How Austria Cleverly Avoided Germany’s Fate After WWII

Austria’s Neutrality in the Shadow of Superpowers

On March 16th, 1945, over a million soldiers of the Red Army assembled for a massive push into Austria. The goal of the offensive was the capture of the key city of Vienna, a cultural heart of the German Reich. Four weeks later, on April 10th, Vienna was seized by Red Army forces. The bloody offensive cost the Soviets another 167,000 casualties, added to the millions already suffered.

On April 15th, Vienna was declared secure, and just two weeks later, Austria declared itself independent from Germany. After Austria declared independence from Nazi Germany, the question became what to do with the state.

Much like Germany proper, Austria was carved up into four separate occupation zones administered by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Vienna, the grand old city of Europe, was divided into separate occupation zones to mirror what would happen to Berlin. After it was finished, Austria looked very much like Germany. The country was divided; Vienna, the capital, was divided and surrounded on all sides by Soviet-occupied territory.

The same problems that would plague the divided Germany to the north would dog Austria as well. What would happen to the country? Would the nation be split in two between the USSR and the West? What would become of Vienna? These were pressing questions that loomed heavy over the nation for a decade after the conclusion of World War II.

The Vienna Question

The fate of Vienna was of grave concern for the Western powers after the occupation of Austria. Vienna was a cultural heritage site that was deeply connected to the German people and the history of the region. Much like Berlin, Vienna was completely surrounded by Soviet territory, and the West worried that Russia would cut off access to the city, as they had Berlin.

The fate of Vienna seemed to hang in limbo. The West did not want to relinquish the city to the Soviets, but they also did not want to force the issue and cause an irrevocable break in Austria, as had happened in Germany.

The West worried that Austria would become a Cold War battlefield in the heart of Europe, with the nation split into two and the fate of Vienna hanging in the balance. As a result, secret plans were devised to stockpile arms, munitions, and supplies in Western Austria in the event that the nation crumbled under the weight of the Cold War geopolitics weighing on it.

The Korea Problem

When the Korean War broke out in the summer of 1950, Austria was still under occupation. The fact that Korea was so violently split into two and the Chinese and the Soviets seemed hell bent on supporting their communist allies in the north terrified the West. Austria was looked at with trepidation and heartburn.

In Austria, hunger was rampant, and there were debates over the cost of keeping American forces in Austria, as well as the cost of food subsidies that had been shipped into the country since 1945. The reduction of food subsidies and the withdrawal of Western forces led to massive general strikes, which rocked the country in 1950. The Soviets watched with glee, hoping that a communist uprising would occur naturally in the nation. But the communists never received the general support they needed to seize the country. The strikes and riots were disruptive but not transformative.

Due to the Korean War, neither the West nor the USSR wanted to intervene directly in Austria, fearing another war. As the strike dragged on and the ideological split between the USSR and the West became even more stark, people started to worry that a war in Austria was inevitable. It was not if the nation would descend into violence but when.

When the Korean War broke out, Great Britain started stockpiling massive amounts of supplies for an armed struggle in Western Austria. They even started training special pro-Western gendarmes to fight against the Soviets if it became necessary. The United States supported the plan and by 1952 Stockpile Austria had 227,000 tons of war material for a future conflict in the nation.

A Solution Too Good To Be True

An exit ramp materialized for Austria in 1953 with a rapid succession of welcome news. First, Joseph Stalin died in March. Stalin took a lot of belligerent energy with him to the grave. After he was buried, the USSR developed a calmer and more friendly tone toward Austria and the West in general.

Then, in July of 1953, the Korean War halted open hostilities, and Korea fell into an armistice. The death of Stalin, combined with the cooling of tensions in Korea, diffused much of the tension in Austria, giving the nation a chance to plan for the future. After multiple tense years of internal social chaos, a wrecked economy, hunger, and the specter of a new war, the Austrians wanted no part in the burgeoning Cold War.

Looking around, Austria saw few good options. Throwing in with the USSR meant communist subjugation. Throwing in with the West meant inviting the ire and potential invasion by the USSR. No Austrian wanted to see Vienna destroyed in Cold War fighting, and Germany remained a stark and potent visual reminder of what could happen to Austria if they made the wrong move.

Instead of risking treading down the wrong path, Austria chose a different path — neutrality.

Both the West and the USSR saw this as a welcome development. Neither side wanted to continue to fight and fret over Austria. A neutral Austria gave everyone an out, and the agreement was readily accepted by all parties.

Neutrality Secured

With the idea of neutrality taken up by the West, the USSR, and Austria, the plan was put into motion. In 1955, Austria was granted its full independence, and the occupation ended. Just days after the nation became independent, one of its first acts was to enact the Declaration of Neutrality. The declaration said that Austria would enforce “its permanent neutrality of its own accord.” Neutrality was codified as a part of the constitution, and Austria proclaimed it would never join a military pact or alliance (such as NATO or the Warsaw Pact.)

With the declaration, Austria officially becomes one of only four formally neutral nations in Europe. Austria, Ireland, Malta, and, of course, Switzerland are all neutral.

The USSR and the West pulled back, and Austria was allowed to live out its days on the sidelines of the Cold War. Vienna was saved, and the nation remained whole.

Conclusion

Austria managed to succeed, whereas other nations failed during this turbulent time. Austria not only managed to remain whole, but it escaped economic and violent destruction at the hands of the USSR or the West. Austria retained its independence and deftly stepped out of the Cold War arena that engulfed all of the nations around it. Neutrality was such an elegant solution, and it only worked because of a series of events that had developed around the world at the same time.

Austria could have very easily been split between East and West, like Germany. Vienna could have been yet another bone for the Great Powers to snarl and fight over. A war like the one in Korea could have easily erupted between the USSR and the West, which could have threatened to spill over into Germany. Instead, Austria declared permanent neutrality and escaped the worst fate.

Austria remains neutral to this day, thanks to these events in the 1950s.