13.4. 1945 Liberation of Vienna

The fighting for Vienna lasted over a week at the end of World War II. German soldiers loyal to Hitler were ready to defend the city to the last. The parliament building, the Burgtheater and the Naschmarkt went up in flames. The Vienna operation ended at 2 p.m. on April 13, 1945.

Hitler rode triumphantly through Vienna along the Marianhilferstrasse on 13 March 1938, greeted enthusiastically by the locals who saw in him a saviour from the turmoil of recent years. But to the Jewish population, which then numbered some 180,000, he showed quite the opposite. The brutality of the Austrian Nazis and the resentment of the locals shocked even those who had witnessed similar events in Germany. The extermination of the Jews left a dark stain on the history of the city and a major dent in the intellectual and artistic life of the entire country.

The fighting for the liberation of Vienna began on April 5, 1945. There were no continuous defensive positions outside the gates of the Danube metropolis except for a few anti-aircraft positions. Vienna was lost. Even Rudolf von Bünau, who commanded the German combat troops, knew it. But he had to follow orders from Berlin, which were clear, namely to hold the city at all costs. When he learned of the approaching Red Army, he began to prepare for a defensive battle.

The strategy of the attack was set by the Red Army's 3rd Ukrainian Front, which, together with the 2nd Ukrainian Front, began the advance on both Vienna and Bratislava. The Austrian officer Carl Szokoll, serving in the German army, offered to help them. He planned to sabotage the German defences directly from the city centre to avoid unnecessary loss of life and property. But the so-called Operation Radetzky failed because of treason.

Heavy fighting broke out in the streets. Especially after the attack of General Andrei Grigorievich Kravchenko's 6th Panzer Army. But the soldiers of the SS 6th Panzer Army were loyal to Hitler and determined to fight to the last breath. The Germans blew up the bridges over the Danube. But the Red Army managed to occupy parts of Vienna like Simmering and Favoriten. They were advancing house by house, destroying the enemy. From the outskirts, they moved into the centre of the city. The fighting lasted over a week. The Parliament building, the Burgtheater and the Naschmarkt went up in flames. Shops were looted.

The end of the fighting was announced by the Red Army at 2 p.m. on April 13, 1945. Two days later they headed west towards Linz.

During the bombings in 1945, Vienna suffered quite a lot of damage. Yet, according to some historians, they were not as bad as, for example, Budapest or Warsaw. As a defeated state, Austria was divided into four sectors between the USA, England, France and the Soviet Union.

Sources: www.derstandard.at, https://wien.orf.at/, Vienna Guide, www.vienna.at