Günter Bischof

Austrian historical memory and national identity

When the Hapsburg monarchy disintegrated after World War I, Austria was not considered to be a viable entity. In a vacuum of national identity the hapless country drifted toward a larger Germany. After World War II, Austrian elites constructed a new identity based on being a victim of Nazi Germany. Cold war Austria, however, envisioned herself as a neutral island of the blessed between and separate from both superpower blocs. Now, with her membership in the European Union secured, Austria is reconstructing her painful historical memory and national identity. In 1996 she celebrates her 1000-year anniversary. In this volume of Contemporary Austrian Studies, Franz Mathis and Brigitte Mazohl-Wallnig argue that regional identities in Austria have deeper historical roots than the many artificial and ineffective attempts to construct a national identity. Heidemarie Uhl, Anton Pelinka, and Brigitte Bailer discuss the post-World War II construction of the victim mythology. Robert Herzstein analyses the crucial impact of the 1986 Waldheim election imploding Austrias comforting historical memory as a nation of victims. Wolfram Kaiser shows Austrias difficult adjustments to the European Union and the larger challenges of constructing a new European identity. Chad Berrys analysis of American World War II memory establishes a useful counterpoint to construction of historical memory in a different national context. A special forum on Austrian intelligence studies presents a fascinating reconstruction by Timothy Naftali of the investigation by Anglo-American counterintelligence into the retreat of Hitlers troops into the Alps during World War II. RUdiger Overmans research note presents statistics on lower death rates of Austrian soldiers in the German army. Review essays by GUnther Kronenbitter and GUnter Bischof, book reviews, and a 1995 survey of Austrian politics round out the volume. Austrian Historical Memory and National Identity will be of intense interest to foreign policy analysts, historians, and scholars concerned with the unique elements of identity and nationality in Central European politics.

Austrian women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries : cross-disciplinary perspectives

This volume, the first of its kind in English, brings together scholars from different disciplines who address the history of women in Austria, as well as their place in contemporary Austrian society, from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives, thus shedding new light on contemporary Austria and in the context of its rich and complicated history.

The Vranitzky era in Austria

Franz Vranitzky, the banker turned politician, was chancellor during the ten years (1986-96) when the world dramatically changed in the aftermath of the cold war. Among postwar chancellors, only Bruno Kreisky held office longer. The Austrian Social Democratic Party has been in power since 1970. Such longevity is unique in postwar European politics. The dominance of Social Democracy in particular is noteworthy when compared to the general decline of traditional leftist politics in Europe. The chapters in this volume try to assess Vranitzkys central role in recent Austrian and European history. Richard Luther presents the general European political context in which Vranitzky operated. Eva Nowotny, Vranitzkys former principal foreign policy adviser and Austrias current ambassador to the United Kingdom, analyzes his struggle over joining the European Union as well as Austrias security dilemmas following the cold war. Fritz Plasser looks at the changing electoral behavior of Austrians and the ascendancy of new parties. Irene Etzerdorfer concentrates on the long hegemony of Austrian Social Democratic leadership by comparing Vranitzkys and Kreiskys leadership styles. Other contributors include Sonja Puntscher-Riekmann, Brigitte Unger, Peter Rosner, Alexander van der Bellen, and George Winkler. A forum on postwar Austrian memory of World War II from a comparative perspective, which continues the theme of previous volumes in this series, is also included. Jonathan Petropoulos demonstrates how Swiss middlemen were in the center of dealing with stolen Nazi art during and after the war, while Olive Rathkolb describes the shameful legacy of the Austrian governments procrastination in resolving the issue of Jewish heirless art. Peter Utgaard shows how in Austrias postwar high school textbooks the American bombing of Hiroshima often figured more prominently than the Holocaust. Review essays and book reviews complete the volume. The Vranitzky Era in Austria is a compelling work for political scientists, historians, and Austria studies scholars. Gnter Bischof is associate director of Center Austria and associate professor of history at the University of New Orleans, and former visiting professor at the University of Salzburg. Anton Pelinka is director of the Austrian Institute of Conflict Research in Vienna, professor of political science at the University of Innsbruck, and former visiting professor at Stanford University. Ferdinand Karlhofer is associate professor of political science at the University of Innsbruck and former visiting professor at the University of New Orleans.

