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
Editors East and Southeast European countries as well as her neutrality has made the “Iron Curtain” more permeable and historical continuity seems to be greater than is generally assumed. Starting out from these considerations, the editors explored the accessibility of archive material, encouraged discussions among colleagues and, eventually, proposed the holding of an international conference on “Austria’s Economic Relations with Central and South-East European Neighbours after the Second World War” which met at the Austrian State Archives in Vienna on 4lh and 5th June 2004. This conference took place almost simultaneously with the enlargement of the European Union eastwards and the contributions to this volume can be regarded as a first attempt to draw attention to the theme. Austria’s distinctive place as a Central-European neutral state in Europe’s history of East-West relations during the Cold War is discussed in the first part of the volume. It emanates not only from the country’s historical bonds and its geographical position but, as Dieter Stiefel emphasizes, also from its post-war polity and economic policies. Thus Austria, due to four-power occupation, experienced concurrently a market system in the West and a Soviet system in the East on its own territory, before gaining independence and neutrality status in 1955. During this period East-West economic relations continued, although hindered by political and economic barriers. In addition, the existence of state ownership of big industrial enterprises and banks in Austria based on the post-war takeover of German property under conditions of a market economy enhanced the possibilities of business ties with the neighbouring states’ centralized socialist planned economies. Dieter Stiefel identifies the specific role of Austria at the interface of East and West. Especially with its changing pattern and volume of trade Austria provides a guide to the periodization of the Cold War. Although the direction of foreign trade turned westwards and although trade with its Eastern European neighbours did not rise to its pre-war level, Austria’s trade volume with central and southeast Europe was the highest among all the neutral European states. This is borne out by the wide-ranging statistical overview of Andreas Resch. Equally, as Andrea Komlosy illustrates, in Austria’s membership in international organizations as the only market economy of the Central-east and Southeast European region economic, financial and trade ties were powerful factors in increasing intertwinement between East and West. During the course of the Cold War Austria stood between the demands of the Marshall Plan and the pressures of the Soviet block. In the end, by throwing open its borders to Hungary, Austria was the mediator in the final rupture of the Iron Curtain. In the course of the historical scenario from allied, particularly partial Soviet occupation to neutrality unconventional methods of trade, business and 8
