End of War 1945: Cautious Departure into the Future - A Historical Exhibition on Austria's Post-War Era

This exhibition explores the multifaceted experiences of Austrians during the end of World War II and the capitulation of the German Reich in 1945. It moves beyond the simplistic 'zero hour' narrative to delve into the complex realities of liberation, occupation, and the uncertain beginnings of the Second Austrian Republic.

The exhibition 'Kriegsende 1945: Vorsichtiger Aufbruch in die Zukunft' (End of War 1945: Cautious Departure into the Future) investigates how people in Austria experienced the end of the war and the capitulation of the German Reich, acknowledging the varied individual circumstances and locations. It challenges the long-held notion of a 'zero hour,' which many historians argue obscures continuities and simplifies the complex realities of the post-war period. Similarly, the dichotomy of 'liberation' versus 'occupation' is presented as too narrow a lens to capture the multifaceted experiences of the Second Austrian Republic's inception. The exhibition highlights the movement of hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons, including former forced laborers and concentration camp survivors, attempting to return home. It features personal testimonies, such as that of writer Ingeborg Bachmann, who described her fears regarding the Soviet troops, and Lucia Heilmann, who recounted her liberation from hiding in Vienna. The difficult reception of returning Holocaust survivors, marked by lingering antisemitism, is also addressed through the experiences of Rudolf Gelbard. The text underscores that Austria's path to embracing 1945 as a liberation date, rather than solely commemorating the 1955 State Treaty, was a late development.