The Austrian newspaper Der Standard reports the last weeks of the war
End of the fighting, Vienna is liberated!
On the morning of March 29, 1945, a new chapter begins for Austria. Seven years and 17 days after the acclaimed invasion of the German Wehrmacht and the subsequent “Anschluss” to Nazi Germany, another army crosses the border – that of the Soviet Union. The Red Army reaches Burgenland. The final weeks of the Second World War in Europe are about to begin.
On the afternoon of April 13, the Soviet High Command publishes the decisive special message. “On April 13, after fierce fighting, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front took the capital of Austria, Vienna, a strategically important defensive junction of the Germans, which blocked the way to southern Germany.” After 2571 days, Nazi rule in Vienna is over. It would be a good 10 years before the signing of the State Treaty and Leopold Figl’s famous proclamation “Austria is free!”, but an important foundation stone for an independent Austria was laid with the liberation of Vienna on April 13th.
To read the full report visit their website page:
Image by Cico Zeljko from Pixabay