The Edition of the Minutes of the Cabinet Meetings of the first government of Leopold Figl is an important contribution to the history of the early years of Austria's Second Republic, including the reconstruction of the state and its political components after World War II. Volume 12 of the Edition encompasses the minutes of meeting No. 124 of September 7, 1948 to No. 131 of November 2, 1948 as well as the accompanying minutes of the Wirtschaftliches Ministerkomitee from the same time period. In terms of content, the topics discussed by the members of government cover a broad spectrum, including matters of foreign, domestic and economic policy as well as the country's reconstruction and the difficult relations between the Austrian government and the four great powers; particularly prominent is the pervasive problem of securing basic levels of nutrition for the Austrian population, especially in Vienna, as well as the ongoing State Treaty negotiations and the preparatory measures for implementing the European Recovery Program. The volume documents the many steps undertaken by the Austrian government toward re-transforming Austria into a sovereign state and integrating it into the international community.
