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The Unloved Democracy of the Inter-War Period |
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Page 6 of 11
Return to an Independent State
The plans drawn up by the four Allies for the post-war period were based on the complete defeat of Hitler Germany. Austria was occupied by Allied troops, which divided the country into four zones. In the capital city, Vienna, the zones were partitioned according to district, while the inner city was administrated through a rota system.
Even before the war officially came to an end in May 1945, political parties had formed in Austria which together with the federal provinces, became the driving force behind the declaration of independence. In the eastern part of the country, the Soviets set up a government headed by former State Chancellor Karl Renner, which-albeit with circumstantial delays-also gained the approval of the Western Allies. The first tasks facing this provisional cabinet were to restore civilian life and to supply the population with provisions. With the support of the Allies, a normal democratic system was soon put in place, and on 25 November 1945 the first democratic elections for more than a decade were held.
Former Nazis were excluded from voting and, depending on their offense, in a denazification process conducted by the Austrian authorities were made to answer for the crimes of the past. A general reparation of the financial damages suffered, particularly by Jewish citizens, was undertaken gradually-between 1946 and 1949 seven restitution laws were enacted, which referred to both tangible and intangible property that had come into the hands of the State. However, major reparation measures were implemented only during the past few years, one example being the agreement drawn up in 2000 concerning voluntary Austrian payments to former victims of forced and slave labor, who were forced to work on the territory of the present-day Republic of Austria. Negotiations regarding Aryanised private property are still under way.
The political administration of the country was completely controlled by the Allies. Every legislative regulation and political action required their approval. In December 1945 the Allies gave their consent for the democratically elected cabinet headed by Leopold Figl. Austria and its politicians, who had learnt from the bitter experiences of the past, together turned their attention to the reconstruction of the country and the restoration of full sovereignty.
Since with the establishment of the satellite countries of the Soviet Union Austria found itself at the intersection of two ideological systems, the reconstruction of a country that was to be accepted by the international community required a lot of sensitivity and, above all, a great deal of patience.
The first decade in the post-war history of Austria was characterized by the attempts to achieve a state treaty restoring its sovereignty. As after the First World War, Austria held the view that, as a country, it had not participated in the war since it had previously been deprived of its existence as a state. In consequence, Austria strove for the conclusion of a state treaty with the four Allied powers. However, since with the outbreak of the Cold War these were now implacably opposed to another, Austria's efforts to conclude a state treaty were dragged into the maelstrom of international politics.
Due to the generous assistance received under the Marshall Plan, the economic reconstruction of Austria forged ahead surprisingly fast. Informal institutions such as that of "social partnership", a negotiating body made up of representatives of employers and employees, were set up to secure social peace. Even the Communist strikes of 1950, which recalled the power take-overs in the countries beyond the Iron Curtain, could be overcome by the basic Austrian commitment towards forming a state.
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