The Postwar Occupation of Austria: History Matters (Short Animated Documentary)

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anon
This episode covers the postwar occupation of Austria and how this ten year period affected the country's character and outlook. Life in the country was pretty brutal after the war but after some economic aid and presenting a united front to their occupiers the Austrians were able to negotiate the end of their occupation in 1955. They just can't join Germany again. Ever.

[@CoyotePlayMinecraft]

Never ever ever...EVER unify with Germany? But what if Germany became part of Austria?

[@Simjorfeo]

_Holy Roman Empire intensifies_

[@kgius7434]

Like in the holy roman empire🙌 ever heared of the great austrian solution?

[@Eshanas]

Do it

[@ArstotzkaEmpire]

Benthegamer The Holy Roman Empire.

[@jerryrgzz1571]

Austria anexes germany and moves capital to berlin.. Now about south tyrol...

[@Choppytehbear1337]

The year is 2842 Earth has colonies across dozens of star systems. There are only two nations on Earth. The Terran Union, and Austria.

[@n.l.4626]

Make this Switzerland and you're onto something.

[@srash8854]

**AIEOU intensifies**

[@k4four615]

@@srash8854 what is the AIEOU

[@SoWhat1221]

@@k4four615 John Madden!

[@timomastosalo]

@@n.l.4626 Switzerland joined the year before, but as an autonomous region. The Terran Union agreed: they didn't want to drop their credit rating. They already owe 3 planets worth to the Swiss banks.

[@kalyka98]

Allies: You are being liberated Allies: Please do not resist

[@tryingmybest206]

Soviets: You are being made equal Soviets: please do not resist

[@HighFlyingOwlOfMinerva]

"""""liberated"""""

[@PeoplecallmeLucifer]

@@tryingmybest206 .... same shit different packing XD

[@renategindl9957]

They need some of that freedom and we will take your OIL

[@dobrasilaomundo.8086]

PeopleCallMeLucifer I beg to differ , compare west and eastern Germany , how is that the same shit ?are you dumb ?

[@TheECSH]

It's strange to think that the Habsburg Austria was once a European great power like Britain, France, Russia...etc, and now Austria is just a small landlocked central European country.

[@hlc5410]

The rise and fall of nations. History is abundant with what would seem absurdities to the modern eye.

[@darktronics9901]

Just like how the us use to be the powerful British empire but now is just a weak nation

[@dragoncurveenthusiast]

The thing is, that almost none of the people I know (I should mention I'm from Austria) sheds a tear over this. With my Hungarian friends however, that's a completely different story. There, getting back lost territories is a VERY popular idea and a very sensitive issue. I would really like to understand what made the difference in the perception of our respective "grand" past.

[@dragoncurveenthusiast]

I just remembered that there are some right wing people in the south of Austria which would like to have some territory "back". But in contrast to other right wing ideas, this one is not very common.

[@MRFLOPPYmr]

well at least they didn't try to fuck themselves over deliberately as the brits are currenty doing :D

[@thesupertsar4473]

Not many people even know that Austria was divided. Thanks for helping people figure this out.

[@stefanharing3968]

No proplem

[@fristnamelastname5549]

Austria was divided? You don't say.....

[@thesupertsar4473]

@@fristnamelastname5549 alright, you can't even spell "first" but ok ok Also ya know bragging on the internet about your "intelligence"

[@roamingalone8362]

Tbh, I myself didn't know Austria had been divided, never taught us that in school

[@DouglasMacD]

Yeah not even I knew that. And I am a austrian. Now just 1 question, WHY DID I NOT LEARN THAT IN HISTORY CLASS!?

[@DSgamrz585]

World, to Austria: “How can you base your whole national identity around NOT being the same as your more powerful, nearly identical neighbour?” Canadians: “Uhh...”

[@alLEDP]

belgium to the netherlands: .... the koreas: uhhh the chinas: ....ehhh belarus which in german is LITERALLY called WHITE russians ....

[@Bishop_Heahmund]

Well with Germans and Austrians that's quite easy since for example most german german dialects (especially the northern ones) are very painful for Austrians to hear.

[@hailgiratinathetruegod7564]

@@Bishop_Heahmund they just speak the disgusting bavarian dialect

[@Bishop_Heahmund]

@@hailgiratinathetruegod7564 take that back

[@kr33tz]

@@alLEDP belarus is a different story though. Unlike all the other examples they do have a history unique from russia

[@vcrsalesman2606]

Hanging out with friends: ❌ Watching a video about post WWII Austria: ✅

[@kaderpdi1982]

But you don't have friends

[@Math617261273]

Good thing I have no friends.

[@seneca983]

You should invite your friends to watch a video on post-WWII Austria.

[@seneca983]

@@StimulusShortsYT: If you don't have any friends, you should befriend someone so you could watch videos like this together.

