A New World - a New History? (Part II)

Teil II: Die „Goldenen Jahre der Zeitgeschichte“ und ihre Schattenseiten

Abstract

This is the second part of the author's ,stocktaking’ of Autrian contemporary history. Choosing three main fields (history of resistance, labour movement and fascism) he describes problems and trends of dcvelopment until the middle of the 1980ies. By nature of its proximity to collective historic experiences (especially Nazism) which still harm the public memory contemporary history has found a large interest in the general public. But this fact did not foster swift thematic and methodological innovation. In this respect, a certain temporary dominance of Marxist theories played an ambigous role. In Austria, according to the author, a fundamental reshaping of contemporary history did not take place before 1985.