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Gusen

Gusen

Gusen is the name of the biggest and most brutal Nazi concentration camp complex on Austrian territory. It is also the name of:
- a small river in the Upper Austrian Muehlviertel area; and
- a small village in the municipality of Langenstein, Austria. On May 25 1938, the first lots of land were acquired at Gusen by the SS-company, "Deutsche Erd- und Steinwerke GmbH" (DEST or "German Stone & Earth Works Company). At that time, the nearby concentration camp of Mauthausen was not yet founded. The existence of important stone quarries at Gusen was the key for the SS administrators to decide to establish a bipolar system of two concentration camps at Gusen, and nearby Mauthausen. By 1939, the work carried out by inmates of "Mauthausen" at Gusen exceeded the work done at the Mauthausen "Wienergraben" quarry — a period when both concentration camps were makeshift installations, and hundreds of inmates of the "Mauthausen" camp had to walk to the Gusen quarries every day. From the early beginning, DEST focused its investments on its stone industries at Gusen. This led to the development of the biggest and most modern DEST plants at Gusen during the first half of World War Two, with its own administrative infrastructure, Werkgruppenleitung, at the nearby town of St. Georgen an der Gusen. Thus, St. Georgen/Gusen became the siege of Granitwerke Mauthausen, from which DEST operated its business at the quarries of the bipolar double concentration camp system, Mauthausen/Gusen. From 1943 on, DEST of St. Georgen shifted production from granite to armament products. DEST received several contracts, and offered slave labour from its concentration camps at Gusen to industries like Heereszeuganstalt Wien, Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG or Messerschmitt GmbH of Regensburg, and established huge armament plants at St. Georgen and Gusen; a good deal of it, underground and bomb-proof. The most important such joint-venture was the project, B8 Bergkristall - Esche II where DEST established and operated a huge underground assembly plant for Messerschmitt Me-262 jet planes. To maintain its hectic activities, three concentration camps at Gusen were run by the SS:
- KL Gusen I, for the inmates assigned to the activities of DEST at Gusen;
- KL Gusen II, for the inmates assigned to the activities of DEST at St. Georgen; and
- KL Gusen III, for the inmates assigned to the activities of DEST at Lungitz. Until January 1944, the Gusen concentration camps (called "Mauthausen II" in 1939) were widely independent (having its own independent numbering system, death register, construction directorate, guard battalion, and post office) from the nearby Mauthausen concentration camp. It was only in the final phase of the war that it was annexed, like countless other satellites, to the concentration camp at Mauthausen. Nevertheless, especially in 1944, the number of inmates at the Gusen camps doubled that at the related camp at Mauthausen. Even the number of victims appears to be significantly higher at the Gusen camps, as compared to the Mauthausen camp. Due to its industrial potentials, the Soviet occupation forces early decided to continue the operation of the former DEST installations at Gusen, under the name of "Granitwerke Gusen", after the liberation of the camps, while dedicating the economically unimportant Mauthausen part of the double camp system to a memorial site. This caused the Gusen camps to become more or less forgotten for decades, while all attention was given to the much smaller Mauthausen site. While the Austrian Government took until the year 2000 to regulate questions of property concerning the huge underground plants at St. Georgen and Gusen, by the early 1960s survivors grew concerned that all evidence of the Gusen camps would be erased from what was fast becoming a middle class neighborhood. Entirely with their own funds, survivors bought the plot of land surrounding the crematorium and built the KZ Gusen Memorial, dedicated on May 8, 1965. Nearly forty years later, in 2004 the government of Austria, with generous contributions from Poland, built a tiny museum at Gusen to commemorate the 40,000 nearly forgotten victims of the former "KZ Gusen concentration camps."

External links


- [http://www.gusen.org KZ Gusen Memorial Committee]

Nazi

:The term "National Socialism" has been used in self-description by a number of different political groups and ideologies, some of which have no connection with the Nazis; see National socialism (disambiguation). Nazism was the ideology held by the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, commonly called NSDAP or the Nazi Party), which was led by its "Führer", Adolf Hitler. The word Nazism is most often used in connection with the dictatorship of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 (the "Third Reich"), and it is derived from the term National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus, often abbreviated NS). Adherents of Nazism held that the Aryan race were superior to other races, and they promoted Germanic racial supremacy and a strong, centrally governed state. Nazism has been outlawed in modern Germany, yet small remnants and revivalists, known as "Neo-Nazis", continue to operate in Germany and abroad. Originally, Nazi was invented by analogy to Sozi (a common and slightly pejorative term for the Nazis' main opponents, the socialists in Germany). The Nazis from the era of the Third Reich rarely referred to themselves as "Nazis", preferring the official term "National Socialists" instead. Nazi was most commonly used as a pejorative term; however, its use became so widespread that, currently, some Neo-Nazis also use it to describe themselves. There is a very close relationship between Nazism and Fascism. Since the term Nazism is normally used to refer to the ideology and policies of Nazi Germany alone, while Fascism is used in a broader sense, to refer to a wider political movement that exists or existed in many countries, Nazism is often classified as a particular version of Fascism.

Ideological theory

According to Mein Kampf (My Struggle), Hitler developed his political theories after carefully observing the policies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was born as a citizen of the Empire, and believed that ethnic and linguistic diversity had weakened it. Further, he saw democracy as a destabilizing force, because it placed power in the hands of ethnic minorities, whom he claimed "weakened and destabilize" the Empire, by dividing it against itself. The Nazi rationale was heavily invested in the militarist belief that great nations grow from military power, which in turn grows "naturally" from "rational, civilized cultures". Hitler's calls appealed to disgruntled German Nationalists, eager to save face for the failure of World War I, and to salvage the militaristic nationalist mindset of that previous era. After Austria's and Germany's defeat of World War I, many Germans still had heartfelt ties to the goal of creating a greater Germany, and thought that the use of military force to achieve it was necessary. Many placed the blame for Germany's misfortunes on those, such as Jews and communists, whom they perceived, in one way or another, to have sabotaged the goal of national victory, by obtaining a stranglehold on the national economy, and using the nation's own resources to control and corrupt it.

