Gertrude Enderle-Burcel, Dieter Stiefel, Alice Teichova (Hrsg.): Sonderband 9. „Zarte Bande” – Österreich und die europäischen planwirtschaftlichen Länder / „Delicate Relationships” – Austria and Europe’s Planned Economies (2006)
Introduction
„ZARTE BANDE“. Österreich und die europäischen planwirtschaftlichen Länder “DELICATE RELATIONSHIPS” Austria and Europe’s Planned Economies Editors: Gertrude Enderle-Burcel Austrian State Archives, Vienna, Austria Dieter Stiefel Vienna University, Austria Alice Teichova Girton College - Cambridge University, United Kingdom Introduction The role of Austria in the heart of Europe and at the border line of West and East is of specific historical interest as the only state in Central-East and Southeast Europe with a functioning market economy during the Cold War. Since the opening of the borders to the East in 1989 and particularly since her Eastern neighbours had also become members of the European Union in 2004 Austria has increasingly been seen as part of Central-East and Southeast Europe. During this period economic and social relations became of ever greater significance. This cannot merely be explained by geographical closeness of the successor states to the Habsburg Monarchy but, above all, by the long common history of central and southeast European countries and their political, social and economic relations, which never ceased entirely during the Cold War. So far economic and social historians have turned rather more attention to Austria’s relations with the West than to the significance of economic relations between planned economies of socialist states and market economies of neutral states in Europe during the varying stages of the Cold War. Austria’s geographical proximity, the long common history of CentralMitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs/Sonderband 9 7
