The Politics of the Nazi Past in Germany and AustriaCambridge University Press, 2005 M12 19 - 231 pages This book argues that Germans and Austrians have dealt with the Nazi past very differently and these differences have had important consequences for political culture and partisan politics in the two countries. Drawing on different literatures in political science, Art builds a framework for understanding how public deliberation transforms the political environment in which it occurs. The book 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 argument is supported by evidence from nearly two hundred semi-structured interviews and an analysis of the German and Austrian print media over a twenty-year period. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Public Debates and Political Change | 13 |
The Culture of Contrition | 49 |
The Victim Culture | 101 |
Combating the Far Right in Germany | 145 |
Taming the Far Right in Austria? | 176 |
Conclusions and Extensions | 196 |
Coding Scheme for Die Zeit Content Analysis | 213 |
Breakdown of Interviews Conducted | 214 |
Coding Semistructured Interviews with German Politicians | 215 |
Coding Semistructured Interviews with Austrian Politicians | 219 |
Question Set Germany | 220 |
Question Set Austria | 221 |
223 | |
225 | |
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Common terms and phrases
actors Adenauer Anschluss anti-Semitic argued argument Austrian politics Berlin Bild Bitburg Bundestag campaign CDU/CSU central Chancellor Christian Democrats civil society claimed coalition conservative contrition frame culture of contrition democracy demonstrate Die Zeit elections electoral European far-right former Nazis FPÖ FPÖ's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung German political German politicians Germany and Austria Germany's Goldhagen Historians Hitler Holocaust Ibid ideas ideational change immigration intellectuals Interview Jewish Jews Jörg Haider Kohl Kreisky Krone Kronen Zeitung liberal memory monument movement national identity National Socialism nationalist Nazi past Nazism norms organization ÖVP parliamentary percent political discourse political elites political parties postwar protest public debates public opinion reaction REPs Richard von Weizsäcker right-wing extremism right-wing populism right-wing populist parties role scholars Second World Social Democrats speech SPÖ statements strategy tion University Press victim narrative Vienna vote voters Waffen-SS Waldheim affair Waldheim debate Wehrmacht Weizsäcker Western Europe Zeit