I'm 21, I'm an Austrian. When I was about 5 I asked my father: "Daddy, who was Hitler?" He frightened me when he got angry and forbid me to talk about it ever again or even to mention this name. At school I learned all about Hitler and WWII of course. I watched films, I read books, I visited Mauthausen. But despite informing myself with a certain morbid curiosity, I didn't question too closely. How could I? I knew that my grandparents and great-grandparents all participated in WWII. They grew up with Hitlers indoctrination, they believed what he said, they killed for him. When I look at my family tree, my direct line reaching back to the 16th century, I know it was done to prove that we are pure blooded. I also look the part: tall and pale, with long blond hair and blue eyes. Do I understand how this could happen or why my beloved grandparents believed and participated in such atrocities? Nope, I can't and I don't think they do either. They're too busy forgetting, pretending it didn't happen. When their world and their ideals shattered and they where confronted with the "new" reality, they had to go on somehow.
So, I'm 21 and attend a college. It's nowhere near my specialty, but I do see structures (?) where I find them. The best way to motivate a people is to make them feel special and to give them an enemy. It unites, gives focus and hightens tolerance for drastic steps no one would accept otherwise. Good/Successful politicians know that, they needn't be German.
Now I'm having fun, so I'll ramble on. Austrian nationality is made up from Wiener Sängerknaben, Mozart, Lippizaner and good cooking. What sounds like a (bad) joke, holds a kernel of truth. Identification with Austria is almost nonexistant. Flags are frowned upon, the lack of a national identity a virtue. We don't understand the pride that other people take in their country (like the Americans or the French), 'cause for us it will always leave a bad taste in our mouths. There is one famous exception however, the famous "Schulterschluss" after the "schwarz-blaue Wende" in 2000, when almost every country trounced upon Austria for voting a the populistic party FPOE into government (admittedly it does have roots in the FDP). If it had been possible, the EU would have expelled us, instead the individual countries stopped bilateral contact for several months. The irony is, that this stopped the innernational criticism (which was very strong) almost completely: it was us against everybody. Suddenly being an Austrian, standing up for our government, was a matter of pride. (See, an enemy unites). That the FPOE crumbled under the pressure of ruling, is one irony more. Since I was in France at that time, I had a slightly different experience. I constantly had to explain myself as if I were personally responsible for the FPOE or as if they wanted to start another WW. It was awful, but I never felt more austrian than then.
This experience is also the reason why I see antiamericanism with a critical eye. Antiamericanism is very popular in Europe these days, even in intellectual circles. At our college it happened more than once that an US student had to justify US policies in front of the whole class - poor guy if he/she was an Republican on top of that. But in Austria especially we see much that fills us with unease. (Even so "simple" things like Schwarzenegger not stopping the executions - it was a scandal. I mean, what did people expect - that guy is more American than most Americans.) Take our past into consideration and you'll understand.
Racism is not a trait unique to Germans and Austrians (even if a big part of the world made us believe that). Looking away isn't either. And I won't take the (emotional) responsibility for what my great- and grandparents did when I wasn't even born. What I will do, however, is to question the reasoning of politicians and the media and I will think twice before I start throwing stones. Oh, and I will try to explain when my child should ask me one day: "Mommy, who was Hitler?"
Ramblings of an Austrian girl, living with the past
Do I understand how this could happen or why my beloved grandparents believed and participated in such atrocities? Nope, I can't and I don't think they do either. They're too busy forgetting, pretending it didn't happen. When their world and their ideals shattered and they where confronted with the "new" reality, they had to go on somehow.
So, I'm 21 and attend a college. It's nowhere near my specialty, but I do see structures (?) where I find them.
The best way to motivate a people is to make them feel special and to give them an enemy. It unites, gives focus and hightens tolerance for drastic steps no one would accept otherwise. Good/Successful politicians know that, they needn't be German.
Now I'm having fun, so I'll ramble on.
Austrian nationality is made up from Wiener Sängerknaben, Mozart, Lippizaner and good cooking. What sounds like a (bad) joke, holds a kernel of truth. Identification with Austria is almost nonexistant. Flags are frowned upon, the lack of a national identity a virtue. We don't understand the pride that other people take in their country (like the Americans or the French), 'cause for us it will always leave a bad taste in our mouths.
There is one famous exception however, the famous "Schulterschluss" after the "schwarz-blaue Wende" in 2000, when almost every country trounced upon Austria for voting a the populistic party FPOE into government (admittedly it does have roots in the FDP). If it had been possible, the EU would have expelled us, instead the individual countries stopped bilateral contact for several months. The irony is, that this stopped the innernational criticism (which was very strong) almost completely: it was us against everybody. Suddenly being an Austrian, standing up for our government, was a matter of pride. (See, an enemy unites). That the FPOE crumbled under the pressure of ruling, is one irony more.
Since I was in France at that time, I had a slightly different experience. I constantly had to explain myself as if I were personally responsible for the FPOE or as if they wanted to start another WW. It was awful, but I never felt more austrian than then.
This experience is also the reason why I see antiamericanism with a critical eye. Antiamericanism is very popular in Europe these days, even in intellectual circles. At our college it happened more than once that an US student had to justify US policies in front of the whole class - poor guy if he/she was an Republican on top of that. But in Austria especially we see much that fills us with unease. (Even so "simple" things like Schwarzenegger not stopping the executions - it was a scandal. I mean, what did people expect - that guy is more American than most Americans.) Take our past into consideration and you'll understand.
Racism is not a trait unique to Germans and Austrians (even if a big part of the world made us believe that). Looking away isn't either. And I won't take the (emotional) responsibility for what my great- and grandparents did when I wasn't even born. What I will do, however, is to question the reasoning of politicians and the media and I will think twice before I start throwing stones. Oh, and I will try to explain when my child should ask me one day: "Mommy, who was Hitler?"
Monika H.