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• The image of the multi-ethnic Habsburg Empire: From its dismissal in 1919 to its rediscovery for the European Union after 1989

  167-188

  Michael Prosser-Schell

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  133

  This article delineates the image of the Habsburg Empire in the 20^th century in order to analyse its current representation in historiography in the German language. Before the Great War, the comprehensive compendium „Die österreichisch-unga­rische Monarchie in Wort und Bild“ (The Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy in Word and Image) presented the old Habsburg Empire in a very positive light. According to the compendium, the strong and progressive multi-ethnic state served as a model for the institution of the nation state. After the Great War, the Habsburg Empire appears as a weak, even non-functional state in historiography in the German language.  It is described as internally divided due to ethnic conflicts of interest. However, after 1990, following the publication of Claudio Magris’ renowned works, in particular his book on the river Danube, the image of the multi-ethnic Habsburg Empire as a culturally and politically dynamic actor has been reclaimed. After the enlargement of the European Union in 2004, the state’s multi-ethnic character has frequently been presented as a role model for European integration. To further illustrate this point, this article will examine the reasons for which Temeswar in the Banat was selected as European Capital of Culture.

• Preserving Traditions as a Perspective for the Future? The Integration History of German Expellees in the Context of Current Discourses on Diversity

  7-31

  Tilman Kasten

  Views:

  56

  Diversity is a central keyword of our time that has found its way into the academic discussion of (historical) migration phenomena and their consequences. This also applies to the history of the forced migration of the German-speaking population from Eastern Europe as a result of the Second World War, which confronted both the refugees and expellees as well as the “host societies” with major challenges including those concerning “integration”. Based on a critical reading of a historically informed contribution to the debate on the evaluation of the integration history of the German expellees in the Federal Republic of Germany, the article reflects on the question of the extent to which orientation points for current debates on a social self-understanding under the guise of diversity can be derived from this history.