[Fiji Hill]

Austria’s neutrality was the price it had to pay for getting the Russians to leave in 1955. But the result, a neutral Austria bordering a neutral Switzerland, split NATO in two from the Iron Curtain to the French border. The US military bases near the Austrian border at Bad Tölz, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berchtesgaden were probably established so that US forces could grab the Austrian panhandle and the Brenner Pass should the Cold War turn hot.

[Captain Walker]

Austria’s neutrality was the price it had to pay for getting the Russians to leave in 1955.

Austria was the only country that was at least partly under the Iron Curtain where, prior to the collapse of the Iron Curtain, Soviet troops left.

Germany faced a similar decisionm. Rather than commit to neutrality and free up East Germany, Germany opted to align itself with the US (and throw its East German citizens under the bus).

[ansel12]

“””””Austria’s neutrality was the price it had to pay for getting the Russians to leave in 1955. But the result, a neutral Austria bordering a neutral Switzerland, split NATO in two from the Iron Curtain to the French border. The US military bases near the Austrian border at Bad Tölz, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berchtesgaden were probably established so that US forces could grab the Austrian panhandle and the Brenner Pass should the Cold War turn hot.””””””

I wonder how this affects Switzerland’s discussions about seeking membership.