Nazi Theory

Alfred Rosenberg's racial philosophy wholly embraced the Aryan Invasion Theory, which traced Aryan peoples in ancient Iran invading the Indus Valley Civilization of India, and carrying with them great knowledge and science that had been preserved from the antediluvian world. This "antediluvian world" referred to Thule, the speculative pre-Flood/Ice Age origin of the Aryan race, and is often tied to ideas of Atlantis . Most of the leadership and the founders of the Nazi Party was made of members of "Thule Gesellschaft" (the Thule Society), who romanticized the Aryan race through theology and ritual. Hitler also claimed that a nation is the highest creation of a race, and great nations (literally large nations) were the creation of homogenous populations of great races, working together. These nations developed cultures that naturally grew from races with "natural good health, and aggressive, intelligent, courageous traits". The weakest nations, Hitler said, were those of impure or mongrel races, because they have divided, quarrelling, and therefore weak cultures. -If this were correct theUnited States of America with its famous Melting pot would be weak. The United States is clearly strong.- Worst of all were seen to be the parasitic Untermensch (Subhumans), mainly Jews, but also Gypsies, homosexuals, the disabled and so called anti-socials, all of whom were considered lebensunwertes Leben (Life-unworthy life) owing to their perceived deficiency and inferiority, as well as their wandering, nationless invasions ("the International Jew"). The persecution of homosexuals as part of the Holocaust has seen increasing scholarly attention since the 1990s. Adolf Hitler spent some time homeless in Vienna. If he had not been the Führer he could easily have been designated as having a "lebensunwertes Leben" (Life-unworthy life). The role of homosexuals in the Nazi Party is considered anecdotal by most historians. Some tiny groups, like the International Committee for Holocaust Truth, and authors Scott Lively and Kevin E. Abrams in The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party, (ISBN 0964760932), argue that many homosexuals were involved in the inner circle of the Nazi party: Ernst Röhm of the SA (whose execution was thinly rationalized as being based on his homosexuality), Horst Wessel, Max Bielas, and others. This perspective is denounced as hateful propaganda by most human rights associations and groups, stirring heated debates and accusations of censorship and "hate-speech" from both sides. Most historians and scholars of fascism do not take the work of Lively and Abrams seriously, and dismiss it as part of a Christian Right campaign against gay rights. Conversely, some Nazi supporters argue that such claims are simply more attempts to discredit Nazi ideology. According to Nazism, it is an obvious mistake to permit or encourage multilingualism and multiculturalism within a nation. Fundamental to the Nazi goal was the unification of all German-speaking peoples, "unjustly" divided into different Nation States. Hitler claimed that nations that could not defend their territory did not deserve it. Slave races he thought of as less worthy to exist than "master races". In particular, if a master race should require room to live (Lebensraum), he thought such a race should have the right to displace the inferior indigenous races. Hitler draws parallels between Lebensraum and the American ethnic cleansing and relocation policies towards the Native Americans, which he saw as key to the success of the US. Hitler had always admired the Americans for their treatment of the Indians, and considered America to be a shining example of what Germany's ambitions should be. Hitler often compared his Lebensraum policies to the Manifest Destiny policy of the United States, in which the ultimate destiny of the American people was to expand west and defeat the Indians. "Races without homelands", Hitler proclaimed, were "parasitic races", and the richer the members of a "parasitic race" were, the more "virulent" the parasitism was thought to be. A "master race" could therefore, according to the Nazi doctrine, easily strengthen itself by eliminating "parasitic races" from its homeland. This was the given rationalization for the Nazis' later oppression and elimination of Jews, Gypsies, Czechs, Poles, the mentally and physically handicapped, the homosexuals and others not belonging to these groups or categories in what is known as the Holocaust. Hitler and his living space doctrine found immense popularity among the German population. The Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and other German soldiers as well as civilian paramilitary groups in occupied territories were responsible for the deaths of an estimated eleven million men, women, and children in concentration camps, prisoner-of-war camps, labor camps, and death camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka. Hitler extended his rationalizations into religious doctrine, claiming that those who agreed with and taught his "truths", were "true" or "master" religions, because they would "create mastery" by avoiding comforting lies. Those that preach love and tolerance, "in contravention to the facts", were said to be "slave" or "false" religions. The man who recognizes these "truths", Hitler continued, was said to be a "natural leader", and those who deny it were said to be "natural slaves". "Slaves", especially intelligent ones he claimed, were always attempting to hinder masters by promoting false religious and political doctrines. Many Nazis thus regarded Christianity as a cowardly creed founded deliberately by Jews, and hoped to see it replaced with a reborn Germanic paganism based partly on Norse myth and partly on the principles of National Socialism. The ideological roots which became German "National Socialism" were based on numerous sources in European history, drawing especially from Romantic 19th Century idealism, and from a biological reading of Friedrich Nietzsche's thoughts on "breeding upwards" toward the goal of an Übermensch (Superhuman). Hitler was an avid reader and received ideas that were later to influence Nazism from traceable publications, such as those of the Germanenorden (Germanic Order) or the Thule society. He also adopted many populist ideas such as limiting profits, abolishing rents and generously increasing social benefits - but only for Germans. Hitler's theories were not only attractive to Germans. People in positions of wealth and power in other nations are said to have seen them as beneficial. Examples are Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and Eugene Schueller, founder of L'Oréal. Nevertheless, the support for these theories was highest among the general population of Germany.

Nazi mysticism

Nazi mysticism is a term used to describe a philosophical undercurrent of Nazism; it denotes the combination of Nazism with occultism, esotericism, cryptohistory, and/or the paranormal. Heinrich Himmler was one of the few Nazi leaders to show a strong interest in such matters.

Key elements of the Nazi ideology


- National Socialist Program
- Racism
  - Especially anti-Semitism, which eventually culminated in the Holocaust.
  - The creation of a Herrenrasse (or Herrenvolk) (Master Race = by the Lebensborn (Fountain of Life; A department in the Third Reich)
  - Anti-Slavism
  - Belief in the superiority of the White, Germanic, Aryan or Nordic races.
- Anti-Marxism, Anti-Communism, Anti-Bolshevism
- The rejection of democracy, with as a consequence the ending the existence of political parties, labour unions, and free press.
- Führerprinzip (Leader Principle) Belief in the leader (Responsibility up the ranks, and authority down the ranks.)
- Strong show of local culture.
- Social Darwinism
- Eugenics; sometimes included sterilization and euthanasia
- Religious freedom (Point #24 in the 25 point plan) [http://www.hitler.org/writings/programme/]
- Environmental protection
- Rejection of the modern art movement and an embrace of classical art
- Defense of Blood and Soil (German: "Blut und Boden" - represented by the red and black colors in the Nazi flag)
- "Lebensraumpolitik", "Lebensraum im Osten" (The creation of more living space for Germans in the east)
- Related to Fascism

Nazism and romanticism

According to Bertrand Russell, Nazism comes from a different tradition from that of either liberalism or Marxism. Thus, to understand values of Nazism, it is necessary to explore this connection, without trivializing the movement as it was in its peak years in the 1930s and dismissing it as little more than racism. Many historians say that the anti-Semitic element, which did not exist in the sister fascism movements in Italy and Spain, was adopted by Hitler to gain popularity for the movement, as anti-Semitic prejudice, was very common among the masses in the German Empire at that time. Likewise, anti-Semitism fit very well with the Dolchstosslegende (betrayal myth) which blamed "non-German" Germans for the loss of WW I. Historians universally accept that Nazism's mass acceptance depended upon nationalistic and anti-immigrant (i.e. anti-Semitic) appeals, and a patriotic flattery toward the wounded collective pride of defeated WW I veterans. Others have focused on anti-Semitism (rather than the general anti-immigration) claiming it to have been central to Hitler's Weltanschauung, or world view. Many see strong connections to the values of Nazism and the irrationalist tradition of the romantic movement of the early 19th century. Strength, passion, frank declarations of feelings, and deep devotion to family and community were valued by the Nazis though first expressed by many Romantic artists, musicians, and writers. German romanticism in particular expressed these values. For instance, Hitler identified closely with the music of Richard Wagner (a noted anti-Semite, author of Das Judenthum in der Musik, and idol to the young Hitler). Wagner's most important operas, the Ring cycle, express Aryanist ideals, contain what some people interpret as anti-Semitic caricatures. The idealisation of tradition, folklore, classical thought, the leadership of Frederick the Great, their rejection of the liberalism of the Weimar Republic and the decision to call the German state the Third Reich (which hearkens back to the medieval First Reich and the pre-Weimar Second Reich) has led many to regard the Nazis as reactionary.

