This collection of essays  is based on a research project funded by the Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education (OeAD), Number BG 05/2021”, and the Bulgarian National Science Fund (BNSF), Number KP-06-Austria/8, which was carried out in 2021/23 at the Institute for Balkan Studies with a Centre for Thraco-logy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Sofia, Bulgaria) and Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on the Consequences of War (Graz-Vienna, Austria). The volume consists of eight articles which are dedicated exclusively to the reappraisal of bilateral relations between Austria and Bulgaria during the Cold War. The ten authors provide analyses of the complicated bilateral relations between a neutral state Austria and a member-state of the Soviet bloc – People’s Republic of Bulgaria tracing diplomatic, political, economic, trade, etc. relations during the bipolar international system after the World War II. All articles are based primarily on research work with Bulgarian and Austrian declassified archival collections available, but not limited to the following archives: Austrian State Archive /Archive of the Republic (ÖStA/AdR), Central State Archive of the Republic of Bulgaria (Centralen Dărzhaven Arkhiv na Republika Bulgaria, or CDA), Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria (Arkhiv na Ministerstvo na vănshnite raboti na Republika Bălgaria, AMVnR), Stiftung Bruno Kreisky Archive (SBKA). The book is published in a historic moment when the two countries mark the 145th anniversary from the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Austria and Bulgaria, thus following the long tradition of studying the bilateral relations between the two countries and thus contributing with a comprehensive scholarly evaluation of the relations during the Cold War.  The volume starts with the Dimitar Dobrev’s article titled “The Relations of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria with Austria in the 1950s”. The author focuses on the relations between Bulgaria and Austria in the 1950s. Although contacts between Bulgaria and Austria were quickly re-established after the end of World War II, their bilateral relations became hostage to the geopolitical changes brought about by the Cold War. Austria and Bulgaria traditionally have had good relations in the political, cultural, and economic field. Contacts between the two countries almost immediately became hostage to the East-West geopolitical changes brought by the Cold War. Although Austria was among the three leading Western European trading partners of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria in the period 1950–1953, i.e., by Stalin’s death, relations between Sofia and Vienna were at their lowest point.This collection of essays  is based on a research project funded by the Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education (OeAD), Number BG 05/2021”, and the Bulgarian National Science Fund (BNSF), Number KP-06-Austria/8, which was carried out in 2021/23 at the Institute for Balkan Studies with a Centre for Thraco-logy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Sofia, Bulgaria) and Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on the Consequences of War (Graz-Vienna, Austria). The volume consists of eight articles which are dedicated exclusively to the reappraisal of bilateral relations between Austria and Bulgaria during the Cold War. The ten authors provide analyses of the complicated bilateral relations between a neutral state Austria and a member-state of the Soviet bloc – People’s Republic of Bulgaria tracing diplomatic, political, economic, trade, etc. relations during the bipolar international system after the World War II. All articles are based primarily on research work with Bulgarian and Austrian declassified archival collections available, but not limited to the following archives: Austrian State Archive /Archive of the Republic (ÖStA/AdR), Central State Archive of the Republic of Bulgaria (Centralen Dărzhaven Arkhiv na Republika Bulgaria, or CDA), Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria (Arkhiv na Ministerstvo na vănshnite raboti na Republika Bălgaria, AMVnR), Stiftung Bruno Kreisky Archive (SBKA). The book is published in a historic moment when the two countries mark the 145th anniversary from the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Austria and Bulgaria, thus following the long tradition of studying the bilateral relations between the two countries and thus contributing with a comprehensive scholarly evaluation of the relations during the Cold War.  The volume starts with the Dimitar Dobrev’s article titled “The Relations of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria with Austria in the 1950s”. The author focuses on the relations between Bulgaria and Austria in the 1950s. Although contacts between Bulgaria and Austria were quickly re-established after the end of World War II, their bilateral relations became hostage to the geopolitical changes brought about by the Cold War. Austria and Bulgaria traditionally have had good relations in the political, cultural, and economic field. Contacts between the two countries almost immediately became hostage to the East-West geopolitical changes brought by the Cold War. Although Austria was among the three leading Western European trading partners of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria in the period 1950–1953, i.e., by Stalin’s death, relations between Sofia and Vienna were at their lowest point.

