Sixty-nine years after the end of World War II, nearly a third of Austrians would like to have a “strong leader” (Führer) at the helm of their country “who doesn’t have to deal with elections and a parliament”, according to a new study published on Wednesday in Vienna.
Asked about what Nazi rule from 1938 to 1945 had given the country, 36 percent of the 1,015 Austrians surveyed answered “both good and bad things” while three percent said “primarily good things”. Forty-two percent still agree with the opinion that Austria was ‘Hitler’s first victim’. Respondents with higher school degrees were less likely to agree to these theses than those without.
A clear majority of respondents (56 percent) said discussions about the Holocaust and the Second World War should now end. This figure was higher than in previous surveys.
The study was carried out by the Sora Institute on behalf of the Austrian Future Fund.
Last year, a different survey carried out on the 75th anniversary of the 'annexation' of Austria to Nazi Germany had produced similar results.