Ideological competition

Nazism and Communism emerged as two serious contenders for power in Germany after the First World War, particularly as the Weimar Republic became increasingly unstable. What became the Nazi movement arose out of resistance to the Bolshevik-inspired insurgencies that occurred in Germany in the aftermath of the First World War. The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused a great deal of excitement and interest in the Leninist version of Marxism and caused many socialists to adopt revolutionary principles. The 1918-1919 Munich Soviet and the 1919 Spartacist uprising in Berlin were both manifestations of this. The Freikorps, a loosely organised paramilitary group (essentially a militia of former World War I soldiers) was used to crush both these uprisings and many leaders of the Freikorps, including Ernst Röhm, later became leaders in the Nazi party. Capitalists and conservatives in Germany feared that a takeover by the Communists was inevitable and did not trust the democratic parties of the Weimar Republic to be able to resist a communist revolution. Increasing numbers of capitalists began looking to the nationalist movements as a bulwark against Bolshevism. After Mussolini's fascists took power in Italy in 1922, fascism presented itself as a realistic option for opposing "Communism", particularly given Mussolini's success in crushing the Communist and anarchist movements which had destabilised Italy with a wave of strikes and factory occupations after the First World War. Fascist parties formed in numerous European countries. Many historians, such as Ian Kershaw and Joachim Fest, argue that Hitler's Nazis were one of numerous nationalist and increasingly fascistic groups that existed in Germany and contended for leadership of the anti-Communist movement and, eventually, of the German state. Further, they assert that fascism and its German variant, National Socialism, became the successful challengers to Communism because they were able to both appeal to the establishment as a bulwark against Bolshevism and appeal to the working class base, particularly the growing underclass of unemployed and unemployable and growingly impoverished middle class elements who were becoming declassed (the lumpenproletariat). The Nazis' use of pro-labor rhetoric appealed to those disaffected with capitalism by promoting the limiting of profits, the abolishing of rents and the increasing of social benefits (only for Germans of course) while simultaneously presenting a political and economic model that divested "Soviet socialism" of elements which were dangerous to capitalism, such as the concept of class struggle, "the dictatorship of the proletariat" or worker control of the means of production.

Support of anti-Communists for Fascism and Nazism

Various right-wing politicians and political parties in Europe welcomed the rise of fascism and the Nazis out of an intense aversion towards Communism. According to them, Hitler was the savior of Western civilization and of capitalism against Bolshevism. During the later 1930s and 1940s, the Nazis were supported by the Falange movement in Spain, and by political and military figures who would form the government of Vichy France. A Legion of French Volunteers against Bolshevism (LVF) and other anti-Soviet fighting formations were formed. The British Conservative party and the right-wing parties in France appeased the Nazi regime in the mid- and late-1930s, even though they had begun to criticise its totalitarianism. However Britain under both Conservative and Labour had appeased pre-Nazi Germany as well. Left-wing contemporary commentators suggested that these parties did in fact support the Nazis. Important reasons behind this appeasement included, first, the erroneous assumption that Hitler had no desire to precipitate another world war, and second, when the rebirth of the German military could no longer be ignored, a well-founded concern that neither Britain nor France was yet ready to fight an all-out war against Germany.

Nazism and Anglo-Saxons

Hitler admired the British Empire as a shining example of expansionist Germanic genius. Racialist theories had been developed in Britain and elsewhere during the 19th century to justify European imperial power. Nordicism and Aryanism arose from these developments. Especially important was the idea that North Europeans represented the highest branch of the Aryan peoples, who had in ancient times extended into India and created Indian culture (see Aryan invasion theory). Such Racist imperialist theories justified the idea that some races were innately superior, born to rule, while others were parasitic or inferior "savages". These concepts were taken to an ultimately genocidal conclusion by the Nazis. Aryan invasion theory flag (invented by Otto von Bismarck, based on the Prussian colors black and white, blended with the red and white of the medieval Hanse cities). In 1871, with the foundation of the German Reich, the flag of the North German Confederation became the German Reichsflagge (Reich's flag). Black, white and red subsequently became the colors of the nationalists (e.g. during World War I and the Weimar Republic).]] In his early years Hitler also greatly admired the United States of America. In Mein Kampf, he praised the United States for its race-based anti-immigration laws and for the subordination of the "inferior" black population. According to Hitler, America was a successful nation because it kept itself "pure" of "lesser races". However, as war approached, his view of the United States became more negative and he believed that Germany would have an easy victory over the United States precisely because the United States, in his later estimation, had become a mongrel nation, calling it "half Judaised, half Negrified".

Economic practice

Nazi economic practice concerned itself with immediate domestic issues and separately with ideological conceptions of international economics. Domestic economic policy was narrowly concerned with three major goals:
- Elimination of unemployment
- Elimination of hyperinflation
- Expansion of production of consumer goods to improve middle- and lower-class living standards. All of these policy goals were intended to address the perceived shortcomings of the Weimar Republic and to solidify domestic support for the party. In this, the party was very successful. Between 1933 and 1936 the German GNP increased by an average annual rate of 9.5 percent, and the rate for industry alone rose by 17.2 percent. This expansion propelled the German economy out of a deep depression and into full employment in less than four years. Public consumption during the same period increased by 18.7%, while private consumption increased by 3.6% annually. However, as this production was primarily consumptive rather than productive (make-work projects, expansion of the war-fighting machine, initiation of conscription to remove working age males from the labor force and thus lower unemployment), inflationary pressures began to rear their head again, although not to the highs of the Weimar Republic. These economic pressures, combined with the war-fighting machine created in the expansion (and concomitant pressures for its use), has led some to conclude that a European war was inevitable. (See Causes of war.) Some economists argue that the expansion of the German economy between 1933 and 1936 was not the result of the measures adopted by the Nazi Party, but rather the consequence of economic policies of the prior Weimar Republic which had begun to have an effect. In addition, it has been pointed out that while it is often popularly believed that the Nazis ended hyperinflation, the end of hyperinflation preceded the Nazis by several years. Internationally, the Nazi Party believed that an international banking cabal was behind the global depression of the 1930s. The control of this cabal was identified with the ethnic group known as Jews, providing another link in their ideological motivation for the destruction of that group in the Holocaust. However, broadly speaking, the existence of large international banking or merchant banking organizations was well known at this time. Many of these banking organizations were able to exert influence upon nation states by extension or withholding of credit. This influence is not limited to the small states that preceded the creation of the German Empire as a nation state in the 1870s, but is noted in most major histories of all European powers from the 16th century onward. In an economic sense, Nazism and Fascism are related. They both followed the economic model of corporatism, which included government control of finance and investment (allocation of credit), and supervision of industry and agriculture, combined with a strong influence of corporate business interests in the government's economic decisions. Corporate power and market based systems for providing price information co-existed with a strong, militaristic state. Independent labor unions were banned, and a single, government-run labor organization was created to replace them. Officially, the fascist and Nazi state sought to incorporate and harmonize all diverging economic interests. It was considered very important to unite labor and capital (workers and bosses) in order to combat socialism. The socialist and communist call for the workers of all countries to unite was seen by fascists and Nazis as a mortal enemy of the nationalist spirit which stood at the center of their beliefs.