[@seneca983]

@@StimulusShortsYT: Google it! :)

[@thewaterdrop123]

Fun fact. My great grandfather fought on the eastern front and got captured in Breslau by the soviets. After the war they set him free somewhere in Russia and he had to travel back on his own. In Warsaw he got into problems with the locals at the train station because the only clothes he had were his uniform. A soviet officer then came and helped him and after he found out he was Austrian and not German helped him get the correct train to Vienna.

[@lcdream4213]

thats so sweet 🥲

[@charlie8344]

Good to hear he got back to Austria

[@JaCrispy3060]

Wait till he finds out hitler was austrian

[@_Yume_mp]

wdym he found out he was Austrian and not German? Thats like saying he was Bavarian or Swabian and not German. As explained in the video prior to 1945 it was not even a debate that Austrians werent as German as Prussians

[@thewaterdrop123]

@@_Yume_mp Well wrong. 1943 at Yalta it was decided that Austria would be seen as the first victim of Hitler and his wars. Also, Austria was an independent country from Germany before 1938 and was one once again after 1945. The video simplified that pretty massively. Therefore, especially after the war germans and Austrians got treated massively differently.

[@raulfierro9541]

Germany and Austria not being allowed to unify is like when your friends mom won’t let you guys hangout because you always get into trouble

[@Meftu]

Even worse, when your mom doesn't allow you to hang out with your brother!

[@DevanK-rg3td]

>>trouble Trouble being the extermination of minorities

[@Sevofthesands]

@@DevanK-rg3td boyz will be boyz Ja?

[@isaacw1752]

‘trouble’ being the genocide of millions of innocent people

[@thunderbird1921]

I know this may sound like a weird question, but is Austria forbidden to ever reunite with Hungary should they ever desire to (and sort of rebuild the old empire)?

[@Koellenburg]

0:43 .. fun fakt. UDSSR really took all industrial parts of austrias steel industry ... but that forced rebuilding and 10 years later austrian steel mills had one of the most advanced equipment of the world :)

[@lapisblaze6566]

What is a “fakt”? And what is the “UDSSR”?

[@andreasegger4277]

@@lapisblaze6566 fact Soviet Russia

[@lapisblaze6566]

The Soviet Badger That’s not even how the subreddit works

[@beststuff_intown6765]

Le Daverix My guess is that you are German but barely speak English?

[@aForkfulOfGold]

@@lapisblaze6566 "Fakt" is the german spelling of "fact". Must have been an oversight by Le Daverix "UdSSR" or non-abbreviated "Union der Sozialistischen Sowjetrepubliken" was the German name for the Soviet Union, it translates to "Union of the Socialist Soviet Republics".

[@MTTT1234]

A thing that could be noted here, is that the first district of Vienna was occupied by all four allied powers together. Much like Berlin, Vienna was split up in a similar fashion, but they couldn't decide which nation should control the first district, as many major ministries and institutions were located there. So they came up with the agreement that neither should and instead all should together, most visibly seen by the 'Four men in the jeep' . Each allied patrol on the streets consisted of a military vehicle, mostly a Jeep, having four soldiers in it, one of each occupying power. Edit 5. June 2019: Holy shit, I did not expect so many upvotes on such an explanation!

[@pockyrice7418]

They must have really interesting conversations.

[@glorytotheaprdeathtotheufl7917]

@@pockyrice7418 probably mostly the Brits and the Americans spoke with each other tough because languages

[@quasar4780]

@@pockyrice7418 You totally just read my thoughts xD

[@JonatasAdoM]

wow.

[@hendrikdependrik1891]

@@glorytotheaprdeathtotheufl7917 Well, the French and the Russians were speaking to each other as well. You know, they both like revolutions and centralised power.

[@romulusnuma116]

I don't know why but Austria never being allowed to join with Germany is very funny to me

[@ryanhughes6405]

Ikr

[@hailgiratinathetruegod7564]

They are an bad influence for us. Look at history

[@lucahindelang5237]

@@hailgiratinathetruegod7564 genau

[@user-gi7cn7ol7w]

Hail Giratina The true god Okay who‘s bad for who?

[@cyrusthegreat1893]

Because the Western Allies didn’t want to see a powerful Greater Germany in Central Europe.

[@DirkusTurkess]

Found a massive loophole, AUSTRIA ANNEXES GERMANY!

[@TheLocalLt]

Hank Scorpio Austria ruled most of Germany through the Holy Roman Empire and German Confederation until 1867. Now Austria is basically another Swiss

[@Intreductor]

Well, Austria was actively preventing Germany to unite until Bismarck.

[@suryasishtalukdar210]

@@TheLocalLt 1867???

