Both Germany and Austria were divided into four occupation zones following World War II, and Vienna was divided like Berlin. So why was there an East Germany and a Berlin Wall for so long but there was never an East Austria and a Vienna Wall?
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Austria was willing to sign an agreement that said it could never enter a military alliance with either side. This satisfied both the USSR and America and to this day Austria is just as neutral as Sweden.
Germany was not given this option.
This is a bit of a misunderstanding of the geopolitics at the time as the USSR was actually initially in favor of a united Germany but the US didn’t want that as they feared that a united independent Germany would chose communism. This wasn’t too far a stretch given the communists were the ones who had adamantly resisted the rise of fascism and Germany had a failed communist revolution in 1920. Plus the communists were the ones who liberated them from Nazi rule. Dividing the country was a way to ensure that the US had a strong buffer state in the upcoming Cold War.
The Soviet Union (USSR) allowed for Austrian reunification but not German reunification for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons is that the USSR had stronger political and economic ties with Austria than with Germany. The Soviet Union had a long history of trade and cooperation with Austria, and many Soviet officials believed that a reunified Austria would be more favorable to Soviet interests than a reunified Germany.
Additionally, the political climate in Austria and Germany was different at the time. In Austria, there was a strong desire among many people for reunification, and the Soviet Union saw this as an opportunity to strengthen its ties with the country. In contrast, the situation in Germany was more complex. There was significant opposition to reunification among many Germans, especially in the eastern part of the country, and the Soviet Union was wary of the potential consequences of reuniting the country.
Finally, the Soviet Union was concerned about the potential impact of a reunified Germany on European politics and security. The Soviet Union was a major player in European politics at the time, and many Soviet officials believed that a reunified Germany would be a threat to Soviet interests and could destabilize the region. This concern likely played a role in the Soviet Union’s decision to allow for Austrian reunification but not German reunification.
Probably due to the whole starting 2 world wars within 25 years thing…
Kinda lost a bit of trust there.
What makes a man turn neutral Kif?
The USSR had to ensure Germany as a whole did not become a NATO member.
Due to the geography of Eastern Europe, an attack through the eastern plains of Germany would have been one of the most likely courses of war – Austrias location and geography was a non-threat in that regard
Ooo something I actually know about! Rudyivebeenwaitingforthismomentmywholelife.gif
1. Stalin died in 1953;
2. The Soviets got all they could out of the Austrian oil fields by that point so in a great historical irony, the Soviets’ lack of a profitable enterprise made them more willing to let their occupation zone go;
3. Austrian politicians insisted on a unified Austria, they were willing to declare neutrality in order to achieve this goal.
Like everyone has said the 4 powers (US, UK, France, and USSR) each had occupation zones in Austria and Vienna (the Innere Stadt 1st district in Vienna was jointly occupied with a rotating lead).
The Austrian communist party did not do well in post -war elections (can’t remember what year, maybe 1948?), and the Austrian socialists were not as Soviet aligned as German socialists. When West Germany and East Germany each declared their own governments it scared the bejesus out of the other side. When West Germany joined NATO in 1955, it was the last straw for the Soviets to want to make sure a “West Austria” didn’t joint NATO and the best offer was for the four powers to withdraw (no one liked it, but they did like the other side withdrawing) and for Austria to declare “permanent neutrality.”
The Austrian state treaty outlining the withdrawal and neutrality was signed at the Belvedere palace on 15. May 1955, and 90-days later on 26. October 1955, the last foreign troops withdrew and 26. October became a national holiday.
I’m pretty sure that the simple essay answer is that Germany was considered the aggressor in both WWI and WWII, and keeping Germany divided was a very important treaty consideration. But probably the biggest reason is that the U.S. and U.K. practically raced the Red Army to Berlin to assure that the Soviets would not attempt to place all of Germany under the Soviet sphere of influence. That just wasn’t a concern for Austria, as most or all of its Eastern neighbors wound up behind the “Iron Curtain.”
Edit: And to be clear, the allies really didn’t intend to keep Germany divided based upon the allied zones. The problem was Joe Stalin wasn’t giving back sh-t where his troops were in place.
One thing that hasn’t come up…would West Austria and East Austria even be viable independent countries? They’d be very small.
Apparently there were concerns Austria’s post-1918/current borders wouldn’t be economically viable, much less cutting it in half.
Throughout history,back to the Roman days. Germans were fvcking shit up . World wars 1 n 2 were just industrialized and mechanized. The romans owned everything except the germanic tribes.
It was thought to be a good idea to break them up. At least there wasn’t much argument against the idea.
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