Effects

These theories were used to justify a totalitarian political agenda of racial hatred and suppression using all the means of the state, and suppressing dissent. Like other fascist regimes, the Nazi regime emphasized anti-communism and the leader principle (Führerprinzip), a key element of fascist ideology in which the ruler is deemed to embody the political movement and the nation. Unlike other fascist ideologies, Nazism was virulently racist. Some of the manifestations of Nazi racism were:
- Anti-Semitism, culminating in the Holocaust
- Ethnic nationalism, including the notion of Germanic people's status as the Herrenvolk ("master race") and Übermensch
- A belief in the need to purify the German race through eugenics - this culminated in the involuntary euthanasia of disabled people and the compulsory sterilization of people with mental deficiencies or illnesses perceived as hereditary Anti-clericalism was also part of Nazi ideology, although it was never acted on as the Nazis often used the church to justify their stance and included many Christian symbols in the Third Reich.

Backlash effects

Perhaps the primary intellectual effect has been that Nazi doctrines discredited the attempt to use biology to explain or influence social issues, for at least two generations after Nazi Germany's brief existence. The Nazi descendants have been mute in the post-war democracies, with some exceptions, when interviewed by psychologists and historians. In Norway, a group of descendants have taken the official stigmatizing appellation "Nazi children" in order to break the silence and to protest against the continuous demonization of their families. Some historical revisionists disseminate propaganda which minimizes the Holocaust and other Nazi acts, and attempts to put a positive spin on the policies of the Nazi regime and the events which occurred under it. These revisionists are often, however, either aligned with, or in the employ of, neo-Nazis, and this fact itself often casts suspicion on their beliefs.

People and history

spin The most prominent Nazi was Adolf Hitler, who ruled Nazi Germany from January 30, 1933, until his suicide on April 30, 1945, and led the German Reich into World War II. Under Hitler, ethnic nationalism and racism were joined together through an ideology of militarism to serve his goals. After the war, many prominent Nazis were convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Trials, where 21 were executed. A few scattered people, mostly not from Germany, converted to Nazism during or after World War II and contributed to further development of the ideology, especially in a spiritual or esoteric direction: Sean Russell, Savitri Devi of India, Miguel Serrano of Chile, George Lincoln Rockwell of the United States.

Nazism in relation to other concepts

See the article Nazism in relation to other concepts for a detailed discussion of Nazism's relation to:
- Religion
- Fascism
- Socialism
- Race

The role of the nation

Race The Nazi symbol is the right-facing swastika. The Nazi state was founded upon a racially defined "German Volk". This is a central concept of Mein Kampf, symbolized by the motto Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer (one people, one empire, one leader). The Nazi relationship between the Volk and the state was called the Volksgemeinschaft—a concept that defined a communal duty of citizens in service to the Reich. The term "National Socialism", arguably derives from this citizen-nation relationship, whereby the term socialism is invoked (despite the fact that socialism is traditionally defined as "the public ownership over the means of production") and is meant to be realized through the common duty of the Volk to the Reich or German nation; all actions are to be in service of the Reich. This notion of the Reich, in turn, was a virulently nationalist ideology, a tendency which decisively defined its organizational thrust and overall immediate and long-term aims. In practice, the Nazis argued, their goal was to bring forth a nation-state as the locus and embodiment of the people's collective will, bound by the Volksgemeinschaft as both an ideal and an operating instrument, geared to serve the interests of the German people. In comparison, many socialist ideologies oppose the idea of nations, which they see as artificial divisions that support the status quo and oppression. They argue that one crucial consequence of national divisions is that they lead to wars of aggression, waged for the interest of the ruling class.

Factors which promoted the success of Nazism

An important question about Nazism is that of which factors promoted its success in Germany. These factors may have included:
- Economic devastation all over Europe after World War I.
- Humiliation of Germany at the Treaty of Versailles, and the widespread belief that the German military were not defeated on the battlefield but "stabbed in the back" by politicians, Jews and socialists.
- A perception that there were a disproportionate number of rich Jewish bankers controlling Germany's finances.
- Perceived Jewish involvement in war profiteering during WWI.
- Appeal of nationalist rhetoric.
- Rejection of Communism and the perception that Communism was a Jewish-inspired and Jewish-led movement; hence the Nazi use of the term Judeo-Bolshevik.
- The split in the working class between Social Democrats and Communists, exacerbated by the Communist's policy of treating the SDP as "Social Fascists"
- The Great Depression.
- Hitler's choice of taking power through legal political means rather than a violent coup after the failure of the Beer Hall Putsch.

Nazi / Third Reich terminology in popular culture

The multiple atrocities and racist ideology that the Nazis followed have made them notorious in popular discourse as well as history. The term "Nazi" has become a genericised term of abuse. So have other Third Reich terms like "Führer" (often spelled "fuhrer" or less often, but more correctly, "fuehrer" in English-speaking countries), "Fascist", "Gestapo" (short for Geheime Staatspolizei, or Secret State Police in English), "uber/ueber" (from Übermensch, superior person, Aryan as opposite to Untermensch) or "Hitler". The terms are used to describe any people or behaviours that are viewed as thuggish, overly authoritarian, or extremist. In the context of the Western World, Nazi or fascist is also sometimes used by (generally Left-wing) opposition to malign political groups (such as the French Front National) advocating restrictive measures on immigration, or strong law enforcement powers. It is sometimes used by other left-wing groups and individuals in the United States and other countries as a type of insult, used broadly against anyone they perceive as disagreeing with their beliefs or opposed to them; conservatives or anyone who is not left-wing. Variations on this theme in the US can include calling someone a "goose-stepper" or a "brownshirt." The terms are also used to describe anyone or anything seen as strict or doctrinaire. Phrases like "Grammar Nazi", "Feminazi", "Open Source Nazi", and "ubergeek" are examples of those in use in the USA. These uses are offensive to some, as the controversy in the popular press over the Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" episode indicates, but still the terms are used so frequently as to inspire "Godwin's Law". More innocent terms, like "fashion police", also bear some resemblance to Nazi terminology (Gestapo, Secret State Police) as well as references to Police states in general. It can also be found that German-sounding or German-looking spellings of English words are used to claim superiority in some area, or to create some impression of power or brutality. For example, to give English words a German touch, the letter 'C' is often replaced by 'K', like "kool" or "kommandos". A well known example of "germanization" of names are the names of heavy metal bands like Mötley Crüe, or Motörhead. See Heavy metal umlaut. Another similar effect can be observed in the usage of typefaces. Some people strongly associate the blackletter typefaces (e.g. fraktur or schwabacher) with Nazi propaganda (although the typeface is much older, and its usage, ironically, was banned by government order in 1941). A less strong association can be observed with the Futura typeface, which today is sometimes described as "germanic" and "muscular".

