Die Lange Nacht des Schweigens

The 70th anniversary of the Annexation of Austria to Hitler-Germany was the occasion for a memorial event on Heldenplatz. This place, like no other, requires a lot of explanation for people who do not fully comprehend the history of Austrian national-socialism. Last Christmas break I realized how big of an issue this place is when I hosted some friends from CA.

"Als der Führer und Kanzler der deutschen Nation und des Reichs melde ich vor der Geschichte nunmehr den Eintritt meiner Heimat in das Deutsche Reich." (Adolf Hitler)

The Heldenplatz and its notorious history. 70 years ago: Hitler-German soldiers marched into Austrian territory on 11 March. Austria was going to be reunited with Germany. Within 48 hours the annexation was fully completed and the Austrian government was switched off completely. This whole process went with quite some speed. Plus it went with hardly any resistance. We all know that over 100,000 people cheered on Hitler’s arrival in his home land (he delivered the notorious speech on 15 March). People were ecstatically happy to watch the arrival of the Führer who promised work (an economical plan to finance the war that was ante portas), peace and unity after years coined by frustration, hunger, unemployment and chaos…

Finally someone was pointing his finger at the people who were supposed to be responsible for the generally miserable state. The scapegoat was the Jewish population of Austria/Germany (links to Jews forced to clean the pavement while being watched by Nazis).

“1938 ist nicht einfach passiert”

Austria just can’t pretend to be the victim, the poor who were hijacked by Hitler-Germany. People knew the final destination of the trains loaded with Jews and people who weren’t conform with the regime’s ideology. Dangerous people were killed systematically. In my opinion, Austria has to take full responsibility for the crime it committed in the past because “1938 ist nicht einfach passiert” (Vienna city councilor for culture Andreas Mailath-Pokorny). That is German for “1938 didn’t just happen.”

Last Wednesday 15,000 people, young and old, gathered on the Heldenplatz to silently commemorate the 80,000 Austrian victims by lightening 80,000 candles. Never Again (says the formation of candles)- I wish there was a guarantee for this.

Check out the gallery of Karina Tischlinger (flickr stream) who captured the atmosphere on the Heldenplatz.

The 70th anniversary of the Annexation and the gradually gaining power of the right wing (FPÖ) party (10% in Lower Austria) are the reasons for this post. The next time people vote for a party that unofficially feels attracted to Nazi ideology, they should be aware of how fast a government can be switched off by manipulation, fear and terror. Ausländerhetze (malicious agitation pointed against foreigners, especially Muslims) gets pretty close to the Nazi scapegoating. Think twice the next time. Lucky us, I think we were the “next time.” We all can learn from history. Nobody wants back the old days, do we?

Finally I want to point out that this article is just an approach to a very complex topic. For a more detailed articled I recommend the Spiegel report on March 1938; written in English.