ABSTRACT
The ‘Gobhart affair’ caused the controversy about Austrian national identity to reach unknown intensity and breadth, spreading beyond the relatively small circle of politicians and intellectuals. During the course of the Second Republic, growing self-awareness gradually gave rise to an Austrian national identity, but was criticized from both the left and the right of the political spectrum. In 1956 the Fessel Institut organized a poll entitled ‘Austrians’ national identity’. The investigation of Austrian identity was the first to ask which regional entity was the bearer of primary identification. In many ways, national identity and Land identity are interconnected, as illustrated by answers to questions about national and Land symbols. National and Land identity are relatively diffuse expressions of certain common aspects, and perhaps more differentiated expressions of Austrians’ collective feelings can be obtained if one enquires about their national pride. Austria’s historical identity was investigated in some detail as part of the large Austrian study conducted in 1987.
