Austria's National Holiday

26^th October

On this date Austria celebrates its “National Holiday!”

Because on this day in 1955 the last of the “Liberating Forces” left Austrian territory and Austria declared its everlasting Neutrality.

With this sentence alone we have started two points of discussion:

At the end of WWII, on the 8^th day of May 1945, was Austria “defeated” or was it “liberated”?

I believe that the German Army and the Regime of National Socialism was “defeated”. The people of Germany, along with the people of Austria, however, were “liberated” from the scourge of the brutal Hitler dictatorship.

Since the Allied Forces were physically present in these territories, it can, of course, semantically be said that they “occupied” them.

Had it not been for the stubborn insistence of the Russian leadership to remain in their half of Austria, the rest, the American, the British and other Western Allies, would have, so I believe, withdrawn at a much earlier date. But the scepter of communist expansionary tendencies convinced the Western Allies to remain until finally, in 1955, the Russian forces agreed to leave Austrian territory.

In fact, the USA had, years before, publicly declared Austria not defeated, but liberated.

So, after having argued about this single issue, let's briefly examine, and argue about the concept of “Neutrality.”

The Dictionary definition is very simple: Not to take either side in the case of a dispute.

In practice it is not quite as simple.

Switzerland, for instance, has cleverly and steadfastly remained neutral in any physical conflict. In matters of Economics and Ideology Switzerland is clearly allied with the West, and does therefore not occupy “neutral” territory.

While it is relatively simple to remain neutral in the case of armed conflict, for instance, it is not quite as simple in the case of “Democracy” vs “Dictatorship.”

In this case it is impossible to remain aloof, to remain neutral.

I am very glad that Austria is a Free Country, and I hope sincerely that it will be able to remain “democratically” neutral in all other respects.

That's what Bertstravels hopes for.