[@TheLocalLt]

@@suryasishtalukdar210 yeah in 1867 Germany/Austria went to war with Prussia but numerous German states broke away and joined Prussia. Later in 1871 the rest, which became defacto independent for 4 years, joined as well to form the new Germany under Prussia. In the decades preceding 1867, Prussia was rather like Austria or Switzerland are now, with the exception that it was warlike. Upon taking over Germany it centralized and more importantly nationalized the country to a far greater extent than the Austrians or their predecessors had, and this is of course still the Germany we have today, though without Prussia itself due to territorial losses in battle

[@KAMiKAZOW]

That's actually true. The Austrian constitution says that Austria must remain independent but that's it (unless I've missed something last I've had a look at it). As someone living in Germany (although not of German heritage, so that might cloud my judgement), I wouldn't mind having Vienna as capital instead of Berlin.

[@simbachvazo6530]

The amount of stressing that Austria can never unite with Germany is very ominous.

[@dontbeasadsoulja]

but never say never.

[@borni8925]

@@dontbeasadsoulja as a Austrian, we don't want to unite wit the Germans.

[@bodmon]

@@dontbeasadsouljadon’t think you understand the original comment…

[@alexschmidt443]

German Jokes time: Austria 1938 Journalist: ''So how do you feel about Adolf Hitler?'' Austrian: ''He's a great dude! Finally someone unites German People!'' Austria 1945 Journalist: ''So how do you feel about Adolf Hitler?'' Same Austrian: ''Adolf Hitler? Never heard of him.''

[@peterg.8941]

😅

[@TheOmegaXicor]

sadly there were a bunch of British, French and Americans who answered the same way to both questionnaires :/

[@alexschmidt443]

@@TheOmegaXicor Oi. Many Americans were always pro German because the northern half of the US is pretty much made out of Germans.

[@TheOmegaXicor]

@@alexschmidt443 1) I'm not sure I know what you mean by "made out of germans" and 2) "Many" and "a bunch" are not mutually exclusive, there were Nazi supporters in Britain, France and American during the build up to WW2

[@emilioo.7972]

@@TheOmegaXicor i think he means that 52% of US americans have german roots

[@vadersfist1775]

Fun fact: It was actually quite hard for Austria to join the EU because of the state treaty, as being in the same union as Germany may have violated the treaty

[@fusel5883]

There’s a myth here in Austria that the Russians left because our Delegation managed to outdrink the soviets so we got a favourable deal

[@thejulinks]

"Jetzt no die Reblaus, dann werdn's waach!"

[@salahabdalla368]

Most Russian thing I have ever heard

[@TheFeldhamster]

Lol, never heard of that. Was ham unsre gmacht, vurher a Stözn als Unterlag gessn?

[@JustAPintOfMilk]

oida dea woa guad😂

[@NomenFugazi]

Well,exactly,that’s a myth.I heard it too when I lived there in the fifties and sixties;that Raab drunk them under the table.The fact is that the directives came from Moscow,decisions of that nature aren’t made during drinking contests.

[@TheAlpha38]

Austrians be like "we are totzally not ze germanz..."

[@MobPsycho-lf4lc]

Allies and commies: *exist* Austrians: "wie are not ze germans, zerefor you müssen leave ziz beauiful country"

[@Haydn8oR]

Pretty much xD

[@sagichnicht6748]

The Austrian English accent is quite distinct form German English accent. They do share some obvious features but just like Austrian German and German German they do sound quite different nonetheless.

[@derljackson5365]

@@sagichnicht6748 There exist no German German Dialekt

[@derljackson5365]

@@sagichnicht6748 There exist no German German Dialekt

[@ErikHare]

Overall, the withdrawal of the Soviets from Austria was a missed opportunity. Imagine JFK going to Vienna and proclaiming, "Ich bin ein Wiener." (It's better than a pastry)

[@james_baker]

Erik Hare thank you.

[@ruwiki]

😂😂

[@alexmerrill7231]

*this is the best comment i have ever seen on KZbin. bravo to you sir* 😂 😂 😂

[@PANZERFAUST90]

lol I prefer jelly doughnuts 🍩

[@EdgyMemer_]

Lmao

[@OneJazzKid]

Most famous Austrians: Beethoven and Princess Sissy, both were German. Most famous German: Hitler, he was Austrian.

[@MoltonBlaze]

OneJazzKid Mozart?

[@OneJazzKid]

@@MoltonBlaze Yes...but 1. doesn't help my joke^^ 2. was a lucky fucker in general (he and 1 girl survived out of 7(?) children) 3. after he hit a rough spot and became poor, among other things he worked as a "freelance artist" in Vienna. He Hit..I mean puh, lucky he was only Chancellor of the Orchestra:D but most importantly: 4. I never thought I would answer a Fiora, this cancer champ. XxFioraMaster18 ? Have a nice day Sir😉

[@gavinoaw]

Austria's biggest achievement was to make the world believe Beethoven was Austrian, and Hitler German ;)

[@odooconnor6229]

@@gavinoaw Well, thats probably because Beethoven wrote all the good stuff in Austria, and Hitler wasn´t liked in Austria because he was a lousy painter, also he only got great in Germany.

[@derlinksfaschist8136]

It doesn't matter if he was Austrian or not. Austrians were always german.

