This is the Current coat of arms of Austria. It is used as such in the Republic of Austria since 1919 although during the period in which the Nazi Germans annexed the country another with a two-headed eagle was used. But later, in 1945, when the second republic was established, it returned to the original design of the black eagle with the broken chains on its legs, obviously, symbolizing the liberation of the nation.
What does the whole symbolize, part by part? Well, first of all the eagle represents Austrian sovereignty, the shield is the emblem of the country and dates from the late Middle Ages, the crown represents the middle class, the sickle represents agriculture, the hammer industry and the broken chains the liberation from the National Socialist government of Germany. Apparently the hammer and sickle were not exclusive to the Soviet Union but they have given cloth to cut precisely because of that. Many also say that just as the two heads signify Austria and Hungary the fact that the eagle now has only one reveals the definitive independence of Austria or its conformation as an individual state.
