Young Austria

Young Austria (YA) encouraged its members to serve with the British Armed Forces, and several hundred did so. 95% of its members were active in the war effort and 80% were trade union members. The Choir of Young Austria and the Austrian Players performed for a total of 40,000 visitors (cf. Young Austria No. 17., 24 August 1946). Some Young Austria functionaries had been born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and they worked together with Czech refugees and former Spanish Civil War fighters (International Brigades). Many functionaries of the organisation had been persecuted as Communists and Jews in Austria, and in the 1930s, especially during the period of Austrofascism (1934-38), they had been active in resistance efforts against National Socialism. In Britain they actively supported the British war effort. Many members of the Free Austrian Movement were supported by the Czech Refugee Trust Fund. Soon after the end of the war, about 300 members of the organisation returned to Austria, and from the 1950s onwards, many of those who had returned to Austria left the Communist Party (because of Soviet actions in Eastern Europe). In May 2010 approximately 30 former members of Young Austria celebrated the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Austria, and former YA member Erich Herzl began with the documentation of Young Austria's history. Sonja Frank and her arts association KunstPlatzl have collected many photographs, obituaries and life stories and have conducted oral history interviews. The President of the Austrian National Assembly, Mag. Barbara Prammer (1954-2014) wrote: „The Republic of Austria is obliged to thank the Young Austrians deeply for standing up unconditionally for a free, democratic and independent Austria.“