Austria The 1955 State Treaty and Austrian Neutrality
The State Treaty of 1955, which ended Austria's
occupation and restored the country's sovereignty, is displayed by
its signatories in Vienna.
Courtesy Embassy of Austria, Washington
A key objective of post-1945 Austrian governments was ending
the Four Power occupation and preventing the permanent division
of Austria. The Allies' greater preoccupation with Germany
delayed formal treaty negotiations with Austria until January
1947. By then, however, the larger strategic issues of the Cold
War overshadowed the negotiations. The Soviet Union dropped its
support for Yugoslav territorial claims against Austria in 1948
when Yugoslavia broke with the Soviet Union, but new issues arose
to block progress toward ending the occupation: the Berlin
blockade of 1948; the founding of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and the division of Germany into two rival
states in 1949; and the start of the Korean War in 1950.
Following Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's death in March 1953,
the Austrian government, headed by the newly elected chancellor,
Julius Raab, sought to break the stalemate by proposing that
Austria promise not to join any military bloc. The Indian
ambassador to Moscow, acting as intermediary for the Austrians,
went further and suggested permanent neutrality as the basis for
a treaty. The Western Allies did not favor this proposal, and the
Soviet Union continued to insist on the priority of a settlement
in Germany.
In late 1954 and early 1955, however, the Western Allies and
the Soviet Union feared that the other side was preparing to
incorporate its respective occupation zones into its military
bloc. In February the Soviet Union unexpectedly signaled its
willingness to settle the Austrian question. In April a
delegation composed of Raab, Figl, Adolf Schärf, and Bruno
Kreisky went to Moscow. Four days of intense negotiations
produced a draft treaty premised on permanent Austrian
neutrality. The Western Allies only grudgingly accepted the draft
for fear that it would be a model for German neutrality. They
particularly objected to a proposed four-power guarantee of
Austrian neutrality, believing that it would provide an
opportunity for Soviet intervention in Austria. Under strong
Western opposition, the Soviet Union dropped the proposal.
On May 15, 1955, the State Treaty was signed. The treaty
forbade unification with Germany or restoration of the Habsburgs
and provided safeguards for Austria's Croat and Slovene
minorities. Austrian neutrality and a ban on foreign military
bases in Austria were later incorporated into the Austrian
constitution by the Law of October 26, 1955. The 40,000 Soviet
troops in Austria were withdrawn by late September. The small
number of Western troops that remained were withdrawn by late
October.
Data as of December 1993
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