Austria After WWII: Occupation, Denazification, and the 1955 State Treaty

Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938 and ceased to exist as an independent state until after World War II. The Moscow Conference in late 1943 declared the annexation null and void, and Soviet troops entered Austria on March 29, 1945, reaching Vienna by April 13. A new left-wing government led by Karl Renner was established on April 27, 1945, and declared the Second Republic. The Allies divided Austria into four occupation zones, with Vienna similarly partitioned. A general election on November 25, 1945, excluded former Nazis and resulted in a coalition between the Christian Democrats (ÖVP) and Social Democrats (SPÖ); Leopold Figl became chancellor after the Soviets vetoed Julius Raab. Denazification efforts included the Prohibition Act and War Criminals Act, leading to 23,477 sentences and 30 executions, though zeal waned after 1948. Economic hardships included Soviet seizure of industries through USIA, food shortages, and riots in 1947 and 1950. The Marshall Plan provided crucial aid, accounting for 14 percent of national income in 1948–1949. After Stalin's death in 1953 and Khrushchev's thaw, negotiations led to the Austrian State Treaty, signed in Vienna on May 15, 1955, granting independence in exchange for neutrality. Occupation forces withdrew by October 25, 1955. Austria later confronted its Nazi past in the 1990s following revelations about President Kurt Waldheim, with Chancellor Franz Vranitzky acknowledging Austrian complicity in 1991 and 1993.