ABSTRACT
In the case of Austria, this chapter assesses two very different situations of ‘Embassies in Crisis’: collapse of the state and blockade by a hostile environment. The first part examines the ways Austrian diplomatic representatives dealt with Austria’s annexation in 1938. Witnessing the end of the own fatherland opens the stage for a wide range of possible reactions for the Legates: heroic acts of resistance, resignation or collaboration with the new regime – be it for reasons of conviction or careerism. Unfortunately, the first one proved to be the exception rather than the rule. Acts like a refusal to hoist the swastika over Austrian representations show that such actions were possible. However, after the war there was a tendency by many to portray their actions in 1938 in a more patriotic light. The period of the Cold War brought quite different challenges in an ideologically hostile environment. Austrian diplomatic representations not only functioned as sources of information but also had to endure times of literal blockade, and some functionaries paid for their duty in Communist prisons. This part exemplifies the challenges of Austrian diplomatic representations within the framework of Austro-Czechoslovak relations between the immediate post-war era and the invasion of the Warsaw Pact in 1968.
