Slovakia, Austria and the Allies during the Years of World War II

The position of Slovakia and Austria in international relations during the Second World War had a different character – whereas for the first time in its history Slovakia gained its (limited) autonomy, Austria lost its independence and became an integral part of the German Reich. At the Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the USA, USSR and Great Britain in October 1943 in Moscow, however, an agreement was reached: Austria was to acquire a unique status in the post-war period: although it was perceived as a war ally of Germany, Austria should still be treated as a free and again independent country after the war. The post-war fate of Slovakia was quite the opposite: in agreement with the Czechoslovak government in exile in London, the Allied Powers confirmed the restoration of the pre-conditions of the Munich Agreement, according to which the First Slovak Republic ceased to exist after the defeat of Germany in May 1945.