After the
Anschluss in 1938,
Austria had generally been recognized as part of
Nazi Germany. In 1943, however, the
Allies agreed in the
Declaration of Moscow that Austria would instead be regarded as
the first victim of Nazi aggression — without denying Austria's role in Nazi crimes — and treated as a liberated and independent country after the war. In the immediate
aftermath of World War II, the
Allied occupation of Austria started on 27 April 1945 when Austria, under Allied control, claimed independence from
Germany as a result of the
Vienna Offensive. Austria was divided into four zones and jointly occupied by the
United Kingdom, the
Soviet Union, the
United States, and
France.
Vienna was similarly subdivided, but the central district was collectively administered by the
Allied Control Council. Whereas Germany was divided into
East and
West Germany in 1949, Austria remained under joint occupation of the Western Allies and the Soviet Union until 1955; its status became a controversial subject in the
Cold War. First attempts to negotiate a treaty were made by the first post-war government. However, they failed because the Allies wanted to see a
peace treaty with
Germany first. A treaty became less likely with the development of the
Cold War. However, Austria successfully held its part of
Carinthia against the demands of a resurgent
Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, even though the issue of potential reunification with
South Tyrol, annexed by
Italy from
Austria-Hungary in 1919, was not addressed. The climate for negotiations improved with
Joseph Stalin's death in 1953 and the warming of relations known as the
Khrushchev Thaw. Negotiations with the Soviet foreign minister,
Vyacheslav Molotov, secured the breakthrough in February 1955. After Austrian promises of perpetual neutrality, Austria was accorded full independence on 15 May 1955, and the last occupation troops left on 25 October that year. == Important points in the treaty ==