“First of all I would like to raise the question of the final liquidation of the Nazi spirit”

Oskar Dohle
De-nazification in the province of Salzburg

Among Austrian provinces Salzburg stands out as having been the only one to have remained wholly under US occupation for the entire period from 1945 to 1955. Therefore the measures by the US to register National Socialists, and thus their approach to de-nazification could be introduced over the entire region. The immediate proximity of Germany had resulted in large-scale employment of workers from the “old reich” in public administration during the war. This meant that the dismissal of National Socialists led to massive lay-offs after the war.

The resulting personnel shortage often prevented a thorough removal of all compromised people. The situation was especially dramatic in schools and the department for justice. A detailed introduction to the archival sources in the provincial archives of Salzburg is included to help future research, including fonds from the inter-war years, as these often include the “personal background” of National Socialists and therefore allow a more differentiated appraisal of de-nazification.