May-June 2005
From the Editor
Dear Readers, 
The Austrian State Treaty was concluded in 1955 after a negotiating marathon involving eight years of diplomatic talks with no less than 400 meetings between Allied representatives. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice contributed an article on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary celebration in Vienna.
Fot the seventh time the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. co-hosted an event which this year included awardees such as Muhammad Ali and two former gang leaders of Prince George's County, Maryland.
Two veterans of the Austrian Civil Service were recently decorated in Washington, D.C..
Read about the heroic life of an Austrian refugee; and find out more about Austria's 2004 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Yours sincerely,
Christoph Meran
Administrator
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Austria 1955 - 2005
At the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Austrian State Treaty in the Belvedere Palace in Vienna on May 15, 2005, British Minister of State for Europe Douglas Alexander addressed the Austrians: "From the rubble of war, you built one of Europe's most prosperous and democratic countries." Without this treaty, Austria would look very differently today. With it, Austria became a so-called ‘miracle of the Cold War.’ What amounted to a miracle was the fact that a treaty was agreed to by all parties in the midst of steadily rising East-West tensions and the beginning nuclear arms race.
The Austrian State Treaty
The following is an article by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice written for Die Europäische Rundschau, a quarterly on politics, economics and contemporary history in a special issue commemorating the Austrian State Treaty of 1955.
Search for Common Ground
There is nothing as old as human conflict. Throughout history, man has resorted to fear tactics, physical violence or armed warfare in an effort to resolve disputes. During the first part of the 20th century, with the world steeped in militarism surrounding the first and second world wars, "peace and conflict resolution" was considered subversive and unpatriotic. Nationalism reigned and victory in war was glorified. With the second half of the 20th century, this all changed. The world was under the threat of nuclear proliferation and destruction of the planet, and consequently, the study of peace became a part of the curriculum at most schools and universities.
Awards and Honors
Ingrid Richardson-McKinnon and Franz Muschitz
Masters in Command
Born Peter Arany in Vienna in 1922, he fled Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938 for England. Like many other refugees, he was held briefly in a British internment camp as a "friendly enemy alien." At the age of 18, he volunteered for an elite Commando unit composed entirely of refugees from Nazi regimes in Austria, Hungary and Germany. All of them spoke fluent German. Most of them were Jewish and expertly trained in the tactics of the German Army. Assuming new Anglo identities with intricate cover stories to explain their heavily accented English, they were recruited for hazardous missions on the front lines. Peter Arany became Peter Masters.
Feather in the Cap or Thorn in the Flesh?
On December 10, 2004, the Austrian writer, Elfriede Jelinek, born in 1946, was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize for Literature "for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society’s clichés and their subjugating power." The announcement came as a surprise, insofar as Jelinek’s name was not among those dropped in the speculative discussions preceding the Swedish Academy's decision.
Second Republic Silver Coin
The Federal President of Austria, Heinz Fischer, visited the Vienna Mint on April 26 to ceremonially strike the new silver coin designed for celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of the Second Republic. “This coin commemorates one of the most important events of Austrian history, and I am proud to have this chance to strike a couple of coins on behalf of the country,” Mr. Fischer said.
Correction
In the March/April issue of Austrian Information, in the article "Rebuilding Austria," last paragraph, a currency error occurred. Instead of U. S. dollars, the correct currency should be Austrian schillings (ATS): ATS 11.2 billion in counterpart funds and ATS 90 billion in loans.