Allied Control Commission for Austria
The beginning of restoration of US-Austrian relations: 1945 US special passport for Vienna.
This US passport is of great importance for those who want to understand the post-war political struggles and the situation in Europe following the defeat of Nazi Germany and its allies.
At the Moscow conference of October 30th 1943 it was decided that the three allied powers who where fighting together against the axis, the US, UK and Soviet Union, will establish an organization or commission that will advise and study the political problems in post-war Europe, after the defeat of Nazi Germany and its allies. This commission was called the European Advisory Commission (EAC); which was dissolved at the Potsdam conference of August 1945.
The control of defeated Germany, Japan and former axis countries was done via a joint allied commission control system called the Allied Control Commission (ACC).
During 1944, the European Advisory Commission was discussing the creation of an Allied Commission for Austria, to be implemented after the defeat of Nazi Germany and liberation of Austria, which was seen as occupied since 1938. But the creation of this commission was not easy and saw many difficult moments, since it was the Red Army on April 13th of 1945 that entered Vienna and thus the western powers where not on the ground at all. What aggravated the situation even more was the one-sided Soviet act of trying to establish a “Socialist” government in Austria under the local socialist Karl Renner. Following long meetings and debates between the allied powers in London throughout the months of April till July, they finally reached an understanding and agreement on an allied control for the country. Thus the Allied Control Commission for Austria was established by the “Agreement on control machinery in Austria”, which was signed by all sides at London on July 4th 1945 and the US was the last to approve it 20 days later. Another section was added to it on June 28th 1946 with regards to permission to allow the Austrian government to conduct matters relating to foreign relations.
The passport here is clearly connected to the subject of an Allied Control Commission for Austria, the preparations for having US presence in liberated Vienna and of the re-establishing, at a later stage in the future, of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
US Special Passport No. 2716 was issued in Washington on April 6th 1945 to Klara Cecilia Wolf, who was
“An administrative assistant in the office of the special adviser on Austrian affairs to the commanding general, Mediterranean Theater of Operation“. As mentioned above, when this passport was issued the
Vienna offensive had already began, and would last for another week before the full capture of the city by the Soviets. During this time no western allied force had entered the country yet, so she was being sent FIRST to Italy, and from there, when the time was right, she could continue to travel to Vienna, where the US would eventually open its first mission, after years of absence.
Klara obtained her visas from the British, French and Irish diplomatic missions in the US and set off east, arriving first at Casablanca on April 23rd, having her passport stamped, page 10, by the air traffic control at the airport. A day later she reached Italy, arriving at Odichino in Napoli.
There is a brief period where she entered Switzerland at the beginning of 1946 and then there is indication of her stay in Vienna, at the American consulate in the city. During the second half of that year she prepares her return back home and applies for the transit visas through, Holland, France and the UK. Her passport is stamped with attractive military & political mission visas inside. She arrives back to the US on January of 1947.
I have added images of this item from my collection.
Thank you for reading “Our Passports”.
