Austria/Hungary Economic Progress

Austria/Hungary throughout the year has been a very interesting country to follow as its power and overall economy was flourishing at times and at others it has been in a state of great despair and depression. During the 14th-15th centuries while the Hapsburgs ruled Austria, it was a promising nation that had a strong army as well as a strong economy. Then after the fall of the Hapsburgs Austria soon after became a world power by acquiring Hungary in 1699 making it a force to be reckoned with. Years later as alliances came and went Austria developed a close tie with Germany that for a time made it an even stronger nation with a booming economy in preparation for WWI. Sadly, Austria/Hungary was harshly defeated and its economy was thrown 10 steps backwards as it had to pay war reparations and rebuild. After WWI though the Austria-Hungarian empire split and Hungary once again became its own nation.

Austria/Hungary Social Progress

As the history of Europe progressed, many social changes came about. Through critcal time periods like the Black Death, Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, and the many revolutions, Europe drastically progressed socially. During the Renaissance, people came to revivals and inspirations from classicism, and socially, people began to think outside of the box. The Reformation also had major social effects, as it completely changed peoples views on religion and the church. The Enlightenment was also a major factor in social progress, as it was responsible for many changes including the new concepts of freedom, democracy and reason as primary values of society. There were also many revolutions in European history, and these were also very important in social progress. People began to revolt, think for themselves, and work together to enforce their own change. Instead of being ruled, society became the rulers.

Austria's Political Progression During The MEH Period

Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, Austria/Hungary was under the rule of the Hapsburg's. After their collapse, Austria became a world power and then in 1699, gained control of all of Hungary. Then in 1797, Austria went to war with France and after defeat to Napoleon, the H.R.E. fell in 1806. German-Austrian relations lead to an alliance that lasted throughout WWI and into WWII. Although Austria lost both of these wars, they escaped most of the blame when Germany was given heavy reparations and very negative treaty terms (especially in WWI).

Austria's political system became a federal, democratic republic in their 1920 constitution. The leader of Austria's parliament is and was a federal president that is elected by popular vote.

Austria progressed from the extrememly conservative government under Metternich to a democratic and free country.

Progress in Eastern Europe: Effects on Austria/Hungary

With the fall of communism came a whole new era of reform and rebuilding in eastern Europe. Countries were no longer divided by ideological competition and the cold war, and as the situation progressed, more and more independent states sprouted up. The transitions from communism to nationalism were tough, but many observers have agreed that Hungary, along with Poland and the Czech Republic, were most successful in the transition. Each of these three countries me the critical challenge of economic reconstruction more successfully than Russia, and each could claim to be the economic leader in easter Europe. The causes for these successes were considerable experience with limited market reforms before 1989, flexibility and lack of dogmatism in government policy, and an enthusiastic embrace of capitalism by a new entrepreneurial class.

WWII Effect on Austria

Austria was effected in WWII in a crucial and rather tyrannical way. Hitler and the Nazi's essentially demanded Austria to join Germany and with little resistance the job was done. Hitler gave Austria an ultimatum to be annexed or be invaded and fearing this invasion Austria succumbed. In 1938 one year before WWII, Germany officially annexed Austria as part of the anschluss. This led to the Austrian people becoming assimilated into the German society and the Nazi way of life where Hitler converted thousands of Austrians into Nazi soldiers. Numerous concentration camps were also set up that led to the deaths of a vast amount of innocent Jews. As the war progressed Austrian cities were obliterated by the Allied forces and thousands of lives were lost in the gruesome process. All in all, after the war Austria disbanded from Germany and began to rebuild its way of life after suffering

The Cold War's Effect On Austria

After WWII ended, Austria's ally, Germany, had to accept and unconditional surrender and was taken over by the allied powers. This obviously had negative effects on Austria because their strongest ally had been destroyed. Soon after WWII had subsided, Russia (under Stalin) began to spread communism onto its eastern bordering/neighboring countries. After the fall of countries such as Poland, Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia, etc. to Communism, Austria (as one of these close/bordering countries) must have been weary of being taken over. Stalin, in an effort to spread communism by any costs, could have made Austria communist in two ways. One was to take over Austria by force and make them submit to communism or they could have brought/left people there to teach and spread communism in a peaceful manner. When this did not work, Austria ended becoming a "Nonallied Western Country."

Impact of Physics on Austria/Hungary

With the efforts of people like Marie Curie, Max Planck, Ernest Rutherford, and Albert Einstein, a new age of physics was thrust upon all of Europe. These people formed a whole new field of science known as physics, and the effects of these discoveries were tremendous. People began to see the universe in a whole new way, coming to a realization that the universe was very uncertain and undetermined. Very quickly, physics became the queen of science and many Europeans felt compelled to delve deeper into the great potential of physics. A whole new age of anxiety began to form, as millions of men and women were puzzled at the a universe that completely lacked any absolute objective reality.