Soviet troops in Schönbrunn Palace gardens, Vienna, 1945

15 comments
  1. I wonder how the Cold War would have been different if Moscow had kept East Austria as a puppet state

  2. Fun fact: Both Hitler and Stalin lived in Vienna for a long period during 1913. They both walked daily in Schönbrunn Palac gardens so chances are that they might have run into each other on one or several occasions.

  3. It’s always so odd to me to see places so tidy in 1945. Somehow my brain expects them to be all roughed up to reflect the times better.

    That Vienna is such a pompous city, even after it had been partly bombed, was actually a challenge for Sowjet propaganda. They had to explain to their soldiers why the losers of the war appeared to be so much wealthier than the regions these soldiers were from.

    People had no food yet alone luxuries, however in 1945 most apartments in Vienna were already heated, had warm water and Vienna had a modern sewer system, wich meant that all in all the quality of life for many soldiers improved when they left Russia. Sowjet leadership reacted by increasing the weight soldiers were allowed to send home every month, pretty much urging them to steal stuff then.

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