The gradual change in the People‘s Republic of Bulgaria regarding Austria began in 1954 because of the VI Congress of the Bulgarian Communist Party. The signing of the Austrian State Treaty on May 15, 1955, and the XX Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1956 were also a stimulus for such a change. Based on the new emphases in Soviet foreign policy such as peaceful coexistence and peaceful competition between capitalism and socialism, faced with economic difficulties, the communist leadership in Sofia took advantage of this without abandoning its pro-Soviet course. Bulgaria tried to manage to find the way for a pragmatic policy towards Vienna. The major task for Bulgarian government was solving the country‘s economic problems. The intention of Sofia was to improve the climate in the field of commercial and economic relations, which would lay the foundations for closer cultural and, subsequently, political relations. Austria was seen not only as a traditional market, but also as a “gateway” to Western Europe. Sofia‘s policy towards Vienna did not change even during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. In practice, the decade from 1950 to 1960 turned out to be a key period for improving ties between the two countries and the foundations for good cooperation was laid. In the following decades relations between the People‘s Republic of Bulgaria and Austria were regarded as an example of the peaceful coexistence of countries with different social and economic systems.

In the second article, titled “Austria as a Bridge for Bulgaria to the West, 1969-1990. A Model of “Peaceful Coexistence” during the Cold War?” a team of three scholars - Nadia Boyadjieva, Anna Graf-Steiner and Peter Ruggenthaler presents a short overview of the historical background of the relations between the two countries. The authors made an important statement in the introductory part explaining that bilateral relations between the Republic of Austria and the People’s Republic of Bulgaria “were shaped by changes in international relations in Europe after the end of the Second World War.” The authors investigate the course of political and diplomatic relations, and to some extend the status of economic and cultural ties after the Prague Spring until the 1990s and the end of the Cold War. Bulgaria and Austria being both under military occupation diplomatically recognized each other in May 1946, and officially resumed diplomatic relations on March 7, 1947, followed by signing a trade agreement. Diplomatic relations, however, were maintained only at the lowest level after the establishment of the communist regime in Bulgaria. The same applies to cultural ties.

Relations began to improve after the death of Stalin in 1953 and the signing of the Austrian State Treaty in 1955. Sofia welcomed Austria’s new role as neutral country and bridge between East and West. At first, Moscow was the focal point of Austria’s “Ostpolitik”, but as of the late 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, the policy diversified and relations with the other socialist states intensified. The only obstacle in Austria’s relations with Bulgaria was, from Vienna’s perspective, the unresolved issue of Austrian property losses in Bulgaria. Only after the property treaty was finally signed in May 1963, relations picked up speed. Bulgaria was the first Warsaw Pact state willing to take this step and thus a pioneer. In the absence of a burdensome common border at the Iron Curtain and without a serious historical burden on relations, Sofia from then on, the authors state, served as a testing ground in East-West relations for Vienna. A remarkable result that was far ahead of its time was the conclusion of a treaty on the abolition of mutual visa requirements in May 1967. The suppression of the “Prague Spring” by Warsaw Pact troops but a short halt to the relations, and even a visit by Todor Zhivkov envisaged for the second half of 1968 was postponed. When Zhivkov finally paid a visit to Austria in April 1969, he did not only underline the positive role neutral Austria could play in European security, but he also was the first Warsaw pact leader to openly promote Vienna as a possible location for a European Security conference.  

This thoroughly written article discusses also the question if Austrian-Bulgarian relations could be regarded as a kind of “model” of “Peaceful Coexistence” during the Cold War. Furthermore, they show, how Bulgaria tried to use Austria as a bridge to the West from 1969 to 1990. The Bulgarian Communist Party decided on January 16, 1968, to intensify economic, trade, cultural, scientific-technical and tourist relations with Austria. The establishment of “special relations” with Austria was given great emphasis in Bulgaria to increase the role played by itself in the Cold War theater, despite the difference in the socio-political order of the two countries. After the suppression of the “Prague Spring,” Moscow explicitly instructed Bulgaria to intensify relations with Western countries to sew discord among them. Vienna, in turn, gratefully accepted the outstretched hand from Sofia to intensify and evaluate its “Ostpolitik”. When Zhivkov made a plea to Austrian Chancellor Klaus to advocate a pan-European security conference and even hold it in Vienna, Austria  remained reluctant. Obviously,  Vienna did not want to be seen as a mouthpiece for Moscow’s wishes. An intensification of economic relations, on the other hand, was welcomed in Austria, especially to prevent to drive Bulgaria further into Moscow’s arms after Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Nonetheless, trade remained imbalanced as there was little demand for Bulgarian products in Austria, despite mutual efforts to establish deeper economic ties (1971: agreement on payments; 1972: tourism agreement; 1973: most-favored nation treatment). The close integration of the Bulgarian economy into the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) left tourism as the only area in which economic relations could be expanded.

