Survey in Austria Uncovers Strongly Anti-semitic Views

One in three supporters of Austria’s increasingly popular Freedom Party manifests strong anti-Semitic prejudice, according to the results of a new survey sponsored by the American Jewish Committee.

The results are “deeply disturbing,” according to an AJCommittee official, because the party, once considered a fringe element, has entered Austria’s political mainstream.

The Freedom Party, led by right-wing extremist Jorg Haider, won 23 percent of the vote in last october’s Austrian general elections and is now the most successful far-right political faction in Western Europe.

The AJCommittee survey, titled “Current Austrian Attitudes Toward Jews and the Holocaust,” was conducted by the Gallup Institute of Austria between Jan. 17 and March 1.

It was released simultaneously last Friday in Vienna and New York amid commemorations marking the 50th anniversary of the fall of the Third Reich and the end of World War II.

A key purpose of the survey was to examine where Freedom Party supporters stand on Jews and on Jews and on Holocaust-related matters, according to David Singer, AJCommittee director of research. He said Freedom Party supporters represented 21 percent of the 2,000 survey respondents.

Singer said the survey found that “more than one in three Austrians who support the Freedom Party see Jews as having too much influence on world events in Austrian society, reject Jews as neighbors and maintain that Jews are exploiting the Holocaust for their own purposes.

“A significant portion of Freedom Party supporters are open to Holocaust denial, as well,” he added. “All in all, Freedom Party supporters are open to Holocaust denial, as well,” he added. “All in all, Freedom Party supporters are much more likely than other Austrians to exhibit hostility toward Jews.”

No less disturbing is the willingness of some Austrians who consider themselves to be free of anti-Jewish hostility to support a party that has become the home base for anti-Semites, the survey concludes.

Haider, the party’s leader, who says he wants be the next Austrian chancellor, has embraced Adolf Hitler’s labor policies.

The survey, which has a margin of error of 3 percent, did yield some encouraging findings, however, said Singer.

“Attitudes toward Jews have improved over time, and there is a greater openness to Holocaust remembrance today,” he said, comparing the latest results to a 1991 survey his organization conducted on Austrian attitudes toward Jews and other minorities.

For instance, the number of Austrians who see Jews as having “too much influence” in Austrian society has dropped from 28 percent in 1991 to 19 percent this year, he said.

And the number of Austrians who believe that “Jews are exploiting the Nazi Holocaust for their own purposes” has dropped from 32 percent to 28 percent over the same time period.

However, 31 percent of non-Freedom Party supporters now show no interest in keeping the memory of Holocaust alive. And 43 percent of Freedom Party supporters believe it is time to “put the memory of the Holocaust behind us.”

One in four Austrians continue to express hostility toward the Jews, the survey found.

It also found that while Austrians are generally well-informed about the Holocaust, many fail to acknowledge their country’s role in it.