Why the third Reich is still popular in Austria
This is the last post you can comment on for March.
Here are some disturbing results of a recent survey conducted in the
country across the river. Are people
often anti-democratic because democracy is messy and they would like a strong
leader who could cut through the red tape instead? Or is banning any political party anti-democratic in and of
itself, and perhaps even counter-productive?
Do people have a tendency to whitewash darker periods of their nation’s
history? If your country has done
something really bad, when have you atoned enough for it? Would results be similar if Slovaks were
polled about the Tiso regime?
Generally feelings of guilt are caused by the level of atonement that a country has done. Since Germany was the country that apologized for the Nazi regime, most people perceive them as the main perpetrators. There is a difference of treatment that an idea would get in Austria and in Germany. While no one would say out loud their sympathies for Hitler in Germany, since no one considers Austrians as the guilty ones similar ideas can even become widespread.
ReplyDeleteI think that there is an analogy with our national history. While no one remembers the Tiso regime and considers it to be a dark phase in our history, you might encounter people with similar ideas that are not ashamed to be public about them. However, as the period of communism is considered as one of our darker periods, it is not very common to find a communist expressing his ideas.
Therefore, I think that the public opinions are mainly influenced by history that is generally acknowledged. The only way how to allow people to truly see their history would be to concentrate on it more in the curriculum.
The results of the Austrian poll are quite alarming. It is unsettling to know that almost half of the people asked, think that life under Hitler was OK. In this case, it has to be noted that they forgot too early. In fact, a nation should never forget something as bad as the Nazi regime did. However, I do not think that the only incentive to those thoughts is the way they perceive Hitler. I believe it is to a great extent caused by the current actions of the governments. The never-ending arguments that stem from the definition of democracy make the citizens think that anything else could be better. Nevertheless, a strong man as a leader actually being a good leader is just an illusion. Only a small part of the population would profit. The rest would have to face the suppression of even the most essential rights. It may sound as a cliche, but democracy is not perfect, but it is still the best form of government we have.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, it is probable that the poll about the Tiso regime would produce similar results. In my opinion people falsely believe that Slovakia had no other option than to follow Hitler’s dictate. The extent of the crimes might not be as large as in the case of Germany, but they are alike in their nature. It is partly caused by disinformation. As Janka suggested, more emphasis should be put on this part of our history, and not omit it completely as we do now. However, I am not entirely sure whether it is in the interest of people responsible for these things.