unsere stellung zur Nazi frage - Our Stance on the Nazi Question. by the Austrian politician Ernst Fischer. German. Published by Antifaschistischer volksverlag, Graz (Austria), [c. 1945] - First edition. Rare publication at the end of World War II in which Fischer calls for bringing the Nazis and their aides to justice and punishing anyone who was a member of the Nazi party or acted on its behalf.
"Every day I receive many letters whose content revolves around one question, the burning Nazi problem. The writers of these letters are partly Austrian patriots and anti-fascists from all parties, but partly also former members of the NSDAP... It is difficult to understand how not a single unified court has yet been established to try war criminals and give them the punishment they deserve a hundredfold...". Fischer states that former Nazi party members are appealing to him to take radical steps against the Nazis who still held public positions in Austria after the war, and against Nazi war criminals who had not yet been brought to justice. In one letter he received from an Austrian citizen, it stated: "These deeds have brought indelible shame upon us...I tremble when I read about the suffering experienced by prisoners in the concentration camps. What should I do as a former party member of the NSDAP to atone for such beastly behavior on the part of party comrades I cannot overcome having stood in the ranks of those who committed such shocking deeds...".
Moreover he adds that he received many letters from Austrian citizens demanding that anyone identified with the Nazi party be forever expelled from among the Austrian people. One letter demanded the Nazis be punished with 60 years of forced labor, as they themselves inflicted on the Jews, stating: "...for the Nazis there is only one commandment: no mercy! Therefore, only a fair demand: forced labor up to 60 years, whether man or woman, you will pay like in the Nazi camps, 10 hours not only on weekdays but also Sundays, until the last stone in beloved Austria returns to its place... All party members must be judged accordingly. Apartments. Businesses, jobs, food rations reduced to a minimum, and everyone else without exception must be sent to the border and sent home to the Reich, as they always said!... It must be ensured that the state and economic apparatus is truly clean, that no Nazi can sneak into senior positions through cunning and protection...". At the end of the booklet he issues a call: "Let us unite all the patriotic, anti-fascist forces of Austria in the demand: an end to all half-measures! To go out with a war crimes law! Thorough purge of the state and economic apparatus! Recruitment of all Nazis for atonement labor... Death to war and Nazi criminals!...".
In light of the many appeals and broad public awakening to condemn the traces left by Nazi Germany in Austria during the war, he recommends several important steps to be taken immediately against Nazi war criminals - including enacting a war crimes law that would include merciless clauses against members of the Nazi party who committed atrocities during the war years, "No mercy on these beastly leaders", he writes. He adds that everything must be done to cleanse the impression left by the Nazis in the Austrian state, which was a de facto partner in the Nazis' crimes during the war.
Ernst Fischer [1899-1972] an Austrian journalist, writer and politician born in Bohemia. During the war years he found refuge at the Luxor Hotel in Czechoslovakia, a place that served as a shelter for exiled Communists, mainly Germans. The Fischer couple lived there from 1938 to 1945. After the war, Fischer remained an important figure in the KPÖ until 1969.
Impressive cover design: red font on a black background and a clenched fist crushing the swastika.
Extremely rare. Does not appear in the world cat global library catalog.
8 pages. Very good condition.
