3 Comments

A wonderful tribute and way to keep his memories alive 😊🙏

Expand full comment

Hochachtung für Erich Sonntag und denen, die sein geistiges Erbe hochhalten

Expand full comment

I would like to learn about Austria in between the wars. In Secondary School Education in the US (students 12 to 18 years of age) are taught about what the German people suffered in the economy of the Weimar Republic, instructed that this was thanks to what the nation of France extracted from Germany at the Treaty of Versailles. Nothing is taught about Austria. In our colleges, required European History courses may or may not be 20th c History. If 20th c, the history covers the World Wars, Russian Revolution and the rise of Hitler. The concentration camps where 6 million were killed are an increasing focal point. Students of History these days are interested in the Cold War and America's extreme problems at home and of course terrorism from Islamists. Americans if they have ideas about Austria, think of Mozart and Salzburg, New Year's Eve in Vienna, beautiful countryside and classical music.

It's difficult to grasp that The Great War exploded out of European wars of previous centuries and that it ended with an armistice because the bleeding, maiming and killing went on beyond what the nations could demand of their young men. The 20th century was one of terrible extremes and in the 21st we continue our foolishness, dancing on a razor's edge with the nuclear abyss below.

My Austrian born mother used to say "other nations make war, Austria, you marry". A nice euphemism.

England has this inter-world war history:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Week-End

Austrian historians should maybe show the world that Austrians were not fascists by nature nor by politics. We love to dance, to waltz to beautiful music and then we get sucked in with those who prefer to rant insane ideas and plot to murder on their way to world domination. I think maybe Catholicism made Austrians more politically passive until it was too late.

(Now Christianity has no say at all in how the world marches on to hell). Hopefully a real Messiah arrives before we blow ourselves up - (but I digress as always, writing with an A.D.D. brain).

Expand full comment