Austria victim theory
Ideological basis for Austria (1949–1988)
Austria victim theory
The victim theory (German: Opferthese), encapsulated in the slogan "Austria – the Nazis' first victim" (Österreich – das erste Opfer der Nazis), was the Austrian ideological basis formed by Austrians themselves under Allied occupation and the independent Second Austrian Republic, officially promoted from 1949 to 1988. According to the founders of the Second Austrian Republic, the 1938 Anschluss was an act of military aggression by the Third Reich and therefore the newly revived Austria of 1945 could not be considered responsible for the Nazis' crimes in any way. The "victim theory" that had formed by 1949 insisted that all of the Austrians, including those who strongly supported Adolf Hitler, had been unwilling victims of the Nazi regime and were therefore not responsible for its crimes. The "victim theory" became a fundamental myth in Austrian society which allowed previously bitter political opponents – e.g. the Social Democrats and the conservative Catholics – to unite and bring former...
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