The administration of inland waterways in Austria from 1918 to 1955 primarily meant the regulation, use and maintenance of the Danube, as well as the administration of flood protection facilities and also shipping in the Nazi era. While different hydro power plants in Austria are already covered by scientific studies, a comprehensive study of the history of the Austrian Inland Waterway Administration and its activities is breaking new scientific ground.
In the course of the project, fundamental questions will be answered, concerning tasks and the function of the government agency, as well as institutional and personnel developments, over historical breaks.
The investigation period allows the project team to trace the effects of constantly changing political and economic conditions – due to the collapse of the Danube Monarchy, the annexation to the German Reich, the course of the war, the end of the National Socialist regime and the subsequent Allied occupation - and thus to show historical caesuras and continuities. The focus of the project lies on the years of the Nazi Regime and the Allied occupation. One of the project’s core topics is hereby the impact of military and wartime economical needs of the German Reich on the administration of inland waterways.
Partners
Austrian Society of Contemporary History (ÖGZ)
Duration
01.02.2017 – 31.01.2019
News and project status
The first working phase from February to December 2017 includes literature research, research in various archives as well as interviews with knowledge holders.
Further information is available here (german).