Außenpolitische Dokumente der Republik Österreich, Serie II. Band 1

It is part of the self-image of liberal democracies to critically examine their own historical actions. Document editions represent an important contribution to the preservation and exploration of our societies' historical heritage, to the documentary traceability and transparency of political processes, and - through further publications - to historical enlightenment and political education. The first series of Foreign Policy Documents of the Republic of Austria 1918-1938 (ADÖ-I), initiated in 1990 by Arnold Suppan with Klaus Koch and Walter Rauscher, was completed in 2016; the 12 volumes are now also available online. This first volume marks the beginning of the second series of Foreign Policy Documents of the Republic of Austria (ADÖ-II), which covers the period after the Second World War. The volume comprises 312 documents from the archives of the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs and the Austrian State Archives in a text-critical and scholarly edition, including an introduction and index. It documents the period from mid-April 1945 to the end of May 1947. The volume focuses on the re-establishment of the Republic after liberation from National Socialism, the restoration of relations with foreign countries, particularly with the four occupying and controlling powers, the safeguarding of food supplies and the territorial integrity of the country, the struggle for South Tyrol's self-determination, and the regaining of full state sovereignty through a treaty. The volume concludes with the transitional phase between the failure of the Moscow Foreign Ministers' Conference on April 24, 1947, and the announcement of the US aid program for Europe, the Marshall Plan, on June 5.