16. Braunauer Zeitgeschichte-Tage "Peacemakers Manual"
Egon Ranshofen-Wertheimer, 1894 Braunau - 1957 New York
Braunau am Inn, Kultur im Gugg, 28.- 30. September 2007

Österreicher im Exil USA 1938-1945. Eine Dokumentation. Band 2.
Herausgeber: Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes.
Einleitungen, Auswahl und Bearbeitung: Dr. Peter Eppel .
Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Wien 1995. S. 436f.

Inhalt

V: Österreichische Exilpolitik in den USA

Dokumente

108. Aus: Artikel „The Governments-in-Exile“ von Egon Ranshofen-Wertheimer ( Washington , D.C. ) in „The Voice of Austria“, Dezember 1942

The Voice of Austria , Ottawa , Dezember 1942
DÖW Bibliothek 3021/2

With one or two notable exceptions – one of them being Austria – the conquered nations of Europe have bona fide-governments abroad which symbolize the survival of the sovereignty of the Hitler dominated countries. Since most of them were established prior to America´s entry into the War, they have their headquarters in London . They are officially recognized, they maintain their own diplomatic service and form part of the political set-up of the United Nations.

These governments are composed of exiled politicians, and reflect, as a whole, the political sentiments of the respective countries in the decade preceding the Second World War. In the cases in which the last stage prior to the Hitlerian domination was nondemocratic, as for instance Poland , an attempt is being made to broaden the political movements which favour the independence and liberation of the country in question are integrated. The Communists remain, however, excluded from membership of any of the recognized governments-in-exile. (…)

The function of these governments is, roughly speaking, threefold: to mobilize manpower among their co-nationals living abroad; to participate in the shaping of the political strategy of the United Nations, and to serve as propanda agencies. (…)

The importance of the functions of these governments, - past, present and future, - makes it doubly regrettable that Austria is among the few oppressed who have not yet been able to establish a government-in-exile. This is not the place to discuss the reasons. Austrian internal discord has something to do with this regrettable situation. But Austrian dissensions are not exclusively responsible for the present position. Little encouragement has been forthcoming from the major members of the United Nations. Neither London nor Washington seem to have fully gauged the extent to which an Austrian Government-in-Exile could contribute in their war and peace effort. Unless progress is made soon there is not only a distinct danger that the voice of Austria will be absent when the shape of things to come is being decided upon, but also that the potential contribution Austria can make in the last stage of the War may be disproportionaly small. And this will not only be regrettable from the point of view of the Austrian themselves but also for the world at large. For the experience of the long armistice has shown that without a proper integration of Austria no stability is possible and no peace can last.

Deutsche Zusammenfassung: Egon Ranshofen-Wertheimer weist darauf hin, daß den meisten eroberten Ländern Europas ihre Exilregierungen zugestanden worden seinen, die – mit Ausnahme der Kommunisten – all jene Bewegungen miteinschließen, die für die Unabhängigkeit und Freiheit ihres Landes eintreten. Daß Österreich zu den wenigen unterdrückten Ländern gehöre, die noch keine Exilregierung errichten konnten, sei sehr bedauerlich und nicht nur die Schuld österreichischer Zwistigkeiten. Es sei im Interesse der freien Welt an Stabilität und Frieden gelegen, daß Österreich bei wichtigen Entscheidungen mitrede.