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The Myth of Austrian victimization at the hands of both Nazi Germany and the Allies became the unifying theme of Austrian official memory and a key component of national identity as a new Austria emerged from the ruins. In the 1980s, Austria's myth of victimization came under intense scrutiny in the wake of the Waldheim scandal that marked the beginning of its erosion. The fiftieth anniversary of the Anschluß in 1988 accelerated this process and resulted in a collective shift away from the victim myth. Important themes examined include the rebirth of Austria, the Anschluß, the war and the Holocaust, the Austrian resistance, and the Allied occupation. The fragmentation of Austrian official memory since the late 1980s coincided with the dismantling of the Conservative and Social Democratic coalition, which had defined Austrian politics in the postwar period. Through the eyes of the Austrian school system, this book examines how postwar Austria came to terms with the Second World War.
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The “Austria-as-Victim” Myth and Postwar Austrian Identity
Part I: Reversing the Anschluss, 1945–1955
Chapter 1. From Blümchenkaffee to Wiener Mélange: Schools, Identity, and the Birth of the Austria-as-Victim Myth
Part II: Major Themes of the Austria-as-Victim Myth, 1955–1986
Chapter 2. Remembering and Forgetting the Anschluss
Chapter 3. Remembering and Forgetting World War II, the Holocaust, and the Resistance
Chapter 4. Remembering and Forgetting the Allied Occupation, Rebuilding, and the State Treaty: The Second Rebirth of Austria and New Symbols of National Identity
Part III: The End of the Austria-as-Victim Myth? Official Memory Since 1986
Chapter 5. Fragmentation of the Victim Myth Since 1986: From Kurt Waldheim to Jörg Haider
Bibliography
Index