Occupied but Empowered? How the Soviets Redefined Women in Austrian Politics

This year, Austria celebrates 80th Anniversary of the Second Republic creation and 70 years since State Treaty. If Austria gained its sovereignty in 1945, it means that Austria had lost it earlier. Indeed, since 1938, Austria was in Anschluss and lost all democratic laws. The Three Victorious Powers (the US, Britain and Soviet Union) wanted to liberate Austria and declared the Anschluss null and void.

In the spring of 1945, the Powers launched an offensive, and on April 27, with the support of the Soviet Army, Karl Renner proclaimed the Declaration of Independence of Austria, and creation of the Second Republic. Moreover, the country returned to the Constitution of 1920.

By autumn, the Western Powers entered Vienna and set a date for parliamentary elections – November 25. These were the first democratic elections since 1930 with three restored parties: KPÖ, SPÖ and ÖVP.

When the results arrived, the USSR was shocked: they bet KPÖ on 20 %, but got just over 5 %. However, everyone was even more surprised with actually WHO voted. These were women, as hundreds of thousands of men died, many remained prisoners of war, and the National Socialists were excluded from the elections. Women determined the future destiny of Austria in these first, decisive elections.

What were the consequences for the communists? They changed the tactics, as everyone understood that women were in the game. Left parties started to fight for women’s votes. But if SPÖ already had some kind of women's movement, KPÖ had to invent it.

In 1948, upon the initiative of the Communist Party of Austria the League of Democratic Women was founded. Seeking equality, it asked justice ministers and members of parliament to reform the outdated Marriage and Family Law dated…1811 and abolish Paragraph 144, that was about the status of a man as the “head of the family,” that previously could prohibit woman from pursuing a profession. The mother did not even have the right to sign her child’s passport.

By supporting the women’s movement and recruiting workers into the party, the KPÖ relied on the long-term presence of the USSR in Austria but after withdrawing troops in 1955, with no actual support, the rating of KPO fell to 1 %. Another left-wing party – SPÖ – had another strategy. In 1970, for the first time, the Socialists headed the government outside of the Big Coalition implemented Family reforms: for instance, the Federal Act on the Reorganization of the Personal Legal Consequences of Marriage (BGBl 412/1975) that consolidated the partnership in marriage, abolished the position of the husband as a head of the household and established equal rights for women. The man could no longer prohibit his wife from working. Both spouses were now equally obliged to contribute to the maintenance of the family. The location of the family and the surname were now to be determined in accordance with the principles of partnership.

The KPÖ and Soviet administration certainly contributed to forming women’s movement and raising women's awareness. However, the KPÖ did not achieve its goal as it relied on a long-term presence of the USSR, which was however limited. Anyway the questions that were raised could no longer be ignored, and thanks to SPÖ, whose exclusive presence in parliament and government after 1970, has been able to make these projects a reality.