Humanitarian issues in the relations between Austria also brought attention of the authors. The topic was frequently put forward by Austrian officials, as it – not least during the CSCE – ranked high on the Austrian agenda. It was also humanitarian issues that from Sofia’s (and, behind it, Moscow’s) perspective dragged out the CSCE negotiations. The Austrian Chancellor Kreisky, the Foreign Ministry, and delegation supported these agendas, agreed with this assessment. At the same time, Sofia planned to use the humanitarian cases presented by Austria as political leverage, not least in exchange for cooperation against anti-Bulgarian emigrants in Austria.

Todor Zhivkov interpreted the post-Helsinki agenda primarily in the further expansion of economic cooperation – and Austrian officials accepted. Sofia and Vienna knew that there were limits regarding cooperation in other, including humanitarian, matters. Cultural cooperation reached its peak in the 1970s and lasted until Lyudmila Zhivkova’s death in 1981. Todor Zhivkov’s adoption of a strongly nationalistic course in the 1980s strained the friendly relations but did not bring them to an end. When Vienna hosted the CSCE Follow-up Meeting 1987–1989, it exercised restraint, but continued to stand up for the humanitarian provisions (Basket III). This “pro-Western” stance was seen critically (not only) in Sofia. 

As noted, the relations in the 1950’s proved to be a pivotal period for both countries, in which the foundations were laid for good cooperation in the following three decades. The bilateral relations in the 1960’s were studied in depth by Maximilian Graf and Anna Graf-Steiner in their essay “Experimental Field of Eastern Policy. Austrian-Bulgarian Relations from the End of the Second World War to the Aftermath of the Crackdown of the “Prague Spring”. Both authors examined the question of whether Bulgaria was an experimental field in Austria’s “Ostpolitik” (neighborhood policy). After World War II, Austria was occupied for several weeks not by four, but by six powers. After the Bulgarian government committed itself to the Allied side in October 1944, the 1st Bulgarian Army was subordinated to the 3rd Ukrainian Front, which advanced on Austrian soil - into Southern Styria and Carinthia – at the end of the war. The Bulgarian troops stayed until mid-May, and the brief period of occupation by them is hardly remembered in today’s Austria, but if it is, the Bulgarians have been described as more prudent and calmer than the Red Army or the Yugoslav partisans. 

Studying another crucial aspect in bilateral relations  -  the economic and trade relations between Bulgaria and Austria in the Cold War was the primary task of  three scholars  who are exploring this topic in three articles. In his article, titled “On Austria’s Economic Relations with CMEA 1955 to 1964”, Stefan Karner presents an overview on Austria’s Economic Relations with CMEA from 1955 to 1964. In 1955 Austria gained sovereignty through the State Treaty and trade with CMEA countries was also put on a regulated track. The Trade and Navigation Treaty with the Soviet Union of October 1955 is a case in point. The Austrian economy grew faster than the neighboring countries in Eastern Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. Karner explains that the basis were various aid programs (E.g., Marshall Plan) and the liberalization of trade. Austria’s trade with Eastern Europe developed faster than foreign trade in general between 1956 and 1964. Austria imported mainly foodstuffs, raw material, agricultural products from and exported industrial goods to the states of CMEA. Its trade with the East amounted to 4.9 million shillings in imports and 5.3 billion shillings in exports in 1960. With the Soviet Union Austria had the largest share and with Bulgaria it had the lowest share of all CMEA countries. 

Christoph Huber’s article “Austrian-Bulgarian Economic and Trade Relations 1947 to 1969” focuses on the economic history and diplomacy behind the exchange of goods between the two countries. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and other CMEA countries dominated Bulgaria’s foreign trade. However, trade with Austria had a significant role for Bulgaria as a supplier of industrially manufactured products. Austria imported primarily agricultural goods from Bulgaria. Huber describes, how the Bulgarians were complaining about the disproportion in the mutual balance of trade with Austria. Between 1960 and 1970 Austria’s trade balance surplus with Bulgaria increased from 13 million to 405 million Austrian shillings. 

During the Austrian occupation from 1945–1955 trade between Austria and Bulgaria was mainly issued between the Soviet controlled USIA enterprises and Bulgarian state-owned enterprises in direct compensation. The USIA shops in Austria sold Bulgarian products like cigarettes and food. In 1955, Austria was still the second most important foreign market for cigarettes for the Bulgarian Bulgartabak. Even before the USIA enterprises went into the property of Austria in August 1955, business transactions were arranged by the Central Commercial Office (KZB) of USIA which lasted with Bulgaria till April 1956.

