Between East and West: The Origins of Post-World War II Austrian Diplomacy during the Early Occupation Period

Austrian postwar diplomacy started in the most treacherous of international environments in the final days of World War II. In 1945/46 Austrian diplomacy was initially totally isolated from and then severely circumscribed by the occupation powers and the Allied Council. The raping and looting of the Red Army throughout Eastern Europe and in Austria has to be seen as taking revenge. The first Western representatives to see Vienna and the surrounding Soviet zone of occupation stayed from 3 to 13 June. While the Soviets had set up shop at the glorious Hotel Imperial, the Western powers had not yet established headquarters in Vienna. The Landerkonferenz was a crucial turning point in the fate of postwar Austria. The rocky origins of postwar Austrian diplomacy and the successful conclusion of the Austrian State Treaty proved David Lloyd George wrong, for biding one’s time—one of the hallmarks of the “old diplomacy” —still could help to produce results.