Upcoming: Exhibition Opening

The exhibition Controlled Freedom: The Allied Forces in Vienna 1945-1955 will open at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, DC on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. With support from the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation, the exhibition, currently also on display at the Wien Museum, is being made available to audiences in the U.S. capital.

About this exhibition:

Controlled Freedom: The Allied Forces in Vienna 1945-1955

When Vienna was liberated in early April 1945, the city was characterized by destruction, housing shortages, hunger, and cold. Nonetheless, culture came back right away. On April 27, arts events resumed on the orders of Soviet officers. Shortly thereafter, the other Allies – France, Great Britain and the USA – also became culturally active. The resulting influx of international culture was unprecedented in the city’s history.

Accompanying the country’s economic and political reconstruction, the many activities were intended to create the emotional basis for the emergence of a distinct national consciousness – in other words, the development of an identity independent of Germany.

The exhibition Controlled Freedom: The Allied Forces in Vienna 1945-1955 sheds light on the formative influence of the diverse cultural offerings. It documents a transformative project that lives on to the present day – the creation of a democratic Austria.

Curators: Oliver Rathkolb, Elisabeth Heimann-Leitner, Anne Wanner

Curatorial assistance / research assistant: Tobias Hofbauer, Anna Jungmayr, Bruno Pöchacker, Liana Popa, Lisa-Marie Schett

Exhibition graphics: Fuhrer, Vienna