Dr. Ruth Contreras | Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Author: Dr. Ruth Contreras

Dr. Ruth Contreras is a member of the Board of Directors of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East from 2002 to the present. She is also the European coordinator for Scholars for Peace in the Middle East and coordinator of the Austrian Chapter of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East . Formerly head of the Department of Entomology at the Museum of Natural History in Vienna, she is now pursuing Jewish studies at the University of Vienna.

On the Situation in Austrian Universities

November 15, 2007 | Dr. Ruth Contreras

Austria's postwar history is characterized by its self-perception as the first victim of the National Socialists. The fact that the majority of Austrian society had supported the Nazis or at least obeyed the Nazi regime was assiduously ignored. This self-perception lasted until the late 1980s, when it was critically reviewed and altered under the impact of the Waldheim affair (discussed below). The latter, however, showed that not only the Social Democrats (SPÖ) but also the Conservatives (ÖVP) had a problematic relationship with the past.