[@tomasribeiro8020]

Western and Eastern powers after WW2: you are Austrian. Austrians: Who says I'm Austrian? Western and Eastern powers: You are Austrian.

[@PolishBehemoth]

100% False, and NOT what the austrian people or government said.

[@stefanreiterer6152]

I find it funny that so many people think that Austrian identity was something created after WWII, although it existed far earlier. After the split from the HRE an Austrian identity formed and there were 2 primary groups: Those who saw them as special kind of Germans and the others who saw being Austrian as being part of a multinational club together with Hungarians and Slavs. The time before the Anschluss saw a rise of the first group, also largely of the fact that Austria was economically f*cked after WWI while after WWII a revival of the second identity started again.

[@chakraborty1989]

More like , "why are you Austrian ?"

[@Csakbetksszmok]

A nation started after Roumania or Slovakia makes it even more funny : )

[@mjb4340]

So my family history is full of shit when they identified as Austrians over 100 years back? Why are so many people making history up about Austria? We aren't Germans and we don't want to be, the Anschluss wasn't that fair, and beeing German meant something different in the past. Please stop all the made up crap and saying we are Germans or want to be unified with them: OIDA N E I N!

[@SvrWxArchive1807]

I'd like to see a longer post-Habsburg history of Austria as well. Very interesting stuff!!

[@SvrWxArchive1807]

@theLundLs My man Karl can come in now sweet

[@typiclyjohny5114]

@@SvrWxArchive1807 even iam monarchist i would not like Karl 2nd as President, he is a paneuropean

[@frekcho850]

@@typiclyjohny5114 yes I think otto was blinded and couldn't see the consequences of a European union, I think some other member of the house would be much more suited to the throne than Karl or his brother, or unless they snap out of it.

[@mdza]

The Habsburgs were denied to live in Austria unless they revoked of their family and proclaimed publicly that they are citizens of republic of Austria or something like that. There was a case of some member of the family who fled to Belgium but wanted to move back to Austria and couldn’t do it because of this law. So he applied to the European Commission that his right of freedom of movement (the primary law of EU) was forbidden in Austria, and Austria had to change their constitution because of this

[@josl1694]

@Emperor AlHasan yeah like hundreds of them

[@leithesocialistyuricon8981]

Well a good loophole is Austria Annexing Germany... *Anschluss achieved! *

[@mmouse1886]

Reverse Anschluss

[@mr.magnificent3237]

@@mmouse1886 Ssulhcsna

[@OstanAbadeh]

another loophole: the complete disintegration of germany into each of its states, then we'd have 17 mini german states (including austria)..... now it's time for them all to unifiy :)

[@maslauer6411]

Holy Roman Empire noises intesify

[@jokerofmorocco]

Well the first Anschluss put an Austrian in charge of Germany

[@noHarmony1]

Nice vid, love to see something about my country. Small nitpick, it´s actually SPÖ, SPD is the German version. Also as a bonus, wanna hear an Austrian joke? Why is our flag red-white-red? Every red stripe stands for starting a world war. Every blue for winning one. And the white one is a bonus for blaming Germany XD

[@giovanniacuto2688]

My favorite Austrian joke "Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft".

[@cantdebunkthetruth]

This is actually damn hilarious and deserves far more upvotes.

[@Meftu]

@@giovanniacuto2688 Rinderkennzeichnungsfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz

[@julian-0712]

not very funny since it's kinda wrong

[@noHarmony1]

@@julian-0712 Its ok if its not funny to you, but Im curious why you think its wrong? (apart from being hyperbally since its a joke oc)

[@J_Gamer_Mapping]

Interesting that there was a chance for south tyrol to be austrian again after WW1.

[@HistoryMatters]

It's referred to as 'the 30 Second decision' because Britain was adamant it remain with Italy. Lest they turn to Communism.

[@kostam.1113]

Not to mention that Allies never forgot that Italy fought in WW1 on their side so they refused to punish them too much.

[@francoandres3850]

@@kostam.1113 They fought in their side during WW2 too and even opposed Germany during the early 30s, supporting Austria instead.

[@francoandres3850]

@Fabian KirchgessnerYeah, they approached Hitler and Germany after invading Ethiopia.

[@Torus2112]

@@kostam.1113 They also probably remembered that resentment over Italy being denied the territorial gains they were promised after WW1 contributed to Mussolini gaining power.

[@alexs.7915]

You didn't mention one of the most important factors that allowed Austria to not get split up like Germany. They promised to the Soviet Union that they will create a state similar to Switzerland, not only neutral but also and most importantly a safe habor for money with a strict bank secrecy. The problem with this is that since it became neutral, it never happened a denazification in the same fashion as in Germany. Sure the party was forbidden, but there weren't huge compaigns to eleminate the nazi ideas from people's minds. And despite the promises, Austria was actually never really neutral between west and east, but always favored the west. This is not a hate comment at all, but i am Austrian and in school half of our history lessons were only about the second world war, therefore i heard these things endless times and wanted to add this information.

