‘I survived,’: A story about WWII, a young girl and sacrifice - Part 3

This is the final installment of Rose’s Story. We at Van Zandt Newspapers hope you enjoyed this special article over the last three weeks.

On March 30, 1945, the Red Army entered Austrian territory and captured  Vienna on April 13, 1945.  Although the Germans resisted the Soviet advances into eastern Austria, the Western Allies-the United States, Britain and France-met minimal resistance as they advanced into the country. United States forces began entering Austria on April 30, 1945, and French and British troops soon followed. On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally (1).
Rose, then 14, remembers the day that the Germans were driven out of Vienna. “When the Russian allies came in drove the Germans out, we thought ‘hey we are free, we can go our way and we are good,’ but we couldn't have been more wrong.”
Rose cites a lack of civility, fighting over territory and the lack of food to the deplorable conditions of Vienna.
“These people were supposedly our allies. Some of the citizens almost preferred to have the Germans back because they acted civilly towards them. Whereas the Russians just took advantage.”

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