Answer:
n order to understand Austria’s role in the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the country’s position toward German Unification, one needs to analyze the events of 1989-1990 against a broader historical background. On the one hand, this consists of long-term developments, such as Austria’s relationship to the two German states prior to 1989 and the increasing permeability of the Austrian-Hungarian border in the 1970s and 1980s. On the other hand, Vienna’s integration policy, which changed in 1987, should be taken into account. This Working Paper introduces this historical background and is structured into four parts. The first section examines Austria’s relations with East Germany from the 1970s and West Germany’s reactions to this process. The second section offers a concise overview of Austrian-Hungarian relations in the 1970s and 1980s, focusing on the gradual transformation of the border regime, its significance for the events at the Austrian-Hungarian border in 1989 and their contribution to the collapse of the East German regime. Third, the Working Paper then interprets Austrian attitudes and policies towards the GDR and the question of German Unification in the crucial months from November 1989 to January 1990. In the final section, the Working Paper highlights how the process of German Unification influenced Austria’s ambitions to join the European Communities