Nazi Insults In Austria: Effective Or Not?

The effectiveness of Nazi as an insult in Austria is a complex question that is deeply rooted in the country's history and societal attitudes. From 1949 to 1988, many Austrians embraced the notion of their country being the first victim of the Nazis, a perspective that shaped their national identity and self-perception for decades. This victim theory allowed Austrians to distance themselves from any responsibility for Nazi crimes and enabled former Nazis to reintegrate into society. However, this narrative began to change in the 1980s, with the election of Kurt Waldheim, a former Wehrmacht intelligence officer, as federal president. This sparked international condemnation and forced Austrians to reckon with their country's role during World War II. While some Austrians still cling to the victim theory, others have acknowledged and condemned their nation's complicity with the Nazis. As a result, the word Nazi may evoke varying reactions in Austria, depending on the individual's perspective and understanding of history.

Nazi ideology in Austria

Austrian Nazism, or Austrian National Socialism, was a pan-German movement that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century. It was a concrete form of the German Worker's Party (DAP) established in Austria in 1903. The movement was suppressed under the rule of Engelbert Dollfuss from 1932 to 1934, with its political organisation, the DNSAP ("German National Socialist Workers' Party") banned in early 1933. However, it was revived and became part of the German Nazi Party after the German annexation of Austria in 1938.

The origins of Nazism in Austria have been disputed and continue to be debated. One view suggests that it emerged from the German-Czech conflict within the multi-ethnic Austrian Empire, while others argue it was a precursor of German Nazism. Regardless, Austrian Nazism shared the core tenets of Nazi ideology, including antisemitism, nationalism, and the desire for unification with Germany.

When German troops entered Austria in March 1938, they were welcomed by cheering crowds, and a plebiscite shortly after showed over 99% of the population voting in favour of annexation. This enthusiasm for Nazi rule, however, did not reflect the entire Austrian population, as there were also resistance groups and individuals who opposed the regime.

The Holocaust in Austria began in July 1941 and mostly concluded by the end of 1942. During this period, thousands of Austrian Jews were deported to ghettos and concentration camps, with a significant portion perishing. Additionally, the Austrian resistance against the Nazi regime was relatively weak and ineffective.

Following World War II, Austria sought to distance itself from its involvement with Nazism and embraced the "victim theory," portraying itself as the "first victim" of Nazi aggression. This ideology allowed Austrians to avoid responsibility for their role in Nazi crimes and facilitated the reintegration of former Nazis into society. However, over time, there has been a growing acknowledgement of collective responsibility, and Austria has taken steps towards restitution and remembrance.

Austria's role in the Holocaust

Austria played a significant role in the Holocaust, both as a perpetrator and as a bystander. Here is a detailed overview:

The "Anschluss" and Austrian Enthusiasm:

On March 12, 1938, German troops entered Austria and received the enthusiastic support of most Austrians. The country was incorporated into Germany the following day, an act known as the "Anschluss" or union. A manipulated plebiscite indicated that about 99% of Austrians supported the union with Germany, although Jews and Roma were not allowed to vote. The Austrian population greeted the German troops with Nazi salutes and flags, reflecting their overwhelming approval of the annexation.

Anti-Semitic Violence and Persecution:

Persecution of Jews in Austria was immediate and brutal following the "Anschluss." German racial laws were enacted, disenfranchising Jews and expanding the definition of who was considered Jewish. This led to the classification of 220,000 people as Jews in Austria, a larger number than previously accepted. The Jewish communities were reorganised under Adolf Eichmann, and all Jewish organisations and newspapers were closed, with their leaders imprisoned. Jews were banned from public transport and subjected to public humiliation, such as being forced to wash sidewalks and toilets.

The Mauthausen Concentration Camp:

In the summer of 1938, the Mauthausen concentration camp was established near Linz. It became the main Nazi camp in Austria, designated as a special penal camp with a harsh regime. Thousands of prisoners were worked to death, forced to carry heavy stone blocks in a detail known as the "Stairway of Death." During the war, the use of concentration camp prisoners for forced labour became increasingly important to German armaments production.

Kristallnacht Pogroms:

The November 1938 Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass") pogroms were particularly brutal in Austria. Most synagogues in Vienna were destroyed in full view of fire departments and the public, and Jewish businesses were vandalised and ransacked. Thousands of Jews were arrested and deported to concentration camps, leading to a dramatic increase in Jewish emigration.

Plunder of Jewish Property:

There was a systematic seizure and transfer of Jewish property, including homes, businesses, real estate, financial assets, and artworks, to non-Jews. This was facilitated by a well-organised network involving the Gestapo, auction houses, transporters, and museums.

Deportations and Extermination:

In October 1939, the deportation of Austrian Jews to Poland began, as part of a larger plan to gather Europe's Jewish population in one territory. The deportation of Jews to death camps started in February 1941 and was accelerated after the Wannsee Conference. The Viennese Jewish community was officially liquidated in November 1942, and deportations continued until March 1945. As a result, between 60,000 and 65,000 Austrian Jews lost their lives, with fewer than 800 surviving until the liberation of Vienna in April 1945.

Austrian Complicity and Denial:

Many regular Austrians joined the Nazis in terrorising Jews and actively participated in the persecution. After World War II, Austria denied its role and responsibility in the Holocaust, adopting the "First Victim" narrative, which portrayed the country as an unwilling victim of Nazi aggression rather than an enthusiastic supporter. This allowed Austria to sidestep accountability for its role in the crimes of the Third Reich. It was only in the 1980s, following the scandal regarding the Nazi past of Kurt Waldheim, that Austrian society began to confront its National Socialist past and acknowledge its role in the Holocaust.