The first official trade agreement between Austria and Bulgaria after the Second World War was made in 1947, it was a compensation agreement. A  “Mixed Commission” with representatives from both countries was also established. One year later, in 1948, the “Agreement on the mutual exchange of goods” was issued. It contained lists of goods with quotas in form of a maximum amount in clearing dollars or tons. With this trade agreement a payment agreement also came into force with clearing accounts in U.S. dollars at the Austrian and the Bulgarian National Bank. The compensation took place at the state level. The same year, Bulgaria enlarged its commercial representation in Vienna, which had then 20 employees. In 1953, Austria opened its foreign trade office in Sofia. The trade agreement of 1960 between Austria and Bulgaria was a long-term one, also operated on a clearing basis and with lists of goods and quotas. 

In his article, titled “Austrian-Bulgarian Economic and Trade Relations 1970 to 1983” Alexandre Kostov presents a comprehensive analysis of the trade and economic ties between the two countries. He concludes that the Bulgarian-Austrian relations marked further successful development during the „Kreisky Era“ (1970–1983). The two countries, belonging to different „economic families“ in Europe and driven by their own interests, intensified their relations. In the first half of the 1970s, there was a shift towards liberalisation in bilateral trade. Trade exchange between them grew with a constant passive balance for Bulgaria.  New forms of economic cooperation were also introduced and Austrian credits increased. Overall, Austria established itself as one of the important economic partners of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria.

Dieter Bacher presents a study with intriguing title „The needle in the haystack”. Bulgarian intelligence in Austria during the Cold War – first approaches”.  He provides an initial insight into the activities of the Bulgarian secret service in Austria during the Cold War. The Bulgarian State Security (Darzhavna sigurnost, DS) within the Bulgarian ministry of the Interior, mainly its “Section B” (security in foreign countries) until the mid-1950s and its first main directorate afterwards, conducted, like the services of the other communist satellite states of the Soviet Union, several activities of foreign intelligence in Central and Western Europe. But clues on Bulgarian intelligence activities on Austrian territory are very scarce. While Czechoslovakian and Hungarian services were, seen from Soviet perspective, mainly „responsible“ for the Austrian operational theatre, Bulgarian activities seem to play only a minor role here. Bacher concludes that first insights into Bulgarian declassified files on Cold War Austria showed that focuses of Bulgarian intelligence were, on the one hand, economic intelligence, mainly in the fields of access to Western markets and technology, and on the other hand observations on Bulgarian dissidents, refugees and Bulgarian citizens living on Austrian territory, especially in Vienna. 

According to Bacher, the migration movements from Bulgaria via Austria to the West were of particular interest to Bulgarian intelligence, as reports show: it stated that the staff of the Bulgarian counterintelligence station in Austria was among the biggest in the West during the 1950s, with the most part of the personnel working on “operations against traitors of the motherland and prosecution of state crimes”, linking the biggest part of this staff to the field of emigration and dissidents. These were the initial insights, but they showed that the question of Bulgarian intelligence was important for understanding the overall picture of Austria as an intelligence operating area during the Cold War.

Biser Banchev offers a detailed essay titled “Common Challenges for Bulgaria and Austria in Their Relations with Yugoslavia in 1968–1980”. He explores the hypothesis that in the last decade of Joseph Broz Tito’s life, Bulgaria and Austria faced familiar challenges in their relations with neighboring Yugoslavia. An influential group of Yugoslav leaders in the 1960s and 1970s viewed Austria and Bulgaria in the same way – as an opportunity to achieve a territorial expansion of Yugoslavia at their expense. Belgrade had a similar attitude toward Vienna and Sofia, though they were on different sides of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. For this reason, before and after the death of Tito, Bulgaria discovered several common interests with Austria. The Bulgarian Embassy in Vienna maintained unchanged assessment that “the problems that exist between the two countries on the minority issue make Austria our natural ally in our dispute with Yugoslavia”. Banchev draws preliminary conclusions that the common interest was recognized by both Sofia and Vienna. 

* * *

After the opening of the “Iron Curtain” in 1989 and the end of the Cold War, Austria discontinued to focus on Bulgaria, but instead stretched its supportive hand towards countries in Eastern Europe which showed signs of transformation. Bulgaria was more interested in expanding its relations with the USA and the large EU member states. Austria joined the EU in 1995, and Bulgaria followed in 2007. Whereas Austrian neutrality was limited to the purely military sphere, Bulgaria, joined NATO in 2004. Integration in Western institutions provided a degree of cooperation, security, and stability to Austria and Bulgaria far beyond what had been possible during the Cold War.

Graz – Sofia, 2024