The Politics of the Nazi Past in Germany and Austria

ISBN-13: 9780521856836 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 246 str.

Massachusetts) David Art (College of the Holy Cross

Opis

This book argues that Germans and Austrians have dealt with the Nazi past very differently--with important consequences for political culture and partisan politics. David Art analyzes how public debates about the "lessons of history" created a culture of contrition in Germany that prevented a resurgent far right from consolidating itself in German politics after unification. By contrast, public debates in Austria nourished a culture of victimization that provided a hospitable environment for the rise of right-wing populism. The volume is for those interested in the memory of Nazism and the Holocaust, the rise of European far right parties and contemporary German and Austrian politics.

Recenzje

"To understand the differences between Germany and Austria, it is necessary to read David Art's book. Art stresses convincingly the reasons for and the results of different attitudes toward Nazism: After 1945, Germany had to accept the role of a perpetrator. Austria was allowed to nourish the role of a victim. The consequences are known from the Waldheim affair to Joerg Haideras rise to significant power, unthinkable in post-1945 Germany." Anton Pelinka, University of Innsbruck, Austria

Spis treści

1. Introduction; 2. Public debates and political change; 3. The culture of contrition; 4. The victim culture; 5. Combating the Far Right in Germany; 6. Taming the Far Right in Austria?; 7. Conclusions and extensions.