|
Leo Baeck
Institute
cordially invites you to a
lecture and
book signing
A
Concise History of Austria
(Cambridge University Press, 2007)
by
Steven
Beller
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
|
|
For a small, prosperous country in the
middle of Europe, modern Austria has a very large and complex
history, extending far beyond its current borders. Today's Austrians
have a problematic relationship with that history, whether with the
multi-national history of the Habsburg Monarchy, or with the time
between 1938 and 1945 when Austrians were Germans in Hitler's Third
Reich. Steven Beller's gripping and comprehensive account traces the
remarkable career of Austria through its many transformations, from
German borderland, to dynastic enterprise, imperial house, Central
European great power, failed Alpine republic, German province, and
then successful Alpine republic, building up a picture of the layers
of Austrian identity and heritage and their diverse sources. It is a
story full of anomalies and ironies, a case study of the other side
of European history, without the easy answers of more clearly
national narratives, and hence far more relevant to today's world.
Steven Beller is an independent scholar.
He has already published a number of books on Austrian history,
including Vienna and the Jews, 1867-1938: A Cultural History (1989),
Theodor Herzl (1991) and Francis Joseph (1996).
RSVP: (212) 744-6400
|
