Shot by an unknown American G.I., this 16mm silent home movie shows Occupied Austria in the mid-1940s. Much like Germany, Austria was divided into American, British, French, and Soviet zones and governed by the Allied Commission for Austria. Austria, in general, was treated as though it had been originally invaded by Germany and liberated by the Allies. On 15 May 1955, after talks which lasted for years and were influenced by the Cold War, Austria regained full independence by concluding the Austrian State Treaty with the Four Occupying Powers. On 26 October 1955, after all occupation troops had left, Austria declared its “permanent neutrality” by an act of parliament.
The film begins in Vienna with a sign that says “Did you leave it! Did you lock it! If you didn’t! The M.P.s (military police) will hock it!” followed by a flier for a Getrude Hutter opera performance. At :24 extensive damage is seen to downtown buildings. At :32 the USA Information Center is seen. At :39 a Gothic church is seen, the Votive Church or Votivkirche. Footage following shows extensive damage to the church facade. At 1:08 more damage is seen to Vienna with bomb-shattered blocks. At 1:21 is what appears to be St. Stephen’s Cathedral, with scaffolding present. Most likely this shows the rebuilding efforts after the building partially caught fire during the Soviet invasion on April 12, 1945. Fortunately much of the building was saved due to heroic efforts of locals. At 4:42 the national opera house in Vienna is seen. At 5:30 is the Johann-Strauss-Denkmal memorial, an art nouveau wonder. At 5:36 the Wiener Rathaus (also Neues Rathaus), the city hall of Vienna, is seen, followed by the Austrian Parliament Building at 5:51 and national theater at 6:14. At 7:10 the Schönbrunn Palace is seen.
At 8:37 a motorcycle zips by with two people aboard. This part of the film we don’t know where it was shot — some beautiful scenery and perhaps someone on Youtube will clue us in as to the region. Austrian Alps … At 11:31 is a sign for Feldkirch, a medieval city in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg on the border with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. So that’s a clue!
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
