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Austria on the Path to Western Europe: The Political Culture of the Second Republic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2009

Helmut Konrad
Helmut Konrad
Affiliation:
Professor of History and Rector, Karl-Franzens University, A-8010Graz, Austria
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Extract

LikeRobert A. Kann, I too am a historian by profession. Despite the close links between their subject and disciplines such as sociology land political science, historians on the whole avoid attempting to analyze contemporary politics. This lecture will therefore concentrate on the first twenty-five years of the Second Republic. Yet I am well aware that in the Kreisky era (notably as a result of the reforms introduced by Hertha Firnberg and Christian Broda) Austria's progress toward Western Europe took on a new character, and the country underwent what was, for the time being at least, its final major modernization. But it was an analysis of the wholly different steps taken toward the West between 1945 and 1970 that laid the foundation on which the single-party Social Democratic (SPÖ) government of the 1970s was able to build. It therefore seems legitimate to focus upon that first half of the history of the Second Republic, and to see the turning point marked by the student movement of 1968 and the election results of 1970 as a natural cutoff point for this discussion. Broadly speaking, the main concerns of the new state in its first two and a half decades were to provide a framework of order for the very disparate elements that it had inherited and to deal with the immense problems now confronting it. NaCenter for Austrian Studiestional Socialism, by its policies and the effects of all-out war, had left behind a country in ruins in every sense—not only materially through the destruction of housing, infrastructure, and industrial plant, but also intellectually and culturally. Most of the leading figures in Austria's cultural and intellectual life had been driven into exile or murdered.

Type
Robert A. Kann Memorial Lecture (1993)
Information
Austrian History Yearbook , Volume 26 , January 1995 , pp. 1 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © Center for Austrian Studies, University of Minnesota 1995

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References

1 In its thirty-fourth issue, the journal Historicum. Zeitschrift für Geschichte (Summer 1993, 28–32) carries a survey of the fifty-nine most important archives in Austria and shows that while policies on archival use vary widely, they are in some instances now very liberal. One problem lies in the differing powers of the authorities, making a standardization of policy more difficult.

2 In the context of the “Year of Reflection, 1988,” and building on the initial work done by Gerhard Botz, Heidemarie Uhl has published a major study of this subject; see Uhl, Heidemarie, Zwischen Versöhnung und Verstörung. Eine Kontröverse um Österreichs historische Identität fünfzig jahre nach dem “Anschluβ” (Vienna, 1992), 18fGoogle Scholar.

3 The best example is the work by Gulick, Charles A., republished in abridged form as Österreich von Habsburg zu Hitler (Vienna, 1976)Google Scholar, originally published as Austria from Habsburg to Hitler, 2 vols. (Los Angeles, 1948).

4 Weinzierl, Erika and Skalnik, Kurt, eds., Österreich. Die Zweite Republik, 2 vols. (Graz, 1972)Google Scholar. A shorter, single-volume edition appeared in 1976 under the title Das neue Österreich. Geschichte der Zweiten Republik.

5 Mantl, Wolfgang, ed., Politik in Österreich. Die Zweite Republik: Bestand und Wandel (Vienna, 1992)Google Scholar.

6 Alfred Ableitinger, “Die innenpolitische Entwicklung,” in Politik in Österreich, ed. Mantl, 119–203. Comparison between this and Rudolf Neck's account in the collection edited by Weinzierl and Skalnik clearly shows the advances made in the writing of contemporary history in the last two decades. Yet Neck's essay is also of high quality, and as director-general of the Austrian State Archive he had no small knowledge of the sources.

7 An example is the collection of essays edited by Rudolph, Richard L. and Good, David F., Nationalism and Empire: The Habsburg Empire and the Soviet Union (New York, 1992)Google Scholar. It contains revised papers from a conference sponsored by the Center for Austrian Studies at the University of Minnesota.

