Calling for Support: International Aid for Refugees in Austria during the Cold War

During the Cold War, Austria was a country of first asylum for people attempting to flee the so-called “Eastern Bloc.” Although the Austrian government used its help for these refugees as part of its foreign policy agenda to increase international prestige, politicians and public perceived Austria first and foremost as a transit country. One of the main strategies employed by the government to solve “refugee crises” was to call for international support and for the admission of refugees to other countries. This article highlights the work of international organizations on behalf of refugees in Austria, focusing particularly on the work of the UNHCR in five major refugee movements to Austria: Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia 1968, Poland 1981, GDR 1989, and Romania 1989/90. In doing so, it connects support for refugees to the political and economic frameworks of the period.