Stefan Karner,
PhD, Professor at the University of Graz, Austria; Founder and long-time director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research of the Consequences of Wars; Member of the International Council of the Russian Historical Society; Co-chairman of the Russian-Austrian Commission of Historians; member of the Steering Committee of the Sochi Russia-Austria Dialogue; Vice-President of the Austrian Black Cross, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
On the Issue of Soviet Citizens’ Rationale Behind the Decision to Remain in Austria after World War II
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2021-3-19
World War II led to unprecedented movement of population ranging from flight to forced deportations. It was the first and only time in the Soviet history that millions of people willingly or otherwise found themselves beyond the borders of Soviet Russia - Soviet Union. At the end of hostilities, part of Soviet citizens faced an opportunity to choose whether to return to their home country or stay abroad. This was particularly the case with “Ostarbeiters” – i.e. people who were forcibly displaced by National Socialists to perform forced labor in the territory of the Third Reich. The present article investigates the rationale of some “Ostarbeiters” who in 1945–1946 decided, while in Austria, not to come back to the USSR. The author analyzes several factors and concludes that the main reason for staying in Austria lies in social links that developed between forced laborers and Austrians. Another important factor was their fear of the Stalinist power that severely punished both the voluntary and forced collaborators. However, the overwhelming majority of forced laborers preferred, despite the potential repression, to return to the Soviet Union. The primary source for writing the article were testimonies of former Soviet citizens who remained in Austria after 1945.
Publishing: 28/06/2021
The article has been received by the editor on 12.04.2021
How to cite: Karner S. On the Issue of Soviet Citizens’ Rationale Behind the Decision to Remain in Austria after World War II // Historical Courier, 2021, No. 3 (17), pp. 173–179. [Available online:] http://istkurier.ru/data/2021/ISTKURIER-2021-3-19.pdf
Links: Issue 3 2021
Keywords: Soviet prisoners of war; displaced persons; repatriation; Austria; World War II