"Holy sites"

As, especially after World War II, Nazism became for many of its followers a spiritual path akin to a religion, it naturally had some sites of pilgrimage, which one might call "holy sites". Savitri Devi visited many of them during her pilgrimage in 1953.
- Berchtesgaden, home of the Berghof.
- Braunau am Inn, birthplace of Adolf Hitler.
- Feldherrnhalle, site of, the end of, the failed Munich Putsch
- Leonding, where the parents of Adolf Hitler were buried.
- Linz, where Hitler went to school.
- Landsberg am Lech, where Hitler was imprisoned.
- Nuremberg, site of the enormous Nazi rallies.
- Wewelsburg, headquarters of the SS.
- Wunsiedel, burial site of Rudolf Hess. Devi also visited some sites, as part of her pilgrimage, not directly connected to Nazism, but of Germanic spiritual, or German national significance:
- Externsteine, pre-christian formation
- Hermannsdenkmal, statue of Germany's national hero Arminius the Cheruscan Source: [http://library.flawlesslogic.com/devi_bio.htm]

See also

Cheruscan]] Cheruscan]]
- :Category:Nazism

Further reading


- Alfred Sohn-Rethel Economy and Class Structure of German Fascism,London, CSE Bks, 1978 ISBN 0906336007
- List of Adolf Hitler books

External links


- [http://www.shoaheducation.com/nazibeliefs.html Nazi Beliefs]
- [http://www.shoaheducation.com/befehl.html Blind Obedience: Fuhrerprinzip and Befehlnotstand]
- [http://www.third-reich-books.com/x-582-germanys-hitler.htm "Hitler's Boyhood"] - excerpt from contemporary Hitler biography about his boyhood
- [http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ German Propaganda Archive]
- [http://www.fsumonitor.com/stories/082800Lith.shtml Lithuanian National Socialist Party]
- [http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=35868 Estonian SS men]
- [http://www.ns-archiv.de/index.php NS-Archiv] - Large collection of original scanned Nazi documents
- [http://www.axishistory.com AxisHistory] - contains a lot of information on the Axis countries
- [http://www.jewwatch.com Jewwatch.com] Anti Jewish Site purporting to expose some type of agenda Category:Nazism Category:Nazi Germany Category:Ethnocentrism Category:Eugenics Category:Anti-Semitism Category:Politics and race ja:ナチズム simple:Nazism

Austria

The Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich) is a landlocked country in central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The capital is the city of Vienna. Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy consisting of nine federal states and is one of two European countries that have declared their everlasting neutrality, the other being Switzerland. Austria is a member of United Nations and the European Union.

Origin and history of the name

The German name Österreich can be translated into English as the "eastern realm", which is derived from the Old German Ostarrîchi. Reich can also mean "empire," and this connotation is the one that is understood in the context of the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire, German Empire, "Third Reich," or Holy Roman Empire, although not in the context of the modern Republic of Österreich. The term probably originates in a vernacular translation of the Medieval Latin name for the region: Marchia orientalis, which translates as "eastern border," as it was situated at the eastern edge of the Holy Roman Empire, that was also mirrored in the name Ostmark applied after Anschluss to the Third Reich.

History

Austria and the Holy Roman Empire

The territory of Austria originally known as the Celtic kingdom of Noricum, was a long time ally of Rome. It was rather occupied than conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus and made the province Noricum in 16 BC. Later it was conquered by Huns, Rugii, Lombards, Ostrogoths, Bavarii, Avars (until c. 800), and Franks (in that order). Finally, after 48 years of Hungarian rule (907 to 955), the core territory of Austria was awarded to Leopold of Babenberg in 976. Being part of the Holy Roman Empire the Babenbergs ruled and expanded Austria from the 10th century to the 13th century. 13th century After Duke Frederick II died in 1246 and left no successor, the German King Rudolf I of Habsburg gave the lands to his sons marking the beginning of the line of the Habsburgs, who continued to govern Austria until the 20th century. With the short exception of Charles VII Albert of Bavaria, Austrian Habsburgs held the position of German Emperor beginning in 1438 with Albert II of Habsburg until the end of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 14th and 15th century Austria continued to expand its territory until it reached the position of a European superpower at the end of the 15th century until the end of the Habsburg monarchy in 1918.

Modern history

After the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Empire of Austria was founded, which was transformed in 1867 into the double-monarchy Austria-Hungary. The empire was split into several independent states in 1918, after the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, with most of the German-speaking parts becoming a republic. (See Treaty of Saint-Germain.) Between 1918 and 1919 it was officially known as the Republic of German Austria (Republik Deutschösterreich). After the Entente powers forbade German Austria to unite with Germany, they also forbade the name, and then it was changed to simply Republic of Austria. The democratic republic lasted until 1933 when the chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß established an autocratic regime oriented towards Italian fascism (Austrofascism). Austria became part of the Third Reich in 1938 through the Anschluß and remained under Nazi hegemony until the end of World War II. After the defeat of the Axis Powers, the Allies occupied Austria until 1955, when the country became a fully independent republic under the condition that it would remain neutral. (see: Austrian State Treaty). Austria also became a member of the UN in the same year. After the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, Austria became increasingly involved in European affairs, and in 1995, Austria joined the European Union, and the Euro monetary system in 1999.

Politics

1999 Austria became a federal, parliamentary democracy republic through the Federal Constitution of 1920. It was reintroduced in 1945 to the nine states of the Federal Republic. The head of state is the Federal President, who is directly elected. The chairman of the Federal Government is the Federal Chancellor, who is appointed by the president and voted into office by the majority of the lower chamber of parliament, the Nationalrat, the National Council of Austria. The government can be recalled by a vote of no confidence in the National Council. The Austrian parliament consists of two chambers. The composition of the Nationalrat is determined every four years by a free general election in which every citizen is allowed to vote to fill its 183 seats. A "Four Percent Hurdle" prevents a large splintering of the political landscape in the Nationalrat by awarding seats only to political parties that have received at least four percent of the general vote, or alternatively, have won a direct seat, or Direktmandat, in one of the 43 regional election districts. The Nationalrat is the dominant chamber in the formation of legislation in Austria. However, the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat has a limited right of veto (the Nationalrat can pass the respective bill a second time bypassing the Bundesrat altogether). A convention, called the Österreich Konvent [http://www.konvent.gv.at/] was convened in June 30, 2003 to decide upon suggestions to reform the constitution, but has failed to produce a proposal that would receive the two thirds of votes in the Nationalrat necessary for constitutional amendments and/or reform.