8 Logically speaking, this term is in fact merely an empty formula, since it cannot be applied with analytical precision. The concept was developed in the book by Plasser, Fritz and Ulram, Peter A., Unbehagen im Parteienstaat Jugend und Politik in Österreich (Vienna, 1982)Google Scholar. It was adapted to apply to contemporary history by Müller, Wolfgang C., “Zum Konzept der politischen Kultur,” Zeitgeschichte 12, part 1 (1984/1985): 26–35Google Scholar.

9 Hanisch, Ernst, “Kontinuitáten und Brüche. Die innere Entwicklung,” in Handbuch des politischen Systems ÖOsterreichs, ed. Dachs, Herbert, Gerlich, Peter, Gottweis, Herbert, Horner, Franz, Kramer, Helmut, Lauber, Volkmar, Müller, Wolfgang C., and Tálos, Emmerich (Vienna, 1992), 12Google Scholar.

10 This has been shown most strikingly in a regional study by a sociologist; see Fleck, Christian, Koralmpartisanen (Vienna, 1986)Google Scholar.

11 The essential characteristics of this system are described by Ableitinger, “Die innenpolitische Entwicklung,” 151–54, and by Wolfgang C. Müller, who points out that up to the 1970s Austria was “one of the countries showing the least voter fluctuation between the parties.” Wolfgang C. Müller, “Das Parteiensystem,” in Handbuch des politischen Systems Österreichs, ed. Dachs et al., 191.

12 Within the Humanities Faculty of the University of Graz a special area of research, “Moderne,” has been formed; it is envisaged that over a period of ten years scholars in the fields of history, literature, music, philosophy, and the visual arts will jointly carry out a major program of research with the aim of identifying the specific features of “modernity” in Austria.

13 Under my supervision, Werner Suppanz is at present working on a research project on this subject titled “Zur historischen Legitimation von Standestaat und Zweiter Republik,” which is due to be completed in 1995.

14 Ableitinger, “Die innenpolitische Entwicklung,” 166.

15 Ibid.

16 Steinbauer, Johannes, “‘Markig und feierlich…’. Eine Geschichte der Bundeshymnen der Republik Österreich, betrachtet unter dem Aspekt ihrer gesellschaftlichen und politischen Auswirkungen” (diploma thesis, Graz, 1993)Google Scholar.

17 Ibid., 154f.

18 Botz, Gerhard, Wien vom “Anschluβ” zum Krieg. Nationalsozialistische Machtübernahme und politisch-soziale Umgestaltung am Beispiel der Stadt Wien 1938/39 (Vienna, 1978), 593fGoogle Scholar.

19 Among the many published studies on this subject special mention may be made of Moser, Jonny, “Die Apokalypse der Wiener Juden,” in Wien 1938, ed. Konrad, Helmut et al. (Vienna, 1988)Google Scholar.

20 Rarely has the full extent of Austria's loss been more palpable than at this conference, which in a comprehensive gathering brought together survivors of the tragedy from the fields of the arts, culture, and science and the researchers of the following generation. See Stadler, Friedrich, ed., Vertriebene Vemunft II (Vienna, 1988)Google Scholar.

21 Dramatic evidence, which even incriminates those responsible for internal policy, emerged with the recent publication of the minutes of meetings of the Austrian government. See Knight, Robert, ed., “Ich bin dafür, die Sache in die Länge zu ziehen”. Wortprotokolle der österreichischen Bundesregierung von 1945–1952 über die Entschädigung der Juden (Frankfurt am Main, 1988)Google Scholar.

22 National identity was one of the chief areas of Robert A. Kann's research. Other major writers such as Felix Kreissler, Friedrich Heer, Hans Mommsen, and Ernst Bruckmüller have also devoted their main works to the subject. No historian working in the field of modern Austrian history can evade it.

23 This has been clearly shown most recently by Deák, István, Beyond Nationalism: A Social and Political History of the Habsburg Officer Corps (New York, 1990)Google Scholar.

24 Konrad, Helmut, Nationalismus und Internationalismus. Die österreichische Arbeiterbewegung vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg (Vienna, 1976)Google Scholar.

