Záblesk naděje? Majetkoprávní jednání mezi Československem a Rakouskem v dubnu 1971
Could this be a Glimmer of Hope? Property Negotiations between Czechoslovakia and Austria in April 1971

Summary/Abstract: In the context of the easing of tensions in international relations known as détente, talks on property rights between Czechoslovakia and Austria resumed in the early 1970s. After World War II, the Czechoslovak state confiscated the property of Austrian citizens without providing adequate compensation. The core of the dispute was to determine mutually acceptable criteria for the payment of compensation. The negotiations, which commenced on 18 April and concluded on 23 April 1971, began inauspiciously. The Austrian delegation, led by Walter Wodak, Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry, demanded a total compensation payment of 4 billion shillings. Czechoslovak officials considered this amount to be excessive. Only the reduction of the Austrian demand from 4 to 2 billion shillings unblocked the stalemate. Nevertheless, divergent perspectives persisted regarding the optimal resolution of the dispute. Austria regarded the proposed sum as final. Czechoslovakia, however, used delaying tactics to obtain further reductions. The promising process of attempting to reach an understanding was brought to a close in June 1971 as a consequence of a journalistic controversy between the two states.

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