Allied Commission for Austria

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The Allied Commission for Austria was established in 1945 after the end of World War II and the collapse of the German Empire . Its seat was in the House of Industry on Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna , the southern part of which was then called Stalinplatz .

prehistory

The main allies of the anti-Hitler coalition , beginning with the Tehran Conference in 1943, met several times at different levels in order to reach an agreement on how to proceed after the victory over the Greater German Reich . The Conference of Casablanca had called for an unconditional surrender and the Conference of Yalta decided to divide it into zones of occupation and to coordinate administration and control by a Central Control Commission .

With regard to Austria , the Allies made the Moscow Declaration at the end of 1943 , according to which they regarded the annexation of 1938 as null and void and supported a free and restored Austria .

After the occupation of Vienna by Soviet soldiers on April 13, 1945, the boards of the (re) established parties SPÖ , ÖVP and KPÖ declared the "Anschluss" null and void on April 27 in a joint proclamation on Austria's independence , citing this declaration formed a provisional state government , which was initially only recognized by the Soviet Union, but not by the other allies.

After the final military collapse of the Greater German Reich and the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on May 8th, the victorious powers officially announced on June 5th with their Berlin declaration that they would take over government and the Allied control procedures there ; for Austria a corresponding agreement on Allied control was signed on July 4th .

First control agreement

In the First Control Agreement of July 4, 1945, the four Allies set up an Allied Commission for Austria. It consisted of the Allied Council , the Executive Committee and each a staff of the occupying powers .

Allied Council

Originally the council was composed of the military (high) commissioners of the occupying powers. The commissioners had to settle matters affecting all the occupied areas together with their respective governments . On the other hand, they had full decision-making powers in their respective occupation zones. A political advisor was at the side of every military commissioner. The council met at least every ten days with a rotating chairmanship. The Allied Council had to see that their governments' plans were implemented across the country.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee consisted of high-ranking military officials who represented their respective commissioners and who monitored the implementation of the resolutions.

Bars

The staffs had different tasks and were divided into areas such as military, naval and aviation affairs, economics, finance, reparations; Handovers and reparations, home affairs, labor, legal issues, prisoners of war, politics and transportation.

tasks

The most important tasks of the Allied Commission for Austria were:

  • ensure compliance with the ceasefire;
  • to ensure separation from the rest of the former Reich territory;
  • to set up a central administration;
  • prepare free elections for a future government;
  • ensure proper administration.

The aim of the first control agreement was to delegate tasks that could be carried out by the Austrian authorities. These were Allied commandants (Commandant) built. The Inter-Allied Command for Vienna was housed in parts of the Palace of Justice until 1953 and then moved to the headquarters of the Allied Commission.

The signatories of the agreement were in London :

Second control agreement

In the second control agreement , which was concluded on June 28, 1946 , the Austrian government and parliament were granted further legislative powers. The Allied Council had only 31 days to veto ordinary laws, and since unanimity was required for any decision by the Council, a law could in fact come into effect with the approval of only one occupying power. The explicit consent of the Allied Council and therefore the consent of all four occupying powers was still required only for constitutional laws. Furthermore, Austria was allowed to conclude bilateral agreements with one occupying power without the consent of the other occupying powers. That was an important point in the current ownership structure of what was once Reich German property. Now it was also allowed to establish diplomatic relations with the member countries of the UN .

The second control agreement was only supposed to be valid for six months, but remained in force until July 27, 1955 (the day the Austrian State Treaty came into effect).

This agreement was signed by the four High Commissioners :

Later the military on the Control Council were replaced by senior civil administration officials. In particular, the high commissioners were gradually converted into embassies (USA 1951, Soviets 1953). The Allied Commission had its last meeting on July 27, 1955.

literature

  • Manfried Rauchsteiner : The special case. The occupation time in Austria 1945–1955 . Published by the Army History Museum, Military Science Institute, Vienna. Styria, Graz [a. a.] 1979, ISBN 3-222-11219-3 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Under Secretary of State , cf. also en: Ronald Ian Campbell
  2. ^ Joseph T. Simon: Eyewitness , 1979, ISBN 3-900 336-016 , pp. 348-352.