Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 42. (1992)
BISCHOF, Günter: The Anglo-American Powers and Austrian Neutrality, 1953–1955
Günter Bischof in March 1953. Both placed considerable emphasis on Molotov’s famous speech of February 8, 1955. Bader stressed the importance of Khrushchev’s victory in the struggle for succession in the Kremlin as the source of the dramatic concessions on the Austrian Treaty made by the Soviets in the spring of 1955. Bader anticipated what Vojtech Mastny has shown in much greater detail more recently; Khrushchev’s new policy pointing towards „peaceful coexistence“ superceded Molotov’s Stalinist hard-line policy of not giving up any positions gained in the post-war territorial settlement6). These American authors based their conclusions mainly on the public record7). They recognized, however, the centrality of Austro-Soviet bilateral negotiations following Chancellor Raab’s new policy of friendliness towards the Soviets. In their estimation, Moscow and Vienna were the most important loci of decisionmaking for the successful conclusion of the Austrian State Treaty. What is remarkable about these early monographs is the fact that the Western powers play no role whatsoever; they are not even reported as sceptical about bilateral Austro-Soviet negotiations. Since the 1970’s, Professor Gerald Stourzh of Vienna has set the basic parameters for future debates about the history of the Austrian State Treaty and the origins of the „neutral option“ for the liberation of Austria from the occupation. In a second (1980) and third edition (1985), Stourzh has admirably updated his basic Geschichte des Staatsvertrages 1945-1955, for which he had priviledged access to Austrian records, with the most recently opened archival sources in London, Washington and Paris; and he has augmented these editions with essays on related problems8). Stourzh has shown how Raab, Gruber and Bi- schoff had cultivated informal bilateral contacts with the Soviets since 1952, culminating in Gruber’s contacts with Nehru of India in the summer of 1953. These Austrian leaders regularly tested Soviet views on Austrian neutrality as an option for ridding the country of the occupa6) William Lloyd Stearman The Soviet Union and the Occupation of Austria (An Analysis of Soviet Policy in Austria, 1945-1955) (Bonn-Vienna-Zürich 1962) 129-68; William B. Bader Austria Between East and West 1945-1955 (Stanford 1966) 184-209; Vojtech Mastny Kremlin Politics and the Austrian Settlement in Problems of Communism 31 (1982) 37-51; see also Robert L. Ferring The Austrian State Treaty of 1955 and the Cold War in Western Political Quarterly 21 (1968) 651-67. 7) Mastny cites some records from the Eisenhower Library and has used Schilcher’s edition of Austrian documents. 8) Gerald Stourzh Geschichte des Staatsvertrages 1945-1955: Österreichs Weg zur Neutralität (Graz-Vienna-Cologne 31985) with a complete bibliography on the state treaty issues 326-33; and Towards the Settlement of 1955: The Austrian State Treaty Negotiations and the Origins of Austrian Neutrality in Austrian History Yearbook 17-18 (1981-1982) 174-87. 370
