Vol. XXXII · 2001 · pp. 149-168 (20)

Heidemarie Uhul

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Abstract

On what was the first visit of an Austrian president to Israel, Thomas Klestil spoke before the Knesset in November 1994 of "repression," of a lack of "admission to the whole truth," stating, "We know that we have too often spoken of the fact that Austria was the first state to lose its freedom and independence to National Socialism—but we have spoken far too rarely of the fact that some of the worst henchmen of the NS dictatorship were in fact Austrians."1 With this, Klestil was reacting to the fundamental questioning of the victim theory in the Waldheim debate as had Chancellor Franz Vranitzky in his often cited declaration to the Austrian Parliament on July 8, 1991, to the effect that Austria "must admit to the good and bad … sides" of its history: "We must [admit] … to our share of the responsibility for the suffering that Austria did not cause as a state but that was brought upon other people and other peoples by the citizens of this country" and "apologize to the survivors and the descendants of the dead."