The idea of European integration in Austria
The idea of Europe in the interwar period
Poster to mark the first Paneuropen Congress in Vienna (1926)
TextPromotional poster to mark the first Paneuropean Congress held in Vienna from 3 to 6 October 1926.
Official programme of the Paneuropean Movement (Vienna, 15 May 1934)
TextOn 15 May 1934, at the Vienna Paneuropean Congress, the Paneuropean Union — of which the Austro-Czech Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi has been the President since 1923 — adopts a detailed programme concerning its objectives and concerns.
Thoughts by Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi on Vienna, European capital (1934)
TextIn 1934, the Austro-Czech Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, founder, in 1923, of the Paneuropean Movement, campaigns for the City of Vienna to be named as capital of a united Europe.
Vienna, Capital of Europe (1934)
TextIn 1934, the Austro-Czech Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, founder, in 1923, of the Paneuropean Movement, campaigns for the City of Vienna to become the capital of a united Europe.
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, Europe must unite (1938)
TextIn 1938, in the light of the rise of totalitarian regimes in Europe, the Austrian-Czech Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, who founded the Paneuropean Movement in 1923, considers the implications of the Paneuropean Union and outlines the way in which the countries of the ‘Old Continent’ could be reunited in a single organisation.
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, Paneuropa
TextIn 1966, Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, founder, in 1923 in Vienna, of the Paneuropean Union, recalls the circumstances surrounding the founding of the movement and its development up to the eve of the Second World War.
Interview with Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi: the founding of the Paneuropean Movement (Vienna, 19 November 1971)
Audio extractIn this interview recorded in 1971, Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, founder of the Paneuropean Union, considers the foundation of the movement in 1923 and refers specifically to the aims of its establishment, namely a common European policy as regards foreign affairs, defence and the economy. Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi also emphasises the influence of his father in the birth of the idea of a Paneuropean Movement.
The organisation of postwar Europe and the federalist conferences
‘Kurt von Schuschnigg: the courage to adopt a new way of thinking’ from L’Action fédéraliste européenne (1946)
TextIn 1946, in the journal L’Action fédéraliste européenne, Kurt von Schuschnigg, former Chancellor of the Austrian Republic, gives his views on the organisation of post-war Europe.
‘European disappointment I’ from the Arbeiter-Zeitung (13 August 1946)
TextOn 13 August 1946, Oscar Pollak, Editor-in-Chief of the Austrian daily newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung, recalls how, in 1941 in Vienna, against the backdrop of Fascist Europe, the hope was born of a European revolution which would create a Socialist Europe on the basis of a federation of free countries, despite the opposition of the Great Powers.
‘European disappointment II’ from the Arbeiter-Zeitung (14 August 1946)
TextOn 14 August 1946, Oscar Pollak, Editor-in-Chief of the Austrian daily newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung, condemns the fact that the national resistance movements against the Hitler regime did not culminate in a European revolution and European unity and underlines the responsibility of the Great Powers that participated in the Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences which led to the division of the continent.
‘European disappointment III’ from the Arbeiter-Zeitung (15 August 1946)
TextOn 15 August 1946, Oscar Pollak, Editor-in-Chief of the Austrian daily newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung, calls for the creation of a Socialist Europe and emphasises the need for the European continent to establish itself as a third force so that it may assume the role of mediator between East and West.
‘The third way’ from the Arbeiter-Zeitung (1 September 1946)
TextOn 1 September 1946, Oscar Pollak, Editor-in-Chief of the Austrian daily newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung, warns against the division of Europe as imposed by the victorious Great Powers and calls for European unification based on a Socialist model.
‘How can Europe be saved?’ from the Wiener Zeitung (30 December 1947)
TextOn 30 December 1947, the Austrian daily newspaper Wiener Zeitung comments on the address given the previous day by Eduard Ludwig, Member of the National Council of Austria, regarding the activities of the supranational bodies which are working to save the European continent from decline.
‘Western Europe on the way to a Union of States?’ from Die österreichische Furche (8 May 1948)
TextOn 8 May 1948, in an article dated 26 April, the Austrian weekly newspaper Die österreichische Furche, considers the Hague Congress held from 7 to 10 May to constitute, after the Benelux and the Western Union, a third key element on the path towards a European Federation and emphasises the importance of this proposed union in the Netherlands.
‘Eduard Ludwig: European renaissance’ from the Österreichische Monatshefte (June 1948)
TextIn 1948, in an article published in the magazine Österreichische Monatshefte, Eduard Ludwig, Member of the Austrian National Council, outlines the scope of the resolutions adopted by the Congress of Europe, held in The Hague from 7 to 10 May 1948.
Austria’s central role in the European integration process
Leopold Figl, Austria and the European order (1945)
TextIn 1945, Leopold Figl, Chancellor of the Austrian Republic and leader of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), outlines his ideas on Austria’s position in post-war Europe and emphasises his country’s European credentials.
‘Leopold Figl: What is Austria?’ from the Österreichische Monatshefte (December 1945)
TextIn December 1945, in an article published in the magazine Österreichische Monatshefte, Leopold Figl, Austrian Chancellor, gives his views on the quintessential nature of Austria and the Austrian people and lays particular emphasis on their European roots and on the country’s central role in Europe.
Eduard Ludwig, Austria and the new Europe (1948)
TextIn 1948, Eduard Ludwig, Member of the National Council of Austria, assesses Austria’s place in Europe from the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to proposals put forward for the establishment of a federalist Europe after the Second World War.
‘Alfred Missong: on the road to European Union’ from the Österreichische Monatshefte (April 1948)
TextIn April 1948, Alfred Missong, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Österreichische Monatshefte, welcomes the plan for a Federal Constitution of the United States of Europe and emphasises the will of the Austrian people to take part in the establishment of a European federation.
‘Europe and Vienna’ from the Österreichische Neue Tageszeitung (3 September 1956)
TextOn 3 September 1956, as the Annual Conference of the Parliamentary Council of the European Movement is being held in Vienna, the daily newspaper of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Österreichische Neue Tageszeitung, discusses the political implications of the European idea and emphasises Austria’s role in the European integration process.
Address given by Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi on Austria’s European role (Vienna, 5 September 1956)
TextOn 5 September 1956, at the Annual Conference of the Parliamentary Council of the European Movement held in Vienna, Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, founder of the Paneuropean Movement, considers Austria’s European role.
Front page of the Austrian daily newspaper Wiener Zeitung on Austria’s commitment to Europe (6 September 1956)
TextOn 6 September 1956, as the annual conference of the Parliamentary Council of the European Movement opens in Vienna, the Austrian daily newspaper Wiener Zeitung emphasises Austria’s commitment to Europe.
Front page of the Austrian daily newspaper Das Kleine Volksblatt on the conference of the Parliamentary Council of the European Movement (Vienna, 6 September 1956)
TextOn 6 September 1956, the Austrian daily newspaper Das Kleine Volksblatt leads with the opening of the annual conference of the Parliamentary Council of the European Movement in Vienna.
Front page of the Arbeiter-Zeitung on the conference of the Parliamentary Council of the European Movement (Vienna, 6 September 1956)
TextOn 6 September 1956, the Austrian Socialist daily newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung welcomes the decision to hold the annual conference of the Parliamentary Council of the European Movement in Vienna.