[@jic1]

But that's just like Sweden and Switzerland, both of whom were neutral, but both of whom were clearly friendlier to the west and focused their militaries towards defending themselves against the Soviets. That doesn't mean that they weren't really neutral, just that it was obvious to them that the Soviets were their main threat.

[@alexs.7915]

@@jic1 Yes, but in this specific case, you can't really compare since Sweden and Switzerland weren't actively involved in WWII. Austria instead fighted actively on Germany's side. But I mentioned that because it was actually thanks to the Soviets that Austria became neutral and not split up, not thanks to the US. Therefore it was kind of a little betrayal to the USSR.

[@jic1]

@@alexs.7915 Arguably, Switzerland and Sweden were both a little more friendly toward the Axis than the Allies in WWII (I'm not really blaming them for that, they didn't have much choice). But being neutral doesn't mean that you consider the actions of all powers to be equal, and the idea that Austria somehow owed the Soviets loyalty for doing them the 'favor' of not co-opting half their country strikes me as absurd.

[@alexs.7915]

@@jic1 I told you like we learned at school in Austria and how it's written in Austrian history books. It is not said that it was a bad thing to do so, but that they never fulfilled their promises to the Soviets and therefore kind of betrayed them.

[@aytacdenizacar7703]

@@jic1 Switzerland and Sweden were not "militarily" allied with Germany and that's simply because they did not have any expansional interests/claims over their neighbors but they supported Germany in every other way possible. If that doesn't make them Allies I don't know wtf does. Btw they both send volunteers to Germany. Hitler spared both of them because of this. Turkey (that's also where i'm from) had more neutral (i also don't understand wtf that means) stance in WW2 mostly because of the lucky geopolitical position but even Turkey were not entirely neutral. We were simply undecided about which side we should take in the war and played on both sides. If Hitler had the resources to continue the war for 4-5 years, we would have been forced to join Axis.

[@randombullshitwithhalfachr774]

One thing I found interesting was not just the split of Vienna, but also Steyr. The divide between the allied sides and the communist side was a river that flowed through Steyr. My grandmother lived in Steyr at this point and had to cross the border 5 times to get to work. Of course, Vienna and Berlin were rather bad but nobody ever even thinks about Steyr when they think of WWII partitioned cities.

[@ixlnxs]

😎 Gorizia, Świnoujście, Frankfurt am Oder, Narva, Nicosia and Jerusalem have entered the chat. 🤩

[@rizzochuenringe669]

Linz was devided as well. The Northern part (across the Danube) was occupied by the Russians, the Southern part by the Americans.

[@jansiwicki5300]

Last time I was this early, Anschluss was just happening

[@sherrykda3511]

Every time I hear Südtirol I’m crying inside

[@Data_13_01]

same same its sooo bs

[@fifiper556]

It s ours, go cry Somewhere else

[@CO84trucker]

Südtirol ist nicht Italien!

[@Mike25654]

@@fifiper556 We'll see 'bout that...

[@Mike25654]

@@fifiper556 It never was a part of Italy and never will be. No matter how much money you send there trying to buy them. (Sending money and tax reliefs to the already wealthy north while the Italian South is literally a second world county is pretty disgusting as well, but that's just how you guys are apparently.) Also as an Italian I would be very careful talking about facism....

[@aidanforcetwo3592]

Soo, basically Austria was in an identity crisis?

[@maxmustermann4149]

Still is. The national identity is still a complicated thing. We now have a party in government that is pro German nationalism, but a reunification won't be a thing in the near future, because Germany messes itself up, due to politicians like Merkel.

[@kgius7434]

@@maxmustermann4149 and austria threw german nationalists and kurz

[@suprememax4948]

Max Mustermann completely wrong. Many things can be said about the FPÖ but it definitely isn’t pro Germany’s all (anymore). If anything, it’s quite nationalistic

[@theodorkorner1497]

@@maxmustermann4149 *Deutschösterreich, du herrliches Land intensifies*

[@walterposch3460]

Yes and in a severe one but I do not think we still are

[@killr1234567]

Ahhh...austrians, The none German Germans

[@A_annoying_rodent]

Then who are the germans, german germans?

[@russianpwnage]

@@A_annoying_rodent ze germans

[@killr1234567]

niko 2064 wait... *THATS NOT HOW IT WORKS*

[@A_annoying_rodent]

@@killr1234567 it does *IN GERMANY!*

[@kgius7434]

We are also we were rather non slavic slaws

[@nikolaytsankov9066]

0:46 Why is Stalin younger than he is on his portrait on the wall....

[@francoandres3850]

That's just him when angry

[@magnuspeacock5857]

Time dilation or something

[@mirzaahmed6589]

@@francoandres3850 This made his father very angry, who punished him severely.

[@francoandres3850]

Y'know what they say, being angry all the time makes you age faster

[@lukeshaul820]

@@francoandres3850 I don't think there is actually a medical basis for this opinion. Anger might contribute to some diseases but not aging.