In summary, Austria's role in the Holocaust was significant and included active participation in the persecution, plunder, and extermination of Jews. The country's initial enthusiasm for the "Anschluss," the widespread complicity of its citizens, and its post-war denial and obfuscation of responsibility highlight the depth of Austria's involvement in this dark chapter of history.

Austrian resistance to Nazism

The Austrian resistance was launched in response to the rise of fascism across Europe and, more specifically, to the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938. An estimated 100,000 people participated in this resistance, with thousands subsequently imprisoned or executed for their anti-Nazi activities. The Austrian resistance efforts included providing the Allies with information on the production sites of weapons and aircraft, managing or exchanging Jewish families' property to generate funds, and aiding their escape from Nazi persecution.

One notable resistance group was led by the priest Heinrich Maier. This group sought to re-establish a Habsburg monarchy after the war and played a significant role in providing the Allies with information on the production sites of V-1, V-2 rockets, Tiger tanks, and aircraft. The intelligence they provided enabled the Allies to conduct precise airstrikes, minimizing civilian casualties. The Maier group was also one of the earliest to report the mass murder of Jews, utilizing contacts at the Semperit factory near Auschwitz.

Another notable resistance group was the Austrian Freedom Front, led by the Communist leader Franz Honner and supported by the USSR. By the end of the war, the Austrian Freedom Front had become the only armed movement in Austria. Other resistance groups included the Koralmpartisanen, which had around 200-300 fighters and operated in Western Styria, targeting infrastructure facilities and sabotaging militarily important facilities such as bridges and railways.

In addition to these groups, there were also individual resistance efforts within the German Wehrmacht, such as the group led by Major Carl Szokoll, which planned "Operation Radetzky" to assist the Red Army in liberating Vienna and prevent major destruction. However, the operation was betrayed, and several members of the group, including Robert Bernardis, Heinrich Kodré, Karl Biedermann, Alfred Huth, and Rudolf Raschke, were sentenced to death and executed.

Overall, the Austrian resistance to Nazism was diverse and courageous, but it was ultimately unable to prevent the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany or stop the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.

Denazification in Austria

• April-May 1945: The occupying powers took charge of the removal from office and criminal prosecution of former Nazis.
• May 1945-February 1946: Austrian "people's courts" worked simultaneously with the occupying powers.
• February 1946-May 1948: Austrian powers carried out denazification alone.
• May 1948 onwards: Denazification was discontinued, and a 9-year "period of amnesties" for former Nazis began.

During the entire denazification period, people's courts tried 137,000 cases and passed 43 capital sentences, 30 of which were carried out. Another two death row inmates killed themselves in custody. The American occupiers conducted the most stringent denazification process, with the majority of the 18,000 prosecuted Nazis convicted in their sector. The Soviet powers arrested and prosecuted approximately 2,000 Austrians, with about 200 executed.

However, denazification in Austria was also marked by tensions between the occupying powers and economic powers, who actively recruited former Nazi industrial and commercial managers. There was a lack of "spotless" individuals to fill urgent vacancies, and former Nazis were often transferred between positions instead of being truly removed from power. Political parties, including the Communists, also protected Nazis under their patronage.

The "victim theory," encapsulated in the slogan "Austria – the Nazis' first victim," was a fundamental myth in Austrian society that allowed for the integration of former Nazis into social and political life. This ideology held that all Austrians, including supporters of Adolf Hitler, were unwilling victims of the Nazi regime and thus bore no responsibility for its crimes. The Austrian state denied any continuity with the political regime from 1938-1945 and cultivated an image of national unity. The struggle for justice by the actual victims of Nazism, primarily Jews, was dismissed as an attempt at illicit enrichment.

It was not until the 1980s, with the election of former Wehrmacht intelligence officer Kurt Waldheim as federal president and the subsequent international isolation of Austria, that Austrians began to reconsider their attitude towards the past. In 1988, the nation officially abandoned the "victim theory" and admitted its collective responsibility for the crimes committed during the Nazi occupation.

The victim theory in Austrian politics

The victim theory, encapsulated in the slogan "Austria – the Nazis' first victim", was the 1949–1988 Austrian ideological basis formed by Austrians themselves under Allied occupation and the independent Second Austrian Republic. The theory was a fundamental myth in Austrian society that allowed previously bitter political opponents to unite and bring former Nazis back into social and political life. The theory stated that the 1938 Anschluss was an act of military aggression by the Third Reich and that Austrian statehood had been interrupted, meaning that the newly revived Austria of 1945 could not be considered responsible for the Nazis' crimes.

The theory was used to justify the end of denazification and the honourable place that veterans of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS took in society. The struggle for justice by the actual victims of Nazism – primarily Jews – was deprecated as an attempt to obtain illicit enrichment at the expense of the rest of the Austrian nation.

In 1986, the election of a former Wehrmacht intelligence officer, Kurt Waldheim, as federal president put Austria on the verge of international isolation. Powerful external pressure and an internal political discussion forced Austrians to reconsider their attitude to the past. Starting with the political administration in 1988 and then followed by most of the Austrian people, the nation admitted its collective responsibility for the crimes committed during the Nazi occupation and officially abandoned the "victim theory".

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