Austria and the legacy of the Holocaust

Austrian-Jewish relations have been influenced by Austria's wartime record as part of the Nazi Reich and its contribution to the Holocaust. After 1945 Austria adopted the myth of itself as "the first victim of Nazism"; in contrast to postwar Germany, it did not repent for its participation in the Holocaust and denied its historical legacy of antisemitism. Attempts were made to trivialize the Holocaust and to equate Jewish victims with their former persecutors. In the same vein, Austria refused to pay reparations for confiscated Jewish property. Dwells on Bruno Kreisky's personality and his negative stance toward the Jews and Israel. One of Kreisky's goals was to relativize Austria's wartime cooperation with the Nazis, a fact noted by Austrian right-wing radicals. Austrian-Jewish relations were strained even more by the Waldheim Affair. After 1987 Austria attempted to improve its relations with Jews and to admit its responsibility for the Holocaust. However, the same period was marked with the electoral success of Haider's right-wing and xenophobic Freedom Party. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)