[@Scarabo23]

The whole "first victim" stuff could have used a few more explanatory sentences IMO (pointing out that this was a political move as well, very much untrue, and a huge issue in Austria's relationship with the past)

[@andreialexandrunichiforel]

It was a coping mechanism and a way to ensure a future ally for NATO since it was still unclear how things were going to go with Germany. Austria was very much not a victim but a perpetrator hand in hand with the rest of Germany. Them denying even being involved is more so a source of concern then what the Germans did tbh, going into overdrive riding themselves of any form of national pride, nurturing themselves so to speak.

[@watching99134]

Especially in light of the fact of how statistically overrrepresented Austrians were in the Third Reich's administration/Holocaust.

[@Henning_Rech]

Austria was a fascist dictatorship (Mussolini style) since 1934. So just one replaced by a different one in 1938, both with a dictator born in Austria.

[@scratchy996]

Austria and Italy managed to get away clean after the whole ww2 debacle.

[@Just_Adrian_]

I'm austrian and it's so strange that a lot of people never even knew we were split like germany for a time. I guess it's because we were for a much shorter time period. One thing you might have forgotten about or just not mentioned is that the death of Stalin actually contributed a lot to austrian independence, as right when he died the austrians starting to put more pressure on getting their treaty to have all foreign soldiers out of the country

[@F0UR3V3R]

I feel that says a lot about Stalins legacy

[@michaelbayer5094]

@@F0UR3V3R After Stalin died, the new leadership tried a softer touch (Austria, Korea). Didn't last long.

[@bbrdbr]

The year is 2500 The entire world has now been united into one state Austria, still independent since they can’t unite with Germany: Guess I’ll (not) die

[@ortherner]

lol

[@orpheonkatakrosmortarchoft4332]

Austria is such a beautiful country.

[@MichaelSidneyTimpson]

Notably, one of the victims of post-war occupation was famous composer Anton Webern. He went out on his porch in Vienna to light a cigar, and an American soldier (whom thought he was a sniper) shot and killed him. (The soldier notably later died of alcoholism due to the remorse of this accident.)

[@yourpalharvey]

The version of this that I heard (no idea if its right) was that he stepped out for a smoke and was shot for violating curfew

[@basillah7650]

@@yourpalharvey correct the gun happy US soldier only had remorse for being demoted since wanted to climb the ranks

[@Svalbaz]

I’m so happy you’re releasing more and more content. Keep up the good work!

[@theRecOiil]

this is one of the few post WWII scenarios I didn't know much about, great video. Love that this is the new thing you can do in the new format. really helpful and insightful

[@naruciakk]

It's funny thing, because Austria and West Berlin were only two Western territories that people behind the Iron Curtain (or at least people with the Polish passport) could visit without a visa.

[@bassvillain]

Always excited for Austria. On length: I love this channel because every video is as long as it needs to be. Long is always great, but I appreciate your all-killer-no-filler style.

[@perfectplayingplaids]

God I just wanna say I LOVE the way you start every single one of your videos with the year. It really helps me Invision the time and place that you're talking about instead of being confused the whole time like I am with *other* channels

[@brosmeister09]

Yay another video about austria, already waiting for the next one. Thank you for all the work and the hudge ammout of videos that you made.

[@omfgspoon7]

These short history summaries are fucking fantastic! Keep making more of them and thanks for the amazing content!

[@porky2673]

even you haven't posted a full 10 minute video. still any video makes me happy.

[@TheEmm4lpha]

A correction: You spoke of South Tyrol, but the graphics showed the modern day region of Trentino-Alto Adige, the latter (the northern part) is South Tyrol, while the former was not part of Tyrol, and has been majority Italian for a long time, that was the reason Italy wanted the area prior to WW1, then South Tyrol was also taken for strategic reasons.

[@kgius7434]

But it was still a part of tyrol

[@TheEmm4lpha]

@@kgius7434 I believe it was part of Tyrol for slightly more than a century, from when it was annexed by Austria, to when it was taken by Italy. Regardless, it wasn't really considered to be give the Trentino to Austria. And Trentino is not considered part of South Tyrol, as that's generally identified with the area of the Autonomous Province of Bozen.

[@andyigwe7119]

I consider myself a history aficionado but always learn a lot from your videos. Excellent channel

[@dylanf3108]

Glad to see you talking about this it’s rarely ever talked about.

[@KnightSlasher]

But you gotta admit that moustache is pretty cool

[@kingusernamelxixthemagnifi3488]

Great facial hair ended with the world wars.

[@JonatasAdoM]

The war to end all mustaches.

[@PANZERFAUST90]

I see you're a man of culture mustache culture

[@JamieClarkson]

Love these short history videos ❤️

[@myaustrianexperience8732]

Great video all packed under 3 mintues! You couldn't have said it better.

