the liberation of Vienna by Soviet troops on April 13, 1945.
The Holocaust had a devastating impact on Austria's Jewish community, reducing their numbers significantly. By 1950, the Jewish community in Austria numbered 13,396 people, a fraction of the pre-Holocaust population. In the years following World War II, Austrian society often promoted the narrative that Austria was the "'First Victim'" of Nazi Germany, downplaying its enthusiastic support for the regime and its participation in Nazi crimes. This changed in the 1980s, when critical study of the Holocaust entered the mainstream of Austrian historiography, and the country began to confront its role in the persecution and murder of its Jewish citizens.
Today, Austria continues to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and address its historical role in these atrocities. In 2021, the Austrian government inaugurated the "Shoah Wall of Names Memorial" in central Vienna, engraved with the names of 64,440 Austrian Jews murdered during the Holocaust. Additionally, as of January 1, 2016, 106 Austrians have been recognized by the Yad Vashem Institute of Holocaust and Heroism for their bravery in aiding and saving Jews during the Holocaust, risking their own lives in the process.
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Austrian resistance to Nazism
Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, with the support of the Austrian chancellor and the majority of the Austrian population. However, a small minority of Austrians actively participated in the resistance against Nazism. Austrian resistance groups were often separated by ideology and reflected the spectrum of political parties before the war. In addition to armed resistance groups, there were strong communist resistance groups, groups close to the Catholic Church, and individual resistance groups in the German Wehrmacht.
The Austrian resistance was launched in response to the rise of fascists across Europe and, more specifically, to the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938. An estimated 100,000 people participated in this resistance, with thousands subsequently imprisoned or executed for their anti-Nazi activities. The main cipher of the Austrian resistance was O5, which can be seen at the Stephansdom in Vienna.
One notable resistance group was led by the priest Heinrich Maier. This group sought to reestablish a Habsburg monarchy after the war and played a significant role in providing the Allies with information on the production sites of V-1 and V-2 rockets, Tiger tanks, and aircraft. They also reported on the mass murder of Jews, utilizing contacts at the Semperit factory near Auschwitz. Another group, the Carinthian Slovenes, formed a nucleus of the resistance after targeted deportations and forced Germanisation by the Nazi regime in 1942.
Resistance fighters in Austria faced immense risks, as assisting Jews or engaging in anti-Nazi activities was punishable by imprisonment or death in Nazi concentration camps. Despite the dangers, some individuals provided support to Jewish families during the Holocaust by hiding them, managing their property, or aiding their escape from persecution.
After World War II, Austria was divided into four occupation zones jointly occupied by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France. While the Nazi Party was banned in Austria, the country did not undergo the same thorough denazification process as post-war Germany. Many Austrians sought to advance the narrative that Austria was the first victim of Nazi aggression, and the subject of Austrian resistance versus collaboration became a matter of public discourse in later years.
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Austria's independence after WWII
Austria's path to independence after World War II was a complex and prolonged process, shaped by the country's previous alignment with Nazi Germany and the geopolitical tensions of the emerging Cold War.
In the lead-up to and during World War II, Austria was widely recognised as an integral part of Nazi Germany. The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938, known as the Anschluss, was enthusiastically supported by the majority of Austrians. Approximately 700,000 Austrians, or 10% of the population, joined the Nazi Party. Austrians actively participated in the Nazi administration and committed atrocities, with over 950,000 Austrians fighting for the Nazi German armed forces during the war.
However, in November 1943, the Allies (the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union) agreed in the Declaration of Moscow to treat Austria as the first victim of Nazi aggression. This declaration acknowledged Austria's role in Nazi crimes but also affirmed its liberation and future independence from Nazi Germany. The Moscow Declaration set the stage for Austria's post-war path, even as the country became a battleground in the final years of the war, with Soviet troops entering Austria in 1945.
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Austria was jointly occupied by the Western Allies (the United States, the United Kingdom, and France) and the Soviet Union. Unlike Germany, which was divided into East and West Germany, Austria remained under joint occupation until 1955. This occupation period was marked by the implementation of policies such as the Marshall Plan, which aimed to provide economic aid but had mixed results, benefiting certain industries while neglecting others.
During this time, Austria's status was a subject of controversy in the emerging Cold War tensions between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union, particularly under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, had its own visions for Austria's future, including attempts to establish a communist government. However, the Austrian people rejected communism in the post-war parliamentary elections, contributing to the country's eventual independence.
Austria's independence was finally achieved on May 15, 1955, after promises of perpetual neutrality, and the last occupation troops departed on October 25, 1955. This period marked the beginning of the Second Austrian Republic, ten years after the end of World War II, and the restoration of Austria's sovereignty.
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Frequently asked questions
After 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, but the central district was collectively administered by the Allied Control Council.
After World War II, Austria was once again an independent republic, but much of the country's infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed, and the country emerged as one of the poorest in Europe. The Austrian government regarded financial aid to the Soviet zone as a lifeline holding the country together.
During World War II, 950,000 Austrians fought for the Nazi German armed forces, and many held important positions in the Nazi administration. After the war, many Austrians sought comfort in the myth of Austria as the first victim of the Nazis.
