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man possessions even the properties which
Germany took by force after the occupation of Austria
in 19838? Yes, the Russians said, in that way the
decision must be interpreted. Their methods are
illustrated by the following example.
One of the largest and most valuable estates
belonging to the Austrian government was declared
former German property by the Russians. The
Austrian government protested, but the Russians
insisted and confiscated the harvest of the estate.
The Austrians then declared that the government
simply could not do without the property, as it was
of decisive importance to the sustenance of the
country. In that case, the Russians declared, Austria
should buy back the estate — in foreign currency.
And so it happened. Austria had to pay out a very
large sum of money for a property which, judged
objectively, can never have been considered German
owned. It can be added that, according to a statement
I received, the Russians have confiscated up to
48.000 hectares of Austria’s best farmland.
Another problem: Austria, which had 600.000
prisoners of war in Russia, was in great need of
manpower. At that time, there still were in Austria
some hundreds of thousands of Germans, but those
they were not allowed to use. They had to be sent
home. In their place, they were afraid that the
Russians would send laborers. Such a measure,
however, would have created a minority which, in a
given situation, might prove disastrous.
In a given situation ... This preoccupied every
Austrian, They believed that if Russia’s position in
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