VZCZCXRO5185
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHVI #0383/01 0741302
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141302Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9788
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 000383 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/AGS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM AU
SUBJECT: Austria Confronts its Nazi Past 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
¶1.  The Austrian government, media, and cultural institutions, as 
well as the general public, commemorated the 70th anniversary of 
Austria's "Anschluss" with Nazi Germany on March 12, 1938 with 
various events, ranging from a special session of parliament to a 
"night of silence" on Vienna's Heldenplatz square.  At its March 12 
cabinet meeting, the government also decided on the establishment of 
a Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies.  The Jewish Community 
chose March 11 for the opening of the Hakoah sports center.  End 
Summary. 
 
Parliament Ceremony 
------------------- 
 
¶2.  At a special session of both houses of parliament on  March 12, 
President Fischer, Chancellor Gusenbauer, Vice-Chancellor Molterer 
and Parliamentary President Prammer stressed the co-responsibility 
of Austrians for National Socialist crimes.  The GOA representatives 
referred to the roots of the "Anschluss" in the fights between 
Christian-conservatives and Socialists in the 1920s and 30s.  They 
concluded that cooperation and "bridge-building" of democratic 
forces was essential in preventing catastrophes such as the 
Anschluss. 
 
¶3. Drawing analogies to the current tensions between Austria's 
coalition parties, the speakers urged SPO and OVP leaders to 
overcome their mutual distrust and suspiciousness.  Before the 
special session, the SPO and OVP had each held separate events to 
commemorate the Anschluss. 
 
Wiesenthal Center 
----------------- 
 
¶4. The government also used the occasion of the Anschluss 
anniversary to approve the establishment of a Wiesenthal Center for 
Holocaust Studies in Vienna.  As a result of lengthy negotiations, 
the Federal Government will, together with the City of Vienna, 
finance the center to preserve the legacy of Simon Wiesenthal.  The 
center is to go into operation in 2011 to archive and analyze the 
thousands of files left behind by Wiesenthal. 
 
"Night of Silence" 
------------------ 
 
¶5.  Youth and senior citizen organizations, the Catholic Church, and 
the organizers of the project "A Letter to the Stars," held a vigil 
overnight March 12-13 on Vienna's Heldenplatz square in the course 
of which 80,000 candles were lit to commemorate the Austrian victims 
of the National Socialist Regime.  The names of the 80,000 victims 
were also displayed on big screens.  Heldenplatz was the site where 
some 250,000 Austrians cheered Hitler's arrival on March 12, 1938. 
"A Letter to the Stars" will continue the Anschluss anniversary 
commemoration events in May, when 250 Austrian schools will host 250 
now-emigrant Austrian Holocaust survivors as speakers. 
 
Hakoah 
------ 
 
¶6.  The Jewish Community (IKG) used the anniversary to open the 
Hakoah sports center, the sitre of which had been restored to it in 
accordance with the 2001 U.S.-Austrian Washington Agreement on 
Holocaust Property.  Hakoah, founded in 1909 as a Jewish 
institution, was "aryanized" in 1938.  After 1945, the sports club 
was re-opened as a Jewish facility, but did not regain its original 
premises.  In accordance with the Washington Agreement, the original 
premises have now been restored;" additionally, the Federal and the 
City of Vienna government provided financial support for the 
construction of the new facility.  The site will also host a Jewish 
school and old-age home.  At the opening ceremony, IKG President 
Ariel Muzicant noted that the Hakoah community center will be the 
largest such facility in Europe. 
 
Other Events 
------------ 
 
¶7.  In addition to the GOA ceremonies commemorating the anniversary, 
there were numerous other events, including speeches, panel 
discussions and special exhibitions.  The Anschluss has also been 
the dominant topic in the Austrian media in March: Public television 
and radio are airing series of programs on the Anschluss, ranging 
from documentaries to movies and TV debates.  Universities, theaters 
and opera houses are also staging special events and performances on 
the topic of the Anschluss. 
 
Polls 
----- 
¶8. Polls indicate Austrians have become more self-critical regarding 
the country's National Socialist past.  Twenty years ago, 48 percent 
considered Austria the first victim of the Hitler regime, while only 
25 percent believed Austria shared responsibility for Nazi crimes. 
 
VIENNA 00000383  002 OF 002 
 
 
In a 2008 survey, 48 percent acknowledged Austria's shared 
responsibility, while the "first-victim" theory was only supported 
by one third of Austrians. 
 
¶9. In this context, the statement by Otto Habsburg at the OVP's 
Anschluss commemoration event March 10 received wide attention. 
Habsburg said that, "no state in Europe is more entitled to call 
itself a victim of Nazi Germany than Austria."  While Habsburg 
referred to the extensive efforts of the Austrian regime in 1938 to 
prevent the Anschluss, his statement was heavily criticized as 
reflecting the opinion of those who deny Austria's shared 
responsibility for National Socialist crimes.  At the OVP event, OVP 
parliamentary floor leader Wolfgang Schuessel corrected Habsburg's 
comments by stressing that, "Austrians were also perpetrators" in 
the National Socialist era. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶10.  The controversy surrounding the late Austrian President 
Waldheim in the 1980s forced Austria to openly confront its Nazi 
past and led to a transformation of the country's historical 
conscience. Previously, Austria primarily considered itself the 
"first victim" of Hitler's Germany.  This image was bolstered by 
language in the 1943 Moscow Declaration by the Allied Powers, which 
was referred to in the Austrian declaration of independence in 1945. 
 In the late 1980s and early 1990s, GOA officials began to 
acknowledge the shared responsibility of Austrians in National 
Socialist crimes.  History education in schools also abandoned the 
"first-victim" myth and now focuses on the fact that Austrians were 
both victims and perpetrators under National Socialism.  The 
Anschluss anniversary events this week reflect this self-critical 
confrontation of Austria's National Socialist past, and the 
country's matured national memory.  KILNER