25 The concept of the Sprachnation, the nation defined by language, which was derived from Romantic thought, was dominant up to the end of the nineteenth century. It was then partially displaced by other attempts to define what constitutes a nation, on the basis of biology by the “Right,” on the basis of economic criteria by the “Left.” Only with Austro-Marxism and, later, communication theory did the Sprachnation concept undergo further dynamic development.

26 Karl R. Stadler, Hypothek auf die Zukunft. Entstehung der österreichischen Republik 1918–1921, 86.

27 Maimann, Helene, “Der März 1938 als Wendepunkt im sozialdemokratischen Anschlußdenken,” in Sozialdemokratie und “Anschluβ,” ed. Konrad, Helmut (Vienna, 1978), 63Google Scholar.

28 This had been opposed most vehemently by Friedrich Adler, and the way in which the matter was handled was one reason for his second emigration, as has been clearly shown by Rudolf Ardelt, “Das ‘Problem’ Friedrich Adler,” in Sozialdemokratie und “Anschluβ,” ed. Konrad, 71–87.

29 Jörg Haider has repeatedly expressed this point of view in recent speeches, following the almost uniformly hostile public reaction to his calling the creation of the Austrian nation a “monstrosity”(Miβgeburt). Needless to say, this is primarily a political ploy that he hopes will pay dividends in the form of popular support for his position on the question of Austria's integration into Europe.

30 See März, Eduard, Österreichische Bankpolitik in der Zeit der groβen Wende 1913–1923. Am Beispiel der Creditanstalt für Handel und Gewerbe (Munich, 1981), 273ffCrossRefGoogle Scholar.

31 Ableitinger, “Die innenpolitische Entwicklung,” 148.

32 Ibid., 147.

33 Josef Marko, “Verbände und Sozialpartnerschaft,” in Politik in Österreich, ed. Mantl, 429–78.

34 Ableitinger, “Die innenpolitische Entwicklung,” passim.

35 Weidenholzer, Josef, Der sorgende Staat. Zur Entwicklung der Sozialpolitik von Josef 11. bis Ferdinand Hanusch (Vienna, 1985), 251fGoogle Scholar.

36 Pelinka, Anton, Windstille. Klagen über Österreich (Vienna, 1985), 135Google Scholar.

37 Uhl, Heidemarie, Geschichte der steirischen Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte in der Ersten Republik (Vienna, 1991), 1–17Google Scholar.

38 Ableitinger, “Die innenpolitische Entwicklung,” 154.

39 Konrad, Helmut and Lechner, Manfred, “Millionenverwechslung”. Franz Olah–Die Kronenzeitung–Geheimdienste (Vienna, 1992), 48–50Google Scholar. Manfred Lechner has made these matters the subject of his dissertation.

40 Wagnleitner, Reinhold, Coca-Colonisation und Kalter Krieg. Die Kulturmission der USA in Österreich nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg (Vienna, 1991)Google Scholar.

41 Konrad, Helmut, “Zur politischen Kultur der Zweiten Republik am Beispiel des ‘Falles Olah,’” Geschichte und Gegenwart 5, part 2 (1986): 31–53Google Scholar.

42 Kurt Wimmer, “Struktur und Einfluß der Medien,” in Politik in Österreich, ed. Mantl, 479ff.

43 Konrad and Lechner, “Millionenverwechslung.”

44 The question of denazification is treated fully in two standard works, Stiefel, Dieter, Entnazifizierung in Österreich (Vienna, 1981)Google Scholar, and, building upon it and therefore naturally able to cover more aspects of the subject, Sebastian Meisel, Klaus-Dieter Mulley, and Oliver Rathkolb, eds., Verdrängte Schuld, verfehlte Sühne. Entnazifizierung in Österreich 1945–1955. For the best and most comprehensive treatment of the consequences of this repression of guilt, see Uhl, Zwischen Versöhnung und Verstörung.