Subdivisions

A federal republic, Austria is divided into nine states, (German: Bundesländer). These states are divided into districts (Bezirke) and cities (Statutarstädte). Districts are subdivided into municipalities (Gemeinden). Cities have the competencies otherwise granted to both districts and municipalities. The states are not mere administrative divisions, but have some distinct legislative authority separate from the federal government. Statutarstädte

Geography

Statutarstädte Statutarstädte Austria is a largely mountainous country due to its location in the Alps. The Central Eastern Alps, Northern Limestone Alps and Southern Limestone Alps are all partly in Austria. Of the total area of Austria (84,000 km²), only about a quarter can be considered low lying, and only 32% of the country is below 500 metres. The high mountainous Alps in the west of Austria flatten somewhat into low lands and plains in the east of the country. Austria may be divided into 5 different areas. The biggest area are the Austrian Alps, which constitute 62% of Austria's total area. The Austrian foothills at the base of the Alps and the Carpathians account for around 12% of its area. The foothills in the east and areas surrounding the periphery of the Pannoni low country amount to about 12% of the total landmass. The second greater mountain area (much lower than the Alps) is situated in the north. Known as the Austrian granite plateau, it is located in the central area of the Bohemian Mass, and accounts for 10% of Austria. The Austrian portion of the Viennese basin comprises the remaining 4%.

Climate

The greater part of Austria lies in the cool/temperate climate zone in which humid westerly winds predominate. With over half of the country dominated by the Alps the alpine climate is the predominate one. In the East the climate shows continental features with less rain than the Western alpine areas with high rainfall averages. The six highest mountains in Austria are:

Economy

alpine climate ]] Austria has a well-developed social market economy and a high standard of living. Until the 1980s many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised, however in recent years privatisation has reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies. Labour movements are particularly strong in Austria and have large influence on labour politics. Germany has historically been the main trading partner of Austria, making it vulnerable to rapid changes in the German economy. Slow growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world affected Austria, slowing its growth to 1.2% in 2001. But since Austria became a member state of the European Union it has gained closer ties to other European Union economies, reducing its economic dependence on Germany. In addition, membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to EU aspiring economies. Therefore estimates of growth in 2005 (up to 2%) are much more favourable than in the crippling German economy. Agriculture: Austrian farms, like those of other west European mountainous countries, are small and fragmented, and production is relatively expensive. Industry: Although some industries, such as several iron and steel works and chemical plants, are large industrial enterprises employing thousands of people, most industrial and commercial enterprises in Austria are relatively small on an international scale. Services: Like in other western countries, the biggest contributor to Austria's GDP is its service sector. Most notably is tourism, especially winter tourism. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue to deregulate the service sector, and lower its tax burden. See also: List of Austrian companies

Demographics

List of Austrian companies]] Austria's capital Vienna is one of Europe's major cities with a population exceeding 1.6 million (2 million with suburbs) and constitutes a melting pot of citizens from all over Central and Eastern Europe. In contrast to this Metropolis, other cities do not exceed 1 million inhabitants, in fact the second largest city Graz is home of 305,000 people (followed by Linz with 180,000, Salzburg with 145,000 and Innsbruck with 120,000). All other cities have fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. Austrians of German mother tongue, by far the country's largest ethnic group, form 91.1% of Austria's population. The remaining number of Austria's people are of non-Austrian descent, many from surrounding countries, especially from the former East Bloc nations. The Austrian federal states of Carinthia and Styria are home to a significant (indigenous) Slovenian minority with around 14,000 members (Austrian census; unofficial numbers of Slovene groups speak of about 40,000). So-called guest workers (Gastarbeiter) and their descendants also form an important minority group in Austria. Around 20,000 Hungarians and 30.000 Croatians live in the east-most Bundesland, Burgenland (formerly part of Hungary). The official language, German, is spoken by almost all residents of the country. Austria's mountainous terrain led to the development of many distinct German dialects. All of the dialects in the country, however, belong to Austro-Bavarian groups of German dialects, with the exception of the dialect spoken in its west-most Bundesland, Vorarlberg, which belongs to the group of Alemannic dialects. There is also a distinct grammatical standard for Austrian German with a few differences to the German spoken in Germany.

Politics concerning ethnic groups (Volksgruppenpolitik) in Austria

An estimated 25,000-40,000 Slovenians in the Austrian state of Carinthia as well as Croatians and Hungarians in Burgenland were recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the Austrian State Treaty (Staatsvertrag) of 1955. The Slovenians in the Austrian state of Styria (estimated at a number between 1,600 and 5,000) are not recognized as a minority and do not enjoy special rights, although the State Treaty of July 27, 1955 states otherwise. The right for bilingual topographic signs for the regions where Slovene and Croatian speaking Austrians live alongside with the German speaking population (as required by the 1955 State Treaty) is still to be fully implemented. There is also an undercurrent of thinking amongst parts of the Carenthian population that the Slovenian involvement in the partisan war against the Nazi occupation force was a bad thing, and indeed "Tito partisan" is a not an infrequent insult hurled against members of the minority. Many Carinthians are afraid of Slovenian territorial claims, pointing to the fact that Yugoslav troops entered the state after each of the two World Wars. The current governor, Jörg Haider, regularly plays the Slovenian card when his popularity starts to dwindle, and indeed relies on the strong anti-Slovenian attitudes in many parts of the province for his power base. However, a recent poll suggests that a 2/3 majority of Carinthians are in favour of an increase of bilingual topographic signs in order to fulfil the requirements set by the State Treaty. Another interesting phenomenon is the so called "Windischen-Theorie" [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windischen-Theorie] stating that the Slovenians can be split in two groups: actual Slovenians and Windische, based on differences in language between Austrian Slovenians, who were taught Slovenian standard language in school and those Slovenians, who spoke their local Slovenian dialect but went to German schools. To the latter group the term "Windische" (originally the German word for Slovenians) was applied, claiming that they were a different ethnic group. This theory was never generally accepted and has been ultimately rejected several decades ago.
- List of cities in Austria

