The Ethnic German Refugee in Austria 1945 to 1954

The dispersion of the ethnic German settlements in central and eastern Europe, during and shortly following the second world war, resulted in over a half-million ethnic German refugees seeking asylum in Austria. a Today, nine years after the termi nation of hostilities, approximately 330,000 of this group still reside in Austria, the majority de facto or de jure Stateless. This group, comprising naturalized and non-naturalized ethnic Germans, is the largest segment of the refugee population in Austria today. b What provisions have been made for these people? What economic opportunities have been open to them? \Vhat assist ance have they received and from what organizations? What historical and cultural factors have influenced their decisions and objectives? What are these people's prospects? In seeking answers to these and other pertinent questions, pUblications concerning this group have been consulted, statis tical computations have been made, and extensive personal interviews have been carried out. The main concern of this study has been the ethnic German segment of the refugee population in Austria, as defined below. Their problems, however, hinge so closely on the overall refugee question that it has not been possible to isolate this group in every instance. Also considered within the scope of this study are the ethnic Germans who have acquired Austrian citizenship since 1945. Although they are no longer "refugees" in the strict a Other than the Reich Germans and South Tyroleans, ca. 97% of the ethnic Germans in Austria are from Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania and Hungary.