Preliminary Programme

In the period immediately following the end of World War Two Britain’s economic crises became more apparent. Not least, there was a dramatic shortage of available labour. The British government was urged to respond immediately to the needs of its undermanned industries, particularly the textile industry, the health services and institutional domestic services. After introducing a successful “guest worker” scheme under which women from the Baltic States and Displaced Persons in Germany and Austria were recruited, the British Government launched the North Sea Scheme targeting German workers and the Blue Danube Scheme for Austria. Both were aimed at recruiting single women of at least eighteen years of age to work in Britain’s textile industry and other sectors. The Austrian labour exchange offices together with the British Ministry of Labour Recruitment Offices advertised their recruitment opportunities in public offices, newspapers and on radio. Between 1948 and 1950 a total of 2,341 women from Western Austria left their home country in order to work in the textile mills of Lancashire and Yorkshire. The female population of Austria, in particular the younger generation, was eager to leave behind a country ruined by war and to try their luck abroad. Britain not only offered employment and a higher income, but also the possibility that by learning a foreign language they could improve their job prospects upon their return home. However, there was little awareness amongst recruits about what they could expect from their stay in Britain. Apart from the often physically demanding work, the living conditions at their destinations were often disappointing. The young women, most of whom were in their early twenties, found it hard to adjust to life in England without proper knowledge of the language.
This paper will discuss the experiences of Austrian women who were recruited under the Blue Danube Scheme based on the analysis of British and Austrian governmental files and oral history accounts of five former Blue Danube Scheme recruits. Fifty female migrants in total were interviewed within the framework of a research project entitled Austrian female migration to Great Britain, 1945 to 1960. The analysis of their stories, which is representative of many other Austrian migrants of this period, will provide a more personal insight into labour migration from Austria to Britain under the Blue Danube Scheme. I will also elaborate the obstacles these women encountered in terms of work, accommodation and the cultural differences the Austrian women encountered in Britain. (Show less)

During the jears from 1945 to 1955 - the Austrian postwar period - numerous people left the country in order to „try their luck“ abroud. One of these various groups of migrants is going to be presented. The following text deals with young women who decided to leave their homes an to live and work outside of Austria for a certain amount of time.
The research project „Emigrant Work“ is about styrian girls / young women who took this step. The historical as well as the geographical frame have been chosen both for subject matter and methodological reason. Interviews basing on the principles of „Oral History“ were used as main sources. Fifteen women talked about their lifes, according to the object of research the questions focused on their experiences as migrant workers.
The quotation used in the titel is taken from one of the interviews. It has been chosen to illustrate the essence of this special kind of migration: neither the women had planed a long duration of stay, nor did their employers.
In contrast to the conceptions of the 1960ies and 70ies, the concept of „emigrant workers“ came to realisation in the biographies of these young styrian women. Most of them returned to their hometowns after some years of work abroud. - What have been the reasons for their behaviour?
On the one hand the interviewed emigrant workers had a great deal in common. First of all they are female (- which only seems to be a banality at first sight). All of the women came from Graz or the southern parts of Styria and many of them did have experiences in house keeping and home economics, which they could use in their jobs: in Switzerland, the host country to the majority of the styrian women, they kept houses or worked in restaurants and „tea rooms“.
On the other hand they differed from each other in many ways - especially in their methods of getting used to a life abroud.
These are some of the aspects of „Female Styrian Work Migration“ that shall be questioned. (Show less)

After 1945, overseas countries like Canada, Australia or the US opened their labour markets to European immigrants due to their enormous lack of manpower. Back then, more than 30.000 Austrians were attracted and migrated to Canada, among them skilled and unskilled labourers. The bulk of the Austrian immigrants settled in different Canadian cities and territories preferring though places in the Province of Ontario and the city of Toronto.
However, due to varying motives some of these Austrian migrants decided after living and working a certain time span of their lives in Canada to return to their home country.
My paper will shortly discuss the legal possibilities and the practise of emigration from Austria to Canada in the 1950s and 1960s, but main attention will be given to the aspect of temporary migration. Temporary (labour) migrations as well as return migrations increasingly gain scholars attention, an aspect that had been quite unattended over a long period in migration research. This paper is filling the gap by concentrating on unequal experiences of Austrian return migrants; in particular, it focuses on individual experiences and memories concerning the migration process, on potential gender differences, and as well on reasons and motives for remigration. (Show less)

This paper is based on the method of oral history ( interviewing migrants in Austria and in Australia) and on research in the Australian Archives/ Canberra and the Austrian Archives / Vienna.
It is the history of people who migrated to Australia between 1947-1978. This people were Austrians as well as a mixed lot of refugees. To be a refugee after World War II in Europe and Austria was a matter of definition. The definition were made by the occupation forces and the refugee organisations and changed in process of time. For the migrants/ refugees the definition was of high importance, it decided if he/ she was allowed to migrate and get support.
In Austria migration was organised by the IRO (International Refugee Organisation) and the ICEM (International Committee for Migration). The Australian Mission were picking fine migrants in Europe ordered by the Department for immigration and its several programmes. Austria became interested by looking for a solution for its refugee problems one one side, on the other side it did not like the way the Australians were searching for skilled workers.
Many Austrians migrated to Australia with the idea in their mind of earning a lot of money and coming back later again to Austria. Income was much higher in Australia. For most refugees migration was a one way ticket to Australia.
For the migrants itself migration was a long process of application, selection and refusal. Eligibility and Hard Core Refugees were main terms in this difficult process. Oral History shows the personal and individual experience with the beginning of getting a refugee/ migrant and finding a solution for this worse situation.
Australia in 1947 was a monocultural society, which is still oriented to the English speaking world today, but which had to find a way of assimilation and integration of migrants. As it had to change and adapt its Immigration policy it changed into an multicultural society with all its problems and possibilities with the important aspect, Multiculturalism is for all Australians. (Show less)