Aufnahme und Ablehnung: Die Sudetendeutschen in (Nieder-)Österreich 1945/46

Reception and refusal: The Sudeten Germans in (Lower-) Austria 1945/46

Abstrakt

The article deals with the process of the reception of the so called “Sudetengermans”, who have been expelled form Czechoslovakia in 1945 and arrived completely without means to (Lower-)Austria. This aggravated the situation in the country occupied by the Allies and scarred by war and Nazi terror, where about 1.6 million so-called „displaced persons“ were staying, almost 25% of the whole population However, Austrian policy was also hostile to the persons concerned because they regarded them as „Germans“ in the course of now strongly emphasising an independent Austrian identity. The article deals with the actions of politics and authorities as well as the reactions of those affected and the civilian population. Therefore the article used a combination of archival sources as well as narrative interviews with people, who were children or adolescents at the time.