Already in 1946 it became clear that leftist anti-fascist propaganda was not being accepted in Austrian society, so by 1947 its time was over. Prisoners, who returned from allied detention, were surprised to find that Austrians "forgot" about the years of Hitler's regime. A patriotic upsurge appeared in the country and replaced bitter memories. In 1947 the Allies began the mass liberation of captivated Austrians and Austrian government restored half a million of "less tainted" () members of the former NSDAP (Nazi party) to their civil rights. From that moment a political struggle for the votes of former Nazis and veterans became a governing trait of Austrian political life. Conservatives and social democrats rejected anti-fascist rhetoric, while communists, who supported it, quickly lost their political weight. At the beginning of 1947 they lost their places in government, the police closed the 'KZ-Verband' at the end of that year. "February 1948" events in Czechoslovakia and the threat of "export of revolution" deprived communists of all their former influence. A three-party coalition changed to a classical two-party system; the "Federation of Independents" now took the role of a small third political force. The grouping - created under social democrats sponsorship, – was a union of former Nazis, a virtual successor of the Austrian branch of NSDAP (Nazi party), who were banned to join the "large" parties at that time. The marginalization of the communists, who really had been the backbone of the insignificant Austrian resistance, meant a political defeat of anti-fascists as a whole. The communists failed to enter the governing elite, their past endeavours appeared to be not needed in the contemporary internal Austrian politics; they were however occasionally remembered in communication with western diplomats.