[@enrico6176]

1:08 South Tirol is only the northern part. The south, called Trentino, is ethnically Italian and would likely not switch.

[@stevep5408]

My father had been in the army for 2 years before landing in southern France and fighting into Germany. He was on occupation duty into 1946.

[@sunburstshredder]

Nice work. I'd like to see one about Finland in the Cold War since it was also a nonaligned state.

[@RodolfoGaming]

Congrats on 300k just found this channel and i'm loving it! Catching up at the moment

[@Jagzeplin]

just wanna say how much i love this channel. its true. history really does matter

[@alevien9099]

Oh man, u missed out on THE most famous 3 words in Austria when talking about the state treaty: Österreich ist Frei

[@kalyka98]

Well free but not free to join germany

[@glorytotheaprdeathtotheufl7917]

@@kalyka98 well that's something we can live with

[@FalkenThunder]

@Fabian Kirchgessner wut? Ever heard of the austrian empire?

[@pluppy1301]

@Fabian Kirchgessner Well is it the 1920s right now? I don't think so.

[@pluppy1301]

@Fabian Kirchgessner What do you mean? You are confusing me.

[@seskal8595]

As an austrian I'm incredibly glad our occupation didn't go like in Germany and also that we're a neutral country.

[@aaronmarks9366]

You guys should go all Seven Years' War and ally with France

[@seskal8595]

@Judean People's Front But still neutrality. I wouldn't want it any other way

[@ThePipton]

You aren't neutral but part of the EU which has a defensive alliance clause

[@seskal8595]

@@ThePipton The CSDP isn't a normal military alliance; we're still neutral. One of Austrias duties in exchange for independence is peacekeeping, both diplomatic and through deploying troops like the UN blue helmets or the CSDP's peacekeeping forces. However we're not allowed to join a war and/or actively assist one of the belligerents like other alliances like NATO would require. Edit: choice of words

[@gery8218]

@@ThePipton We are neutral;)

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff!!!

[@mauricedavis2160]

Thank you for your channel, it's awesome!!!🙏👍😷

[@MrMiibez]

Loving the videos, my guy! But is there going to be some of those good ol' 10 minute videos anymore?

[@davidwhite533]

An officer in the Austrian military once told me that it was an open secret that the only reason the Russians agreed to get out was that they got them drunk at dinner and signed the agreement.

[@stump1897]

I was just starting to research this. Saved me some time.

[@bsib5021]

I had no idea this happen, thanks for the lesson. Also, I had thought Tirol was given to Italy as they switched sides.

[@MichaelVereno]

From an Austrian: A minor correction - Leopold Figl's last name is pronounced "Feegle". Otherwise, a great video 🙂

[@nachofish4477]

and Austria is pronouced "Österreich"

[@moritamikamikara3879]

@@nachofish4477 We've called it by this butchered name long enough, calling it by it's real name would just confuse people. And just to make it worse. If we were to translate that name and make it "East kingdom/empire" people would start calling it East Germany and then old people who remember when east germany was a thing will tell you "There is no east Germany anymore" So I guess we just kinda gotta stick with this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@davidsummers4287]

Finally, a video that doesn't mention the kangaroos. Thank you.

[@michaelweeks9317]

Most informative.Bravo!

[@Sly88Frye]

I don't even remember studying this in school at all so I really appreciate this video so much

[@horsfred]

There’s a mystery novel by Graeme Greene called ‘The Third Man’ set in occupied Vienna. Very cool, deals a lot with the politics of the four different occupation zones

[@miche9611]

Great video, with a little mistake: South Tyrol is shown to include Trento, which is not part of that territory.

[@coastsouljah]

These really are excellent

[@CEKROM]

1:15 South Tyrol is like Austria =D

[@kawave420]

yes

[@Bluntzngreschtl]

Well researched! greetings from an austrian history student!

[@tosche774]

00:20 min Thats the flag of Peru. The austrian flag has all stripes horizontally.

[@AllMnM]

shoutout from innsbruck! very interesting

[@justanotherguy2824]

The Western occupation forces were highly favoured in Austria compared to the Soviets. The allies had negotiated and defined the occupation borders in advance, and when the war ended, some areas happened to be under the wrong occupation force. My mother in law was a little girl back then, living in an area that was assigned to the British, but actually it was the Red army which drove the German army out of this region. So initially "die Russen" (the Russians) were in charge and until today I hear stories about their bad behaviour and crimes, despite this period being very short (some weeks?). They looted, often for alcohol to get drunk again, and harrassed women. One time my mother in law had to flee in the middle of the night, because some soldiers were approaching their farm suspiciously searching for women and her mother feared the worst and ran away with her daughter to hide in a covert hut for the rest of the night. On the day the Britsh army was to take over the grandmother of my wife made a bouquet of flowers, gave it to her daughter, sent her to the street where the incoming British military convoy was expected, and instructed her to give the flowers to a British soldier. Many more people were waiting there to welcome the British army, and when the convoy arrived my mother in law held her bouquet high in the air and a soldier on a passing by vehicle took it. I never heard bad stories about the occupation forces in the British zone or in the French zone where my parents grew up back then.

