ABSTRACT
Austria proves to be a special case, when historiographical approaches of present times within Europe since World War II are compared. Even though theoretical questions are less openly discussed than in Germany or France, one finds specific Austrian conceptions of the German term Zeitgeschichte. This chapter outlines the epistemological landscape found in the field of Austrian Zeitgeschichte. It aims to assess the chronological extents of and main hindrances to the historiographic approaches to present times and, more specifically, to the recent past. The chapter looks at a permanent source of historiographic diversion: the expression of memories and politics through historical study. In Austria, this expression is all found in “the Anschluss syndrome,” namely, the challenge of lifting a long-standing taboo from a crucial period in Austrian contemporary history. In 1961, when the first research institutes specializing in Zeitgeschichte opened their doors, different centers focused on very different historical periods.
