DENAZYFIKACJA W AUSTRII W ŚWIETLE RAPORTÓW SZEFA POLSKIEJ MISJI POLITYCZNEJ W WIEDNIU FELIKSA MANTLA

The aim of the paper is to present the process of denazification carried out in post-war Austria until 1949, based on reports prepared by Feliks Mantel, chief of the Polish diplomatic outpost. He arrived in Vienna on May 13, 1946 and the diplomatic mission operated until 1958 when it was transformed into an embassy. The focus of the paper is the problem of bringing former fascists to justice for their past conduct. The scale of collaboration, manifested among others by the large number of people engaged in the NSDAP, military service, participation in war crimes, etc. resulted in a gradual mitigation of the rules of their court trials. The cases of former fascists dragged on and the punishments imposed were disproportionate to the guilt. The process of the resolution of the legacy of fascism was also hampered by great politics, including the division of the post-war world into two blocks and the rivalry between the superpowers. This inconsistent process of judgment of the past continued for many decades. The author puts forward the thesis that based on the analysis of the situation in Austria in the second half of the 1940s it can be concluded that a practical resolution of their shameful past by the Austrians was simply impossible. He also attempts to show the reasons which ultimately made this process largely ineffective. The problem of denazification was not fully resolved. The reports of Feliks Mantel on the process of denazification were used in the study.