The Austrians’ Role and Allied Planning during the Second World War

Abstract

The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938, came about as the result of a complex mix of domestic and international factors and was a decisive event on Europe’s path to war. Austria’s role during the Second World War was highly ambiguous. A majority of Austrians welcomed the German invasion and numerous perpetrators from the Ostmark participated eagerly in Hitler’s war of extermination. A minority of Austrians were shocked about the demise of their country and resisted the Hitler regime. The Austrian economy and society were modernized and rationalized due to the German presence during the war. The Allies’ plans for postwar Austria emerged slowly during the course of the war. The British were leading the planning effort and initiated the Moscow Declaration which promised to re-establish an independent Austria. They decided early on not to demand reparations from postwar Austria. The Soviets were determined to make the Austrians pay for their participation in Hitler’s barbaric war but never intended to include postwar Austria in their Eastern European sphere of security. In order to understand the Cold War Soviet economic depredations in Austria, Austria’s wartime status and the role of Austrians in Nazi Germany needs to be understood. Most of the great-power postwar disagreements over the country were rooted in wartime actions.