The Politics of the Nazi Past in Germany and Austria

1. Introduction; 2. Public debates and political change; 3. The culture of contrition; 4. The victim culture; 5. Combating the Far Right in Germany; 6. Taming the Far Right in Austria?; 7. Conclusions and extensions.

Art, David
David Art is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the College of the Holy Cross. He teaches courses in European Politics, International Relations, and Globalization. He received his B.A. from Yale University and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004. His current research focuses on the development of right-wing populist parties in comparative and historical perspective.

"This is an outstanding book. David Art tackles an important real-world issue--the effect of the Nazi past on recent and contemporary politics--and he provides a compelling and innovative argument about why Germany and Austria have dealt with their pasts so differently. He shows how the public debates that emerged in these two countries during the 1980s led to two very distinct types of right-wing populist movements: a weak and marginalized fringe in Germany, but a strong and influential far right party in Austria. This book will have a major impact on the fields of comparative politics and European politics, and it should also be widely noticed by scholars and students interested in political communication, history and politics, right-wing extremism, and the role of ideas in politics." Marc Morje Howard, Georgetown University "To understand the differences between Germany and Austria, it is necessary to read David Art's book. Art stresses convincingly the reasons for and the results of different attitudes toward Nazism: After 1945, Germany had to accept the role of a perpetrator. Austria was allowed to nourish the role of a victim. The consequences are known from the Waldheim affair to Joerg Haideras rise to significant power, unthinkable in post-1945 Germany." Anton Pelinka, University of Innsbruck, Austria