[@ForOne814]

The Austrians never burned British villages. The Soviets behaved like literal saints towards the Nazi populations if you consider what those did to them.

[@looinrims]

Russians have this problem of mass rape Literally haven’t invaded a country and not have done it, not sure why they can’t figure it out

[@looinrims]

@@ForOne814’the rape of Eastern Europe’ has a word or two about that

[@ForOne814]

@@looinrims I wish Western propaganda was true. Like, in general. It's not.

[@looinrims]

@@ForOne814 Imagine saying the rape of Eastern Europe is ‘propaganda’ you can’t be serious

[@monkeyrealms6686]

I am Czech but I have Austrian relatives, and they were expelled to Lower Austria in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. It was only later that the state in Czechoslovakia managed to do an orderly transfer of the population.

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

Thanks for doing this. Everyone ignores Austria.

[@PANZERFAUST90]

No they have all those kangaroos and the Outback. We know them.

[@austriaskangaroo2144]

@@PANZERFAUST90MY NAME😂🍻

[@PANZERFAUST90]

@@austriaskangaroo2144 rofl xD

[@user-nu6ie7ti7g]

Autria should have the right joining Germany. Just as Lexembourg should be part of Germnay. The Language unitrs us

[@user-nu6ie7ti7g]

@@austriaskangaroo2144 why?! It doesnt make sense....I guess you woul like to if there would not be the EU. Wir sind ein Volk. Das Video lehrt doch das eure Seperation nur den beiden Weltkriegen und externer Unterdrückung seitens der Siegermächte einer Deutsch-Deutschen Angelegenheit geschuldet ist.

[@jeremybertz796]

Because of this video I got a final jeopardy question right. Thanks!

[@xxdomixx1085]

Even though we don't want to become part of Germany or the NATO, in 2018 the Austrian supreme court ruled, that the "Anschlussverbot" and "Neutralitätsgesetz" (Neutrality-law). Would end in 2045, because 100 years after a treaty was made, either a new treaty has to be made or it is over.

[@CO84trucker]

My Austrian born father and his family fled Vienna after the war to get away from Soviet occupation and because he always said that the cities had bread lines but the countryside had all the food. Him and his family eventually relocated to Linz am Donau which was USA occupied south of the Danube and Soviets to the north (Urfahr). There were a lot of rumors of Soviet troops being illiterate so the locals would present their paperwork upside down to the Soviet checkpoint guards!

[@nightazday7988]

Austrians are Austrians Russia: OR ELSE

[@rogerbak]

@0:38 this fact is mind blowing !!!

[@extracreditproductions1697]

I love these vids.

[@dogestoevsky2853]

My favorite part was Stalin holding the "Take their stuff" sign. 😆

[@RandomDude-bo1lg]

As an Austrian I'm just so glad and happy that we don't live in a world without zinc...

[@fridgoltsfarb7206]

I love this channel

[@BoyanTrenchev]

3:15 - gorgus, beautiful I love it.

[@phelyxz]

"...having found themselves thoroughly anschlussed..." ^^ awesome

[@Stamboul]

"South Tyrol" on the map is the part of Tyrol that Italy annexed after the breakup of Austria-Hungary. However, the term "South Tyrol" following the partition was generally applied to the northern part of that region - what in 1914 would have been called "central Tyrol" - because it was there that ethnic Germans were a majority. The southern part of the region, Trentino, had an ethnic Italian majority, so there wasn't much discussion of returning it to Austria.

[@iagosevatar4865]

Very instructive

[@TVFortuna]

Great video as always, can't wait for the next!

[@nikolaihill7364]

Wow, I can't believe how many people used to use signs to communicate...crazy stuff.

[@kaeso101]

Austria really has an interesting history

[@lamolambda8349]

You thougt germans were pervs you ain't seen Austrians yet

[@TheDarthbinky]

No joke. Check out the Fritzl case sometime!

[@gery8218]

@@TheDarthbinky dude demons like him sadly exist everywhere in the world, it's got nothing to do with Austria in particular

[@keinname629]

Every European country has an interesting history. Europe is the "mother of history" (except Mesopotamia, India, Africa, China, ...).

[@DoctaChimp]

Great video

[@Debre.]

0:21 What does Peru have to do with this?

[@tristanfour6233]

I hate it when they get the flags wrong.

[@kingofrivia1248]

South Tyrol being a part of italy is just sad

[@senecanzallanute4066]

They are pretty happy though. They get to do what the fuck they want and don't even pay taxes as the rest of the Italians do...

[@Nomenooooo]

Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria: Yeah, we don't pick sides B)

[@jaquelinegiarola]

I always wanted ti know what happened to austria after WWII, thank you!

[@PharmacyCzar]

I love these cold war era Europe videos.