Austria and the Jews
From the Austrian Ambassador Sir: In Austria it is illegal publicly to deny the Holocaust (‘Let Irving speak’, 3 December). ‘Words are deeds,’ said Sigmund Freud, and in Austria we are aware of this connection.
‘There is no more anti-Semitic nation in Western Europe than Austria’? Neither the report on ‘Manifestations of anti-Semitism in the EU, 2002–2003’ by the EU Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, nor the recent study by the Anti-Defamation League on ‘Attitudes towards Jews in 12 European countries’ corroborates this claim.
It is true and shameful that many Austrians participated in the Holocaust. Was this guilt ‘extraordinary’? A relatively greater number of Austrian Jews survived than did Jews in several other European countries. Was the Holocaust ignored by the Austrian government after 1945? The vast majority of its members had been prisoners of the Nazis. Very strict anti-Nazi laws were soon passed, former Nazis were excluded from public life for years, and many (about 136,000), though far from enough, were prosecuted. About 30,000 were brought to Austrian courts and 13,600 were sentenced, 43 to death, in the first years after 1945. Restitution, on the basis of Austrian laws, also started shortly after the war, but there again too little was done and often too late. Renewed efforts to compensate victims were made in recent years. Unsatisfactory as this all is, does it amount to Austria pretending that ‘responsibility resided solely in Berlin’?
‘Hitler himself was an Austrian.’ What kind of argument is this? Mozart and Wittgenstein were also Austrians. Stalin was Georgian. Neither Hitler nor Stalin rose to power in their native lands. Hitler left Austria in 1913, at the age of 24, and wrote Mein Kampf in a German prison.
Why did German troops (100,000) and police (16,000) enter Austria on 11 March 1938? Why not on 5 or 23 March? To prevent a plebiscite scheduled for 13 March on whether Austrians wanted to join Germany or not. The Austrian government launched a massive campaign for independence. The Austrian Jewish community issued an appeal in favour, arguing that as long as Austria existed Jews would not be in danger.
What would Rod Liddle have written if ‘the anti-Semitic [Austrian] nation’ had ignored its own laws and let Irving speak to ‘wacko right-wing Austrian students’? Well, you can’t win this one.
Gabriele Matzner-Holzer Austrian Embassy, London SW1 From M.G. Sherlock Sir: Rod Liddle is right. David Irving’s notions of Hitler not authorising and knowing nothing about the extermination programme are fairly risible. But the German and Austrian law threatening ‘Holocaust deniers’ with jail is a serious affront to free speech. The Flat Earth Society and those who claim the 1969 Moon landings were faked in a studio can propagate their views, so why not those with odd ideas on aspects of the second world war?
It was in any case inevitable that decades of Holocaust books, films, television series and exhibitions — some blatantly profiteering, some of dubious authenticity would give rise to individuals and groups casting doubt on the whole thing. (After 20 centuries of Christian piety, we got The Life of Brian.) The arguments from both sides will continue, even as the tragic happenings recede into history. But they should be conducted like any other subject of debate, without legal interference.
M.G. Sherlock Colwyn Bay, North Wales
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