ABSTRACT
After the Foreign Ministers' Conference in Moscow in October 1943, the Allied governments had called Austria "the first free country to fall a victim to Hitlerite aggression" and had announced their intention of establishing "a free and independent Austria." Neither the Italian nor the Austrian government were informed of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) decision of 14 September 1945, so in Austria and Italy the battle for South Tyrol continued. A mass demonstration took place in Vienna on 3 October 1945. It concluded with a resolution appealing to the Allies to repair an injustice and return South Tyrol to Austria. Events in Austria developed much faster and more favorably than was expected. These diplomatic activities were accompanied by several demonstrations throughout Austria. The Americans and the French were thinking along the lines of the British and showed no disposition to take a pro-Austrian line.
