Guilty Victim: Austria from the Holocaust to Haider

Rating:
Summary: Austria in Crisis
Review: last year while studying at the IES Vienna program, I was confronted with the new elections and creation of government in Austria. The man at the center of all this attention was Jorg Haider, then the leader of the of the FPO. Hell Pick's book "Guilty Victim" effectively presents the background to the Austria as a paradox in association to Anschluss and WWII. On one ahnd there is the national lie that Austria was the first victim of the Third Reich. This reinforces Austrian indentity in modern Europe. The other side is that Austria bears responsibility for participating in the actions of the third Reich. Austria suffers the dilemma of reconciling with its guilt from the past, so that it may enter into accord with the other nations of the EU. This book is best sumed by her words qouted "Those who choose to forget history are condemned to live through the same again. Those who do not want to know precisely what took place will never be able to learn the lessons of history... We have a duty to understand the past - and as far as possible, to accept wrong-doing and make amends." Pick's purpose in this book is to reconcile with the actions of the nation that she was born into. This book represents a contemporary approach to modern European history in the hopes that lessons will be learned in rder to prevent disasters and distructions of the past. The EU provides potential in the continent reconciling with their actions during the second world war. I believe this book is best for those interested in contemporary Austrian or modern European history. Austria is no longer a nation confused about its national identity but is confronted by the new dominant force in Europe, the EU. Only time will determine the fate of Austria in a larger Europe.

Rating:
Summary: Austria in Crisis
Review: last year while studying at the IES Vienna program, I was confronted with the new elections and creation of government in Austria. The man at the center of all this attention was Jorg Haider, then the leader of the of the FPO. Hell Pick's book "Guilty Victim" effectively presents the background to the Austria as a paradox in association to Anschluss and WWII. On one ahnd there is the national lie that Austria was the first victim of the Third Reich. This reinforces Austrian indentity in modern Europe. The other side is that Austria bears responsibility for participating in the actions of the third Reich. Austria suffers the dilemma of reconciling with its guilt from the past, so that it may enter into accord with the other nations of the EU. This book is best sumed by her words qouted "Those who choose to forget history are condemned to live through the same again. Those who do not want to know precisely what took place will never be able to learn the lessons of history... We have a duty to understand the past - and as far as possible, to accept wrong-doing and make amends." Pick's purpose in this book is to reconcile with the actions of the nation that she was born into. This book represents a contemporary approach to modern European history in the hopes that lessons will be learned in rder to prevent disasters and distructions of the past. The EU provides potential in the continent reconciling with their actions during the second world war. I believe this book is best for those interested in contemporary Austrian or modern European history. Austria is no longer a nation confused about its national identity but is confronted by the new dominant force in Europe, the EU. Only time will determine the fate of Austria in a larger Europe.