Kurt Waldheim, former United Nations Secretary General and
president of Austria died of cardiovascular failure at
age 88 in Vienna on Thursday.
Waldheim's election as Austrian president was overshadowed by the controversy
over his past in the Nazi Wehrmacht during the Second World
War.
Throughout his presidency, Austria
was internationally isolated. Yet, with his refusal to
come clean about his past, Waldheim involuntarily triggered
a discussion about Austria's role in the Third Reich.
The myth of Austria as the mere
first victim of Hitler's expansion policy was abandoned,
and Austria's complicity in Nazi crimes was admitted to.
Simon Weisentahl Center Israel
Director Efraim Zuroff said Waldheim's activities as a
Nazi officer were questionable. However, the late Nazi
hunter Weisentahl said no clear-cut evidence of Waldheim
committing crimes against humanity existed.
Zuroff added Waldheim could have
contributed to Austria recognizing its responsibility for
the Holocaust, a responsibilty it denied until the eaerly
1990s.
Waldheim, born on December 21,
1918 in the village of Sankt Andrae-Woerdern near Vienna
attended law school in the Austrian capital and joined
the German army after completing his studies at the beginning
of the War in 1939.
After 1945 the son of a schoolteacher
joined Austria's diplomatic service, becoming an ambassador
to Canada and the United Nations.
From 1968 to 1970 Waldheim served
as an independent foreign minister in the Austrian government
before unsuccessfully running for president in 1971 on
a conservative ticket.
In 1971 Waldheim succeeded U Thant
of then Burma as secretary-general of the United Nations,
where he devoted much of his energies to conflict mediation.
During the Iran hostage crisis Waldheim travelled to Iran
to help negotiate the release of US hostages held for 14
months at the US embassy between 1979 and 1981.
By 1985, after failing to win
a third term, Waldheim returned to Austria and once again
ran for the presidency. When it became public during his
campaign that Waldheim had glossed over his time as a lieutenant
in the Balkans and Greece between 1942 and 1945, he denied
all knowledge of wartime atrocities committed by his unit.
According to the reports, Waldheim
had assisted or participated in transporting more than
40,000 Jews to concentration camps, and his unit was involved
in the mistreatment and execution of allied prisoners.
The unit was also made responsible for the deaths of 1,200
Greek Jews in the Mediterranean.
While nothing in the reports said
he was personally involved, they indicated he provided
the necessary intelligence or gave the appropriate orders.
Waldheim denied all accusations,
saying he had worked only as a translator in the Balkans,
knowing nothing of any atrocities committed.
In Austria all revelations were
rejected as undue influence and manipulation by Jewish
organizations from abroad, sweeping Waldheim to an election
victory on a mixture of misguided national pride and anti-Semitism.
He won the popular vote over his
Social Democrat competitor by 56 per cent, but was ostracized
by world leaders, largely limiting Austria's international
role. Although internationally isolated, he was received
by Pakistan, Jordan, the Vatican and Saudi Arabia.
In 1987 the United States put
Waldheim on their so-called "watch list," effectively denying him entry into the country. The charges against him were
based on documents publicized by the World Jewish Congress
and a report released by the US Justice Department, which
said Waldheim's unit, where he served as an officer, had
been involved Nazi war crimes.
Waldheim announced in 1991 that
he had no intention to run for a second term, much to the
relief of many Austrians, who had become wary of the scrutiny
their country was under.
Waldheim remained a fixture in
diplomatic and social circles after his presidency, but
ceased to play a political role. Until his death, Waldheim
continued to deny any allegations of wrongdoing.
The heated debates during the
campaign and his term of office led however to an important
change of mind in Austrian society. For the first time,
Austria's role as "Hitler's first victim" was openly questioned.
Austria slowly came to accept
it had also played the role of the willing accomplice in
Nazi crimes. Historical views were revised, and Austrian
politicians for the first time apologized publicly for
Austria's complicity.
Although he never admitted to
any personal guilt, Waldheim brought about a profound change
in Austria's self-perception.
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