Occupied Vienna

Find out more about Vienna in the years 1945-1955, when the city was occupied by the four victorious Allied powers and divided into four zones. Which victorious power took over which district in Vienna? What took place in Vienna’s city center? Who were the four in the jeep?

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Experience the important moment of the signing of the State Treaty on May 15, 1955. At Timetravel you can see the balcony of Belvedere Palace, where the signed treaty was shown to the cheering crowd. Celebrate this historic moment with us and listen to the famous words of the then Foreign Minister Leopold Figl: “Austria is free!”

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Occupation in Vienna (1945 - 1955)

Vienna looked no different to many other European cities after the Second World War, namely bombed and starved. Initially, only Soviet soldiers were present after the liberation of Vienna; the Western Allies (USA, France and Great Britain) only followed in September 1945.

After the Second World War, Austria was occupied by the four victorious Allied powers from 1945 to 1955. These were Soviet, American, British and French troops who divided Austria into four zones. Vienna was also divided into four sectors, as well as a common inter-allied zone, the 1st district.

Initially, the occupation was characterized by military control. The international patrol consisted of one military policeman from each occupying power and began its work in August 1945. Initially there were three soldiers from the Soviet Union, the USA and Great Britain. The Frenchman only arrived in September 1945.

“The four in the jeep” carried out checks both in the first district and in the rest of Vienna. The American always sat at the wheel (it was an American jeep after all), next to him sat the Briton, behind the driver the Frenchman and next to him the Soviet. In some cases, the position was changed except for the driver.

In the 1950s, the four in the jeep were also the subject of a Swiss film.

The state treaty

The Austrian State Treaty was signed in the Marble Hall of Belvedere Palace on May 15, 1955 , after 10 years of occupation (1945-55) . It concerned the restoration of a free, independent and democratic Austria. Neutrality was an important negotiating criterion. Leopold Figl and Julius Raab were the politicians involved. Leopold Figl, the Foreign Minister at the time, was one of the signatories of the State Treaty, together with the respective Foreign Ministers and High Commissioners of the four occupying powers. Figl is known for his famous words: “Austria is free”.

It was signed by the respective foreign ministers and high commissioners of the victorious powers: Molotov and Ilyichov for the Soviet Union, Macmillan and Wallinger for Great Britain, Dulles and Thompson for the USA and Pinay and Lalouette for France. As Foreign Minister at the time, Leopold Figl signed in green ink .

It is interesting to note that the original of the State Treaty is kept in Moscow and not in Vienna. The document comprises almost 300 pages with translations into Russian, English, French and German. It is kept in the archives of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow. Occasionally the document comes to Austria for exhibitions

The Austrian national holiday October 26

After the State Treaty was signed on May 15, 1955, the agreed period of 90 days began, during which the occupying troops had to leave Austria. The last day was October 25, 1955, and the legend of the last Russian occupying soldier to leave Austria on this day persists to this day. It is much more true that he left the country in September.

The Austrian National Day has been celebrated on October 26 since 1965. On this day in 1955, Austrian neutrality came into force. Since 1967, it has been one of the other public holidays and is work-free.

This day is traditionally celebrated with an armed forces performance show at Vienna’s Heldenplatz. Many public institutions and government buildings open their doors for an open day.

After his father died suddenly of scarlet fever in 1849 at the age of just 45, his son was able to take over his father’s orchestra. It was not until 1852 that Johann Strauss Sohn was entrusted with performing the music at the imperial court. This was later followed by the title of k.k.Hofballmusik-Direktor.

The operetta “Fledermaus” and the “Gypsy Baron” created further hype. As the Waltz King, he was showered with invitations and honors. During the day he composed countless waltzes and operettas and in the evening he played late into the night. He became famous worldwide for the Danube Waltz, which is considered Austria’s secret anthem.

Strauss’ enormous workload took its toll: physical breakdowns necessitated a series of stays at a health resort in the years 1853 – 55. He was inspired in Badgastein and then spent several seasons as a guest in Pavlosk near St. Petersburg, where he was also able to win over the Russian Tsar’s family. It was the performances in Pavlovsk that finally allowed Strauss’s son to step out of his father’s shadow in Vienna.

In 1862, he married Henriette, a former singer seven years his senior, called Jetty, who also became his manager. After she died in 1878, he married the actress and singer Ernestine Dittrich, known as Lili , who was 25 years his junior . However, they soon divorced because of another man. He consoled himself with Adele Strauss, 31 years his junior. In order to be able to marry her, he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism and even left the Austrian state and became a citizen of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

In 1872 he embarked on his longest concert tour, which took him across the Atlantic to the “World Peace Festival” in Boston and on to New York . However, he soon suffered from homesickness and was happy to be able to perform in Vienna again.

He died on June 3, 1899 at the age of 74 as a result of pneumonia. He was married three times and left no children.

His monument in the Stadtpark is one of the most photographed in Vienna and we can visit his grave of honor at the Central Cemetery. His former home on Praterstrasse, where he composed the famous Danube Waltz, can also be visited. There is also an interesting museum about the Strauss dynasty in the 9th district.