Austria in the nineteen fifties

Contributors discuss demographic, economic, and cultural trends in Austria in the post-war era, and issues involved in the study of contemporary history. Topical and nontopical essays and book reviews address foreign relations, Austrian industry, youth culture, and the Marshall Plan. Six of the 17 e

Women in Austria

The position of women in Austrian society, politics, and in the economy follows the familiar trajectory of Western societies. They were expected to accept their proper place in a male patriarchal world. Achieving equality in all spheres of life was a long struggle that is still not completed in spite of many advances. The chapters in Women in Austria attest to the growing interest and vibrancy in the area of womens studies in Austria and present a cross-section of new research in this field to an international audience. The volume includes with book reviews on Austrian business history, the Waldheim memoirs, Jews in postwar Austria, and political scandals in twentieth-century Austria. Women in Austria covers a plethora of significant social issues and will be essential to the work of womens studies scholars, sociologists, historians, and Austrian area specialists.

Austria in the European Union

Since it joined the European Union in 1995 Austria has has experienced dramatic reversals in how it is viewed by other members of the Union. In 1998 it assumed its first presidency and its competent conduct enhanced its reputation. Then Jorg Haider formed a rightwing populist government and the other members of the Union levied sanctions. This volume assesses Austrias first five years in the European Union and also its on going struggle with its past.

Austrian foreign policy in historical context

In 2005, Austria celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of its liberation from the Nazi regime and the fiftieth anniversary of the State Treaty that ended the occupation and returned full sovereignty to the country. This volume of Contemporary Austrian Studies covers foreign policy in the twentieth century. It offers an up-to-date status report of Austrias foreign policy trajectories and diplomatic options. Eva Nowotny, the current Austrian ambassador to the United States, introduces the volume with an analysis of the art and practice of Austrian diplomacy in historical perspective. Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch analyzes recent Baikans diplomacy as an EU emissary in the Bosnian and Kosovo crises. Historians Gunther Kronenbitter, Alexander Lassner, Gunter Bischof, Joanna Granville, and Martin Kofler provide historical case studies of pre-and post-World War I and World War II Austrian diplomacy, Austrias dealings with the Hungarian crisis of 1956, and its mediation between Kennedy and Khrushchev in the early 1960s. Political scientists Romain Kirt, Stefan Mayer, and Gunther Hauser analyze small states foreign policymaking in a globalizing world, Austrian federal states separate regional policy initiatives abroad and Austrias role vis-a-vis current European security initiatives. Michael Gehler periodizes post-World War II Austrian foreign policy regimes and provides a valuable summary of both the available archival and printed diplomatic source collections. A Historiography Roundtable is dedicated to the Austrian Occupation decade. Gunter Bischof reports on the state of occupation historiography; Oliver Rathkolb on the historical memory of the occupation; Michael Gehler on the context of the German question; and Wolfgang Mueller and Norman Naimark on Stalins Cold War and Soviet policies towards Austria during those years. Review essays and book reviews on art theft, anti-Semitism, the Hungarian crisis of 1956, among other topics, complete the volume.

Austria in the twentieth century

The fourteen essays in this volume include works by leading Austrian historians and political scientists. Collectively it serves as a basic introduction to a small but trend-setting European country. It is also a basic up-to-date outline of Austrias political history, shedding light on economic and social trends as well. No European country has experienced more dramatic turning points in its twentieth-century history than Austria.This volume divides the century into three periods. Section I deals with the years 1900-1938. The First Austrian Republic (established in the aftermath of World War I) was one of the succession states that tried to build a nation against the backdrop of political and economic crisis and a simmering civil war. Democracy collapsed in 1933 and an authoritarian regime attempted to prevail against pressures from Nazi Germany and Nazis at home. Section II covers World War II. In 1938, Hitlers Third Reich annexed Austria and the population was pulled into the cauldron of World War II fighting and collaborating with the Nazis, and also resisting and fleeing them. Section III concentrates on the Second Republic (1945 to the present). After ten years of four-power Allied occupation, Austria regained her sovereignty with the Austrian State Treaty of 1955. The price paid was neutrality.Unlike the turmoil of the prewar years after 1955, Austria became a normal nation with a functioning democracy, one building toward economic prosperity. After the collapse of the iron curtain in 1989, Austria turned westward, joining the European Union in 1995. Most recently, with the advent of populist politics, Austrias political system has experienced a sea of change, departing from its political economy of a huge state-owned sector and social partnership. This insightful volume will serve as a textbook in courses on Austrian, German and European history, as well as in comparative European politics.