Religion

List of cities in Austria] While northern and central Germany was the origin of the Reformation, Austria (and Bavaria) were the heart of the Counter-Reformation in the 16th and 17th century, when the absolute monarchy of Habsburg imposed a strict regime to maintain Catholicism's power and influence among Austrians. Despite this establishment of Catholicism as the predominant Christian religion (Protestants have throughout Austria's history remained a relatively small group), Austria's history as a multinational state has made it necessary for Habsburg rulers to deal with a heterogeneous religious population. Religious freedom was declared a constitutional right as early as 1867 and Austria-Hungary was home of numerous religions beside Roman Catholicism such as Greek, Serbian, Romanian, Russian, and Bulgarian Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims (Austria neighboured the Turkish empire for centuries), Mormons and both Calvinists and Lutheran Protestants. Still Austria remained largely influenced by Catholicism. After 1918 First Republic Catholic leaders such as Theodor Innitzer and Ignaz Seipel took leading positions within or close to the Austrian Government and increased their influence during the time of the Austrofascism – Catholicism was treated much like a state religion by dictators Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt Schuschnigg. Although Catholic leaders welcomed the Germans in 1938 during the Anschluss of Austria into Hitlerite Germany, Austrian Catholicism stopped its support of Nazism later on and many former Religious public figures became involved with the resistance during the Third Reich. After 1945 a stricter secularism was imposed in Austria and religious influence on politics has nearly vanished. As of the end of the 20th century about 73% of Austria's population are registered as Roman Catholic, while about 5% consider themselves Protestants. Both these numbers have been on the decline for decades, especially Roman Catholicm has suffered an increasing number of seceders of the church. This is due partly to child sexual abuse scandals by priests as well as the alleged unwillingness of the Roman Catholic Church to implement reforms. In addition Austrians Catholics are obliged to pay a mandatory tax (calculated by income – ca 1%) to the Austrian Roman Catholic Church, which acts as another incentive to leave the church. About 12% of the population declare that they do not belong to any church or religious community. Of the remaining people, about 180,000 are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church and about 7,300 are Jewish. It has to be noted that the Austrian Jewish Community of 1938 – Vienna alone counted more than 200,000, of which solely 4,000 to 5,000 remained after the Second World War. The influx of Eastern Europeans, especially from the former Yugoslav nations, Albania and particularly from Turkey largely contributed to a substantial Muslim minority in Austria – around 300,000 are registered as members of various Muslim communities. The numbers of people adhering to the Islam has increased largely during the last years and is expected to grow in the future. Buddhism, which was legally recognized as a religion in Austria in 1983, enjoys widespread acceptance and has a following of 20,000 (10,402 at the 2001 census). A 2005 survey among 8,000 people in various European countries showed that Austrians are still among the countries with the strongest belief in God. 84% of all Austrians do state they believe in God, with only Poland (97%), Portugal (90%) and Russia (87%) in front of the countries surveyed. This is a much larger figure than the European average of 71% or Germany with 67%. [http://www.readers-digest.de/service_fuer_journalisten/index.php?id=mrd&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=251&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=15]

Culture

Germany Although Austria is a small country, its history as a world power and its unique cultural environment in the heart of Europe have generated contributions to mankind in every possible field. One might argue that Austria is internationally best known for its musicians. It has been the birthplace of many famous composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss, Sr., Johann Strauss, Jr. or Gustav Mahler as well as members of the Second Viennese School such as Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern or Alban Berg. Complementing its status as a land of artists, Austria has always been a country of great poets, writers and novelists. It was the home of novelists Arthur Schnitzler, Stefan Zweig, Thomas Bernhard or Robert Musil, of poets Georg Trakl, Franz Werfel, Franz Grillparzer, Rainer Maria Rilke or Adalbert Stifter. Famous contemporary playwrights and novelists are Elfriede Jelinek and Peter Handke. Among Austrian artists and architects one can find painters Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele or Friedensreich Hundertwasser, photographer Inge Morath or architect Otto Wagner. Austria was the cradle of numerous scientists including physicists Ludwig Boltzmann, Lise Meitner, Erwin Schrödinger, Ernst Mach, Wolfgang Pauli, Richard von Mises and Christian Doppler, philosophers Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper, biologists Gregor Mendel and Konrad Lorenz as well as mathematician Kurt Gödel. It was home to psychologists Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Paul Watzlawick and Hans Asperger, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, economists Joseph Schumpeter, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Ludwig von Mises, and Friedrich Hayek (Austrian School) and Peter Drucker, and engineers such as Ferdinand Porsche and Siegfried Marcus. In addition, Austria is the birthplace of the current governor of California, Arnold Schwartzenegger. Although Austrians can look back with pride on their cultural past, current Austria does not stand back in art and science. Austria hosts a tremendous amount of culture, with its classical music festivals in Vienna, Salzburg and Bregenz, its modern artists and writers, its theatres and opera houses.
- List of Austrians
- Music of Austria

Miscellaneous topics


- Austrian folk dancing
- Austrian German
- Communications in Austria
- Cuisine of Austria
- Education in Austria
- Foreign relations of Austria
- Media in Austria
- Military of Austria
- Public holidays in Austria
- Spanish Riding School
- Stamps and postal history of Austria
- Tourism in Austria
- Transportation in Austria

References


- References and bibliography can be found in the more detailed articles linked to in this article

External links


- The aeiou Encyclopedia ([http://www.aeiou.at/;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en Homepage] | [http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.a Table of Contents] | [http://www.aeiou.at/;internal&action=search.action Search])
- [http://www.aboutaustria.org About Austria] Austrian Tourist, Travel and Culture Guide
- [http://www.oevsv.at Amateur Radio in Austria]
- [http://www.answers.com/austria Answers.com] Article on Austria
- [http://austria.europe-countries.com Austria in Pictures]
- [http://www.austria.info/ Austria.info] Official homepage of the Austrian National Tourist Office (German, English and other languages)
- [http://www.acfny.org Austrian Cultural Forum New York] Cultural meeting place in Manhattan
- [http://www.cookbookwiki.com/Category:Austrian Austrian Recipes on CookBookWiki.com]
- [http://www.austrosearch.at/ Austrosearch] Bilingual Austrian Search engine and Directory (German, English)
- [http://www.bundeskanzleramt.at/ Bundeskanzleramt Österreich/Federal Chancellor of Austria] Website of the Federal Chancellery of Austria (German, English)
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/au.html Cia.gov] CIA's Factbook on Austria
- [http://www.dwellan.com/documents/links_at_en.html Dwellan.com] Tourism in Austria
- [http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/european/austria/au.html Library of Congress] Portals on the World - Austria
- [http://peter-diem.at/default_e.htm Peter Diem] The Symbols of Austria
- [http://www.photoglobe.info/ebooks/austria/ Photoglobe.info] Country Studies - Austria Info
- [http://radio.orf.at/ Radio-ORF] Austrian Radio stations - both classical and modern music (live feed)
- [http://www.tiscover.at/ Tiscover.at] Austria travel guide
- [http://www.anytravels.com/europe/austria/ Travel Information from Any Travels] Travel Information about Austria
- [http://www.austria-hotels-travel.com/ Austria-Hotels-Travel] Austria Travel Destination
- [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3165.htm US Department of State] Facts and Information (updated February 2005)
- [http://www.willgoto.com/categories.aspx?Destination=217&Langue=1 Willgoto Austria] Travel guide and directory
- [http://uk.aua.com/ Austrian Airlines]
- [http://www.parks.it/world/AT/Eindex.html Parks in Austria] National parks, nature parks, reserves and other protected areas Category:European Union member states Austria, People of Category:Landlocked countries fiu-vro:Austria zh-min-nan:Tang-kok als:Österreich ko:오스트리아 ms:Austria ja:オーストリア simple:Austria th:ประเทศออสเตรีย

May 25

May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). There are 220 days remaining.

