Who doesn't know the images of the
jubilant, flag-waving crowds in front of the Upper Belvedere Palace and those
of an equally jubilant Leopold Figl among the Allied foreign ministers on the
balcony of the baroque ballroom from 1955? They are firmly anchored in the
collective consciousness of Austrians. But what do the momentous words
"Austria is free" actually mean? Jubilation over the newly won
freedom on the one hand, and variously motivated concerns about the political,
economic, and social consequences on the other. The Allied occupying powers had
become part of everyday Austrian life. The country was divided into zones,
Vienna into sectors. They were a financial burden, but also an important
economic factor; there was fraternisation, but also violent transgressions; no
political decision could be made without their consent; but they were also the
guarantor of Austrian unity and the driving force behind Austria's development
into a self-confident nation. On October 25th, the last Allied soldier officially
left Austrian soil, and Austria was swept up in a celebratory frenzy.
This tour is conceived as a retrospective
look at the end of the occupation and its immediate consequences for Vienna and
its inhabitants, for the cityscape, the economy, and the individual. On our
route between the Upper Belvedere and Heldenplatz, we will visit sites that
played a significant role in Allied postwar history, while also conveying the
atmosphere of 1955 through extensive historical photographs and eyewitness
accounts. |
