Austrian writers demand provinces drop anthems penned by Nazi composers
In an open letter, authors say it would be ‘a great, exemplary signal’ to create a new anthem which ‘reflects the spirit and work of today’s generations and artists’
VIENNA — Austrian authors demanded that a region change its anthem Wednesday after its composer was revealed to be an active Nazi, rekindling a row that now involves more than half its provinces.
The anthems were all written by composers or writers who actively supported the Nazi regime, according to the group representing Austrian writers.
In an open letter it said the composer of Burgenland’s anthem, written in 1936, was a Nazi party member.
The writers said “it would be a great, exemplary signal” if a new anthem could be written that “reflects the spirit and work of today’s generations and artists who were born and grew up in Burgenland.”
Historian Herbert Brettl said the lyrics were not problematic, just its composer’s association with the Nazi regime.
“Burgenland should deal with the history,” he told AFP.
The anthems of Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Salzburg provinces have also been found to be problematic.
So far none have been changed.
The far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which currently tops polls ahead of next year’s elections, and which was founded by former Nazis, has opposed any change.
“Our anthem is an asset of our province’s culture that is worth protecting and contributes to maintaining our proud history,” said Erwin Angerer, its leader in Carinthia.
The German Third Reich annexed Austria, the birth place of Adolf Hitler, in 1938.
Austria long cast itself as a victim after being annexed. Only in the past three decades has the country begun to seriously examine its role in the Holocaust.
More than 65,000 of Austria’s pre-war Jewish population of 200,000 were murdered in the Holocaust, in which some six million Jews perished.