Events


- 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo back from the Moors.
- 1420 - Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.
- 1521 - The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.
- 1659 - Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth.
- 1787 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States. George Washington presides.
- 1810 - In the May Revolution, armed citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Viceroy during the Semana de Mayo.
- 1865 - In Mobile, Alabama, 300 are killed when an ordnance depot explodes.
- 1895 - Playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of "commiting acts of gross indecency with other male persons" and sentenced to serve two years in prison.
- 1895 - The Republic of Taiwan is formed, with Tang Ching-sung as the president.
- 1914 - The United Kingdom's House of Commons passes Home Rule Act for devolution in Ireland.
- 1925 - Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.
- 1925 - The National Forensics League of the U.S. is founded.
- 1926 - Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the Paris-based government-in-exile of Ukrainian People's Republic.
- 1935 - In a span of 45 minutes at the Big Ten meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jesse Owens sets or ties four track and field world records.
- 1935 - Babe Ruth hits his 714th and last home run at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, setting a baseball record that will stand for 39 years.
- 1938 - Spanish Civil War: Bombing of Alicante, 313 deads.
- 1940 - World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk begins.
- 1946 - The parliament of Transjordan makes Abdullah I of Jordan their king.
- 1953 - Nuclear testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.
- 1955 - Kanchenjunga, third highest peak in the world is scaled successfully for the first time.
- 1961 - Apollo program: U.S. president John F. Kennedy announces before a special joint session of Congress his goal to initiate a project to put a "man on the moon" before the end of the decade.
- 1963 - In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Organisation of African Unity is established.
- 1966 - Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.
- 1965 - Muhammad Ali knocks out Sonny Liston in the first minute of the first round of a boxing match.
- 1967 - Celtic_F.C. become the first British team to reach a European_Cup final and also to win it, beating Inter_Milan 2-1 in normal time.
- 1968 - In St. Louis, Missouri, US Vice-President Hubert Humphrey and US Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall dedicate the Gateway Arch as part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
- 1973 - Mike Oldfield releases Tubular Bells.
- 1977 - Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) opens a limited run in theaters before expanding to become the highest grossing movie to date.
- 1979 - American Airlines Flight 191: In Chicago, Illinois, a DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport killing 271 on board and two people on the ground.
- 1979 - The movie Alien opens in theaters.
- 1981 - In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- 1982 - HMS Coventry is sunk during the Falklands War.
- 1985 - Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.
- 1988 - The Berulsemann was born.
- 1988 - Professional Wrestler Josh Wallen is born.
- 1995 - The Bosnian Serb Army kills 72 youngsters in the Bosnian city of Tuzla.
- 1997 - A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koromah.
- 1997 - Strom Thurmond becomes the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Senate, at 41 years and 10 months.
- 1999 - The two officers scapegoated after the 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor, Rear Admiral Kimmel and Lieutenant General Short were exonerated (posthumously) by the US Senate of all charges of dereliction of duty.
- 2001 - 32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- 2001 - 64-year-old Sherman Bull, of New Canaan, Connecticut, becomes the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- 2002 - China Airlines Flight 611: A Boeing 747-200 breaks apart in mid-air and plunges into the Taiwan Strait killing 225 people.
- 2002 - A train crash in Tenga, Mozambique kills 197 people.
- 2003 - Néstor Kirchner becomes President of Argentina after defeating Carlos Menem. He is the first elected President since the December 2001 economic crisis.
- 2004 - The theatrical version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is released on DVD.
- 2004 - Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup.
- 2005 - Liverpool win the UEFA Champions League after beating AC Milan in the final.

Births


- 1048 - Emperor Shenzong of China (d. 1085)
- 1334 - Emperor Suko of Japan (d. 1398)
- 1458 - Mahmud Begada, Sultan of Gujarat (d. 1511)
- 1606 - Charles Garnier, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1649)
- 1661 - Claude Buffier, French philosopher and historian (d. 1737)
- 1713 - John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Prime Minister of Great Britain (d. 1792)
- 1725 - Samuel Ward, American politician (d. 1776)
- 1803 - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English novelist and playwright (d. 1873)
- 1803 - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and philosopher (d. 1882)
- 1820 - Anne Brontë, English writer (d. 1849)
- 1845 - Lip Pike, baseball player (d.1883)
- 1860 - James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist (d. 1944)
- 1865 - John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1955)
- 1865 - Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
- 1877 - Billy Murray, American singer (d. 1954)
- 1879 - Lord Beaverbrook, English publisher (d. 1964)
- 1880 - Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist (d. 1967)
- 1882 - Marie Doro, American actress (d. 1956)
- 1887 - Francesco Forgione, Italian priest (d. 1968)
- 1888 - Miles Malleson, English actor (d. 1969)
- 1889 - Igor Sikorsky, Russian inventor (d. 1972)
- 1912 - Princess Dukhye of Korea (d. 1989)
- 1913 - Richard Dimbleby, British journalist and broadcaster (d. 1965)
- 1918 - Claude Akins, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1921 - Jack Steinberger, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1922 - Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (d. 1984)
- 1924 - István Nyers, Hungarian footballer (d. 2005)
- 1925 - Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet (d. 1974)
- 1925 - Jeanne Crain, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1926 - Miles Davis, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1991)
- 1927 - Robert Ludlum, writer (d. 2001)
- 1929 - Beverly Sills, American soprano
- 1931 - Georgi Grechko, cosmonaut
- 1932 - John Gregory Dunne, American writer (d. 2003)
- 1935 - Cookie Gilchrist, American football player
- 1936 - Tom T. Hall, American singer and songwriter
- 1936 - Vladimir ("Wally""Walter") Fekula, American banker, raconteur
- [[1938]] - [[Raymond Carver, American writer (d. 1988)
- 1939 - Dixie Carter, American actress
- 1939 - Ian McKellen, English actor
- 1943 - Jessi Colter, American singer
- 1944 - Frank Oz, English-born puppeteer and director
- 1949 - Jamaica Kincaid, Antiguan-born novelist
- 1953 - Daniel Passarella, Argentine football player
- 1956 - Sugar Minott, Jamaican singer
- 1958 - Paul Weller, British musician
- 1963 - Mike Myers, Canadian actor and comedian
- 1965 - Simon Fowler, English singer (Ocean Colour Scene)
- 1966 - McLoud, Swiss composer, musician, and multimedia artist
- 1967 - Poppy Z. Brite, American author
- 1968 - Kendall Gill, American basketball player
- 1969 - Anne Heche, American actress
- 1970 - Jamie Kennedy, American actor
- 1971 - Sonya Smith, American actress
- 1974 - Monica Keena, American actress
- 1975 - Lauryn Hill, American singer
- 1976 - Miguel Tejada, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- 1976 - Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby player
- 1977 - Pat Burrell, baseball player
- 1978 - Brian Urlacher, American football player
- 1979 - Carlos Bocanegra, American soccer player
- 1984 - Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir, Miss Iceland, crowned Miss World in 2005.

Deaths


- 709 - Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne
- 735 - Bede, English historian and monk
- 967 - Murakami, Emperor of Japan (b. 926)
- 992 - Mieszko I of Poland
- 1085 - Pope Gregory VII
- 1261 - Pope Alexander IV
- 1452 - John Stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1555 - Gemma Frisius, Dutch mathematician and cartographer (b. 1508)
- 1555 - Henry II of Navarre (b. 1503)
- 1595 - Valens Acidalius, German critic and poet (b. 1567)
- 1632 - Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1572)
- 1667 - Gustaf Bonde, Swedish statesman (b. 1620)
- 1681 - Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish playwright (b. 1600)
- 1693 -