International: Off the Agenda

The first specific postwar aim that Russia, Britain and the U.S. agreed on (at Moscow in 1943) was that Austria should be “free and independent [with] political and economic security. . . .” Applause twittered around the world; it just went to show, didn’t it, what a little good will could accomplish.

Last week Austria was still a shattered monument to the breakdown of Big Three cooperation. In Paris, Jimmy Byrnes, as a key point in the new U.S. positive policy, tried to begin redemption of the pledge. Curtly, Molotov told Byraes that Austria was not on the agenda and refused even to discuss putting it there.

Meanwhile, for the 6,650,000 people of Austria, to be “off the agenda” meant:

Hunger. The territory which the World War I treaties left to Austria will, in its present state, produce only 230 calories a day for each Austrian, about a tenth of what he needs. Food imports keep the Austrian diet at nearly 1,200 calories a day. UNRRA reserves in Austria will be exhausted about May 25. After that Austrians may have to live on 500 a day or less.

Unrest. May Day in Vienna saw 200,000 Socialists and a mere 20,000 Communists in rival parades. But the lack of animosity between them was notable. Said a Socialist: “Give us a kilo of fat and you’d see the marching we’d do!”

Expropriation. Under the loosely worded Potsdam agreement the Russians have claimed most of the property the Nazis took from Austria after the forced Anschluss. Much of Austria’s industrial equipment has gone East. The Russians take all but a dribble of the production of the Zistersdorf oilfields; Russian levies on the Austrian treasury defeated all the Government’s efforts to stabilize the currency.

Dismay. Months ago the Big Three agreed that the South Tyrol (with 180,000 Austrians, 130,000 Italians) should remain in Italy because Italian industry needs the Tyrol’s power plants. But nobody bothered to tell the Austrian Government of the decision. Last week Vienna reached the depth of dismay and disillusionment when it learned that the Paris Conference had awarded the South Tyrol to Italy.

Byrnes at Paris made two proposals on Austria. Would Russia agree that each of the four powers reduce their occupying troops to 15,000 each? (Russia has about 150,000 and Britain, France and the U.S. together have about 50,000 in Austria.) Molotov would not discuss it, although not even Molotov would contend that Austria threatened anyone’s security. Byrnes then circulated a treaty guaranteeing Austria’s independence, territorial integrity, democratic government and free trade with the rest of the world. Molotov would not discuss that either.

Austria, a year after V-E day, was far worse off than it had been under its Nazi overlords—and it had little immediate prospect of improvement.