ABSTRACT
The picture of the balcony scene is thus stamped on the visual memory of Austrians. The government finally decided to integrate the funeral commemorations for the tsunami victims with the official 2005 opening ceremony taking place in the historical chamber of the Austrian Parliament on 14 January 2005. In 2005, the balcony scene once again became almost omnipresent, and it soon turned out that the anniversary of the State Treaty would stand in the center of interest. Some political speeches given at official commemorations indicated this slight change in the hegemonic narration of the past. Actually, the lack of immediate consequences seemed unacceptable to many critics. The opposition and contemporary historians in particular disagreed with the government’s choice of the exhibition team and expressed concerns about the intended way of representing Austrian history. By calling on the “civil society” to take the initiative, the government retreated to a coordinating position and ostensibly left the field open to other players.
