Because of Tito, dictator of Yugoslavia, taking an independent stand, holding on to a tiny rump Communist Austria was less appealing to the Soviets than having a neutral Austria, and the Soviets withdrew after a neutral Austria in perpetuity was agreed to. Like Berlin, Vienna was also divided, with central Vienna jointly administered by the four victorious powers.
Factoid
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
I hadn’t heard that TIto’s rebellion figured in the decision.
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Tito’s regime in Yugoslavia provided empirical data on the benefits and pitfalls of producer co-operatives and ‘autogestion’ regimes. Don’t know that there’s been a great deal of literature in English on it, however.
Yugoslavia had to sign off on it. Tito originally had claims on some Austrian territory, but Tito waived them. All the Soviets could hope from Yugoslavia was a neutral buffer region. Austria was an extension of this neutral area. By this time the strain of maintaining Soviet forces in Eastern Europe was beginning to wear on the Soviets, so being able to withdraw the Austrian Soviet garrison was looked on as a plus.
Anyone who watched “The Third Man” knew about that partition.
I deny all accusations.
Tito served a purpose in that he kept order in a conglomerate of unruly Balkan remnants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Without him, the union eventually fell apart with a rather high casualty count and tensions that remain today. In the alleged words of Harry Truman, “He was an SOB but he was our SOB.”