A story of survival, resilience & redemption Austria between World Wars Asian Age, Dec 22, 2017 Biography review (original) (raw)

A story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption Wir Sind Osterreicher Erwin Traxl (1884-1975) Those who enjoy delving into history may still be a bit fuzzy about the breakup of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and the aftermath effects on the populations of Central and Eastern Europe. The results of the breakup of the multicultural, multilingual Hapsburg Empire on the real politic supporting Hitler's rise are central to the trajectory of this biography. The life experiences of the Austrian Erwin Traxl detail how simply and inexorably one family walks, stumbles and survives rising fascism and identity politics. His personal courage is inspirational for those who value multiculturalism over tribal identity and integrity over exploitation. Beyond filling in the gaps in our general knowledge of modern history, the imagined internal monologues of Erwin Traxl and the external actions he took based on personal and family values, mirror very current issues facing civil society in large democracies. The biographer, Shovana Narayan Traxl is a celebrated Kathak exponent and retired senior civil servant. Married to a former Austrian ambassador to India, Herbert Traxl, Shovana has lovingly researched the life and times of her father-in-law, Erwin. With her trans-national sensibilities, she has brought to life the major conflicts of the 20th century from the perspective of a small European German-speaking country. The trajectory expresses the confusions of living in troubled times interspersed with the mundane realities and of daily life. From 1848 till 1916 Emperor Franz Joseph ruled over 15 nations and 50 million inhabitants. Austrian-Hungarian Army officers were required to give commands in 11 languages besides German. "With the granting of full citizenship rights in 1867 to the Jews, there was a surge of energy that saw the Empire scaling upwards in intellectual, economic, medical, art, architecture and various streams of activities." At the same time, the Emperor demolished the old city fortifications and the Ringstause development included the University, City Hall, Parliament and magnificent buildings, some by Jewish Austrians now permitted to own property. Using date headings in lieu of chapters, The biography begins on the 28th of June 1914 with the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, critical in setting off the chain of events that led to the First World War. Erwin, aged 30, a trained engineer and artillery lieutenant, was immediately sent to the Russian front, the nation that had supported the Serbian nationalism movement prompting the assassination. The war started a month later and not only ended the Empire, but also the vibrant multicultural, multinational life of Vienna in a suddenly shrunken Austria. Walther Traxl, Erwin's chemist brother, chafed at his perceived unfairness of unfairness to Austria when Britain wasn't held accountable for the Opium Wars and could have intervened to stop Germany's promised aid to Austria. By the early 1930's Walther was anti a Pan-European Union in favor of National Socialism, a brand of nationalism Erwin called "negative in character as it rejects rationalism, democratic values and human rights".