Robert S. Wistrich

Focuses on Kreisky's assimilationist views and hostility toward Zionism, which stemmed from his adoption of the view of Austrian Socialists, like Kautsky and Bauer, that the Jews are not a people and therefore do not deserve to have an independent state. Kreisky's antipathy to Zionism had its roots in his dismissal of Judaism as the fossilized ghetto offshoot of a dispersed ethno-religious group lacking any national characteristics. He rejected any distinctive Jewish identity (such as that of the Ostjuden) and stressed his Austrian identity. During the Nazi period, Kreisky was arrested in January 1935 and again in March 1938, but was released and allowed to immigrate to Sweden. He attributed his persecution to political, not racial, discrimination. Kreisky exculpated the Austrian masses from involvement in the Holocaust, wishing for Austrians to put the past behind them. As Austria's Chancellor, he strongly criticized Simon Wiesenthal for seeking out ex-Nazis, whom he was quite willing to forgive. He identified with Social Democratic Sweden, where he found refuge during the war, and felt no attachment to Israel. He condemned the latter for its "apartheid" policies, while sympathizing with Arab nationalism and overlooking Arab terrorism. Kreisky's success in promoting his Austrian identity made him an honorary "Aryan" for pan-German nationalists. His views provided a model for anti-Zionists among the European liberal and leftist intelligentsia.

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