Introducing Austria: A Short History

by Lonnie R. Johnson

INTRODUCING AUSTRIA provides in compact form a comprehensive overview of the country's rich past and present. The first half of the book deals with Austria before 1918. Each chapter and subchapter approaches Austria's diverse, thousand-year-old heritage from a different perspective to illuminate its essential features. The second half of the book deals with Austria's turbulent history from 1918 to the present. Controversial issues are presented objectively and without oversimplification. Overall the book conveys a differentiated picture of the country and its people and should give readers a feeling for the continuity and change of the Austrian idea.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

196 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1989

Reviews

[Rennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a quick and easy survey of Austrian history mainly post World War I. It was written a little prematurely though, as one of the last chapters hilariously has a glowing paragraph about the promise and potential of politician Jörg Haider, who became an embarrassing right wing nightmare and set post-Holocaust progress in the country back a bit. Here he's praised on everything from his good looks to his abilities as a "political chameleon". Haha. The information/photos of post-WWII were what I found most interesting and worthwhile.

[Dave Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Introducing Austria: A Short History offers a brief survey of Austria’s long and illustrious history in a monograph that avoids gratuitous detail, instead the book highlights defining periods and moments in Austrian history with a focus on Austria after WWI and how history has shaped contemporary sensibilities among Austrians. The book synthesizes many different elements of Austrian history-- which include culture, art, music, food, social differences, war, foreign affairs, and politics-- that provide a well-rounded understanding of Austria. Lonnie Johnson, the author and the Associate Director of the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, effectively argues that history has shaped the Austrian idea into a national identity that is diverse, nostalgic, proud, and optimistic of the future.

Johnson organizes his thesis around two broad themes that are dealt with in each half of the book. Austria before 1918 is the theme of the first half of the book. Johnson does not present this theme in a direct and narrow chronology of events; rather, he treats the thousand-year-old heritage of Austria as a complex multi-echelon mosaic. In the second half of the book Johnson brings the reader from 1918 to the time of the release of the book. He treats this theme in much more straightforward manner by using a more traditional historical writing approach.

Johnson attempts to convey the roots of the Austrian idea in the first part of his book. In the first chapter, “What is Austria?” he answers the title’s question by presenting a brief description of Austria’s early history and how Austria rose to become “The Heart of Europe,” which is the title of a subchapter in the book. In chapter two-- which is entitled “The Imperial Heritage”-- Johnson analyzes the impact the Habsburg Monarchy on Austria and how the Habsburg legacy affected the Austrian idea. He contends that their legacy promoted a multi-national character to the Austrian Empire that accepted and absorbed many different cultural elements, which are still evident in modern Austria. He uses Viennese imperial cooking to illustrate this legacy by showing how foods and beverages like Wiener Schnitzel, Apfelstrudel, and coffee worked their way from different lands to the Emperor’s table in Vienna, and then became quintessential Austrian cuisine. In chapters three and four-- which are “Killing the Heir and the Empire” and “Austrian Polarities”-- Johnson takes a look at how the Empire ended, the effects that the Empire’s end had on the Austrian idea, and the tensely divided nature of Austria’s political parties and the impact that they had on the populace. In these two chapters he argues that the virtual overnight collapse of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in 1918 and the resulting harsh treatment that Austrians received after the war-- which was outlined in the Treaty of St. Germain-- accentuated the pre-existing differences between Austrians and set the stage for the polarized and chaotic political environment that defined the First Republic.

Johnson presents the history of Austria after 1918 in the last half of his book where he tries to show how Austria evolved into a model small state, despite tremendous adversity and a turbulent history; furthermore, he contends that this rough and unique history is what has helped formulate the contemporary Austrian idea. Johnson blames the trials and ultimate failure of the First Republic on the unfair terms that Austrians were forced to accept after WWI, which lead to the brief dictatorship by Engelbert Dollfuss, and then later to the eventual Anschluss with the Nazi Germany. In the last two chapters Johnson discusses the Allied Occupation after WWII, the establishment of the Second and Third Republics, and reviews the vast progress that Austria has made in the last fifty years. He concludes his book by arguing that the elements that compose the Austrian idea have continued and changed over the course history; nevertheless, they define what it is to be Austrian, which is a mentality a foreigner to Austria can never fully grasp.

Johnson has written a well-balanced book that is geared toward a novice scholar of Austria. He has included several helpful illustrations, maps, and pictures that reinforce his arguments and ideas. He curtailed frivolous detail and presented an excellent survey level perspective of Austrian history. However, the key strength of his book is its ability to bring the reader to an understanding and appreciation of both past and present Austria. This unique ability is probably due to the extensive time that he has spent in Austria and the fact that he is married to an Austrian.

The primary weakness of the book is the two-sided bias that the author has. Johnson has an innate bias in his treatment of Austrian history, because he is a U.S. citizen. This bias shapes how he views and criticizes politics, foreign affairs, culture, and other Austrian historical themes; furthermore, he admits to this foreign bias in the preface of the book and again at the end. The other side of his bias is that he has lived Austria for a while and married an Austrian, which undoubtedly has resulted in a more gracious than otherwise treatment of Austria and its history.

In conclusion, Introducing Austria: A Short History successfully delivers the feeling of continuity and change concerning the Austrian idea that the author attempts to express. Lonnie Johnson provides adequate examples to support the overall thesis of his book. In addition, the strengths of the book have unquestionably out weighted the weaknesses of the book. Johnson’s book is good point of departure for further study of Austria’s long and complex history.

[Jeremy Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative. Simple. But very dated, as expected for a book that was published in the 1980s. Started reading it on my first day in Salzburg and finished it on my last day in Vienna. In terms of describing the Austrian people in a pre-Web, pre-Internet world, it’s hard to say if these historic internal beliefs still hold up today, but so much of the country is filled with historic monuments and relics that a work like this was useful for providing some context regarding the Hapsburgs as well as the post-WWII ideals of a nation once micro-managed by four different governments. Ironically, near the end of the book, the author makes reference to the two most dominant political parties in Austria, one of which is the OVP, and in our wandering of Salzburg, we saw several spray-painted signs that boldly scrawled the words “Fuck OVP.” So clearly, even if the text of this book is outdated, the parties themselves are not, since they’re still driving the attention of citizens.

[Griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice and brief overview of Austrian history.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent summary of Austria, high level and not super in depth but gives a good feel for the country.