Guilt and Atonement   Remembrance Is the Key Word  Austria labors under a heavy burden due to the sloppy way it has dealt with the question of guilt and atonement. Who is responsible for what? Who must atone for whose wrongdoings? Is it even ... continue >>   Moscow Declaration 1943  The governments of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States of America are agreed that Austria, the first free country to fall a victim to Hitlerite aggression, shall be li ... continue >>   Austria or the Austrians?  Another amendment to the original drafts was to have more far-reaching consequences. It was only at the conference of ministers itself that the deputy foreign minister of the Soviet Union, A ... continue >>   Figl Recalls Molotov  Politically relevant texts always have an "advocatory function," because it is a law of political argumentation that "where an existing text is available, the most favorable statements will ... continue >>   The True Omissions  Stourzh, therefore, arrived at the well-founded conclusion that it was "not the reference to the state of Austria as a victim of Hitlerite aggression that should be called into question. It ... continue >>   Victims Not Left Empty Handed  And what about compensation for the victims, which of course had also been paid? As Elie Wiesel once accurately wrote, "not all victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims." Almost 130,000 ... continue >>   Restitution and Compensation  Past Measures Undertaken by Austria Since 1945 continue >>   A Missed Opportunity in 1955  It is difficult to ascertain how much money the Republic of Austria had paid out under all these titles by the end of the 20th century. No matter what amounts were calculated and revaluated ... continue >>   Victims, Perpetrators and Spectators  This was indeed the bitterest insight for many Austrians: that during the National Socialist tyranny, there had not only been victims and perpetrators among them, but also spectators, access ... continue >>   Vranitzky, Klestil and Schüssel: Clear Words  Speeches by Chancellor Franz Vranitzky and President Thomas Klestil were important milestones along this road. Addressing the Austrian Parliament on July 8, 1991, Vranitzky said that Austria ... continue >>   Nexus of Guilt through Generations  Such words broke the barrier of distrust and distress that had in the past separated many Austrian and foreign critics from Austria's previous self-image, all the more so as the words were f ... continue >>