Defense Minister Friedhelm Frischenschlager apologized to Chancellor Fred Sinowatz “and to the public” today for what he called “this miscalculation,” his characterization of the personal greeting he extended last Thursday to Nazi war criminal Walter Reder on his return to his native Austria after nearly 40 years in prison in Italy.
Frischenschlager’s reception of Reder touched off the worst political storm in Austria’s recent history. It threatened the survival of Sinowatz’s Socialist-led coalition government of which the Defense Minister’s small, right-leaning Freedom Party (FPOE) is a partner. Last night, Sinowatz ordered the Defense Minister to cut short a threeday official visit to Egypt — begun last Saturday–and to return home to explain his action.
His journey to Graz to meet Reder, a 69-year-old former SS Major convicted of the mass murder of civilians in Italy in 1944, triggered demands for his resignation across the entire political spectrum. In particular, it infuriated leaders of world Jewry, assembled in Vienna for the first time since World War II to attend a meeting of the Governing Board of the World Jewish Congress.
EVOLUTION OF APOLOGIES
Sinowatz’s initial reaction to the affair was to call it a “grave mistake.” Later, in a message to WJC president Edgar Bronfman, the Chancellor said, “I am profoundly sorry” about the Reder incident. In the course of his prepared address to the WJC gathering Saturday night, Sinowatz told the delegates, “The fact that this transfer (of Reder to Austria) made for personal contact between the Defense Minister and Reder was a grave political error.”
He called it an “isolated event” from which “we should not draw conclusions” and stressed Austria’s dedication to democracy and its long-standing role as a haven and transfer point for refugees, including many thousands of Jews from the Soviet Union.
The Chancellor’s explanation did not sit well with many of the Jewish leaders who felt the issue was a moral one, not simply a “political error.”
Frischenschlager, who had made clear he would not resign under pressure, gave his apology to Sinowatz at a Cabinet session. “I am sorry for this miscalculation and I can only offer my regrets to you, Chancellor and to the public,” his statement said. It was read to reporters today by Sinowatz.
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