In view of the international reaction to recent political developments in Austria we are not surprised that Austria's academic life would also feel the consequences. The organizers of the 39th Schladming Winter School share some participants' concerns that unreflected statements of leading politicians in the Austrian Freedom Party may enhance a climate of xenophobia and racism in Austria. We agree that one has to fight such tendencies with all means possible.

However, these actions have to be chosen very carefully. At the present time it is certainly counterproductive to punish the academic community of Austria, which has  tried and continues to try to foster an open-minded attitude.  As a first reaction to the formation of the new government,  the rectors, deans, and committee chairmen of the Austrian universities have published a Joint Declaration. There is also a Resolution of the Senate Karl-Franzens-University Graz.

We do not want to defend the formation of the new government, but it may nevertheless be helpful to shed some light on the present political situation in Austria from an internal point of view. As is well known, the new government consists of Christian Democrats and the Freedom Party. Both are democratic parties, each of them having received about 27% of the votes in the last election, and together they have a majority in the parliament. The Social Democrats got a similar share (about 33%) of the votes. It should be pointed out that in the past election the Freedom Party received many votes from people protesting against policies of the former coalition between Social Democrats and Christian Democrats. In view of this it is unjustified to condemn the whole party (or even all Austrians) as Nazis. Since in their negotiations Social Democrats and Christian Democrats could not find a common basis for forming a new government, the democratic rules - which cannot and should not be easily changed - offered as the only alternatives new elections or a coalition between either Socialists or Christian Democrats with the Freedom Party. New elections would certainly have strengthened the Freedom Party further and worsened the political situation as a whole. In the present situation one may well expect the Christian Democrats as leading members of the government to maintain their humanitarian principles and follow appropriate steps in face of the strong opposition that will certainly be articulated by the  Social Democrats and the Green Party. It should also be emphasized that in the parliament the majority of Christian Democrats and the Freedom Party will not suffice to change constitutional laws; that would require a 2/3 majority. We finally want to remark that Mr. Haider is the head of the Freedom Party, but he is neither a member of the Federal Parliament nor a member of the new Austrian government. A clear majority of  Austrians do not support Mr. Haider. An overwhelming majority are against racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia. Austrian laws are very strict concerning these points.

In this context it is important to highlight Austria's humanitarian activities at the international level during the last 50 years. Austria has a population of 8 million people. It  opened its doors in the mid-fifties to about 180.000 Hungarian refugees fleeing the tanks of the Soviet Union. There are a number of minorities in Austria who feel and are respected as Austrians. Their cultural individuality is protected and supported. Austria itself is a mixture of peoples of quite different origins. Most Austrians have their roots in very different nations and cultures. In the seventies and eighties Austria actively supported about 250.000 Jewish emigrants from the Soviet Union by means of political negotiations, by establishing shelter for them when leaving Russia, and by supporting them on their further journey. Austria was among the first countries to clearly oppose the Serbian actions in Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and  Kosovo. In the nineties about 90.000 refugees from parts of former Yugoslavia found shelter in Austria and many of them are still here.

On the academic level Austria's universities have undertaken many efforts to prevent a repetition of history. Like other Austrian Universities the University of  Graz  suffered greatly under the Nazi regime (among others, the physicists Erwin Schrödinger and Viktor Hess had to leave the University and Austria). Therefore it has always been a special concern of the University of Graz to promote openness, international concerns, tolerance, and rational discussions of social and political conflicts. As a clear symbol of these efforts the University of Graz established an award for persons making outstanding contributions to human rights. Persons who have so far received this highest honour  are Jon Sobrino (1992), Simon Wiesenthal (1994), and a group of 3 people (1997), namely Vera Jovanovic, Esad Muhibic, and Branca Raguz for their activities as advocates for victims of the ethnic conflict in Bosnia Herzegovina.

Moreover the Schladming Winter School, founded by Paul Urban with support from Walter Thirring in 1962, had, as part of its original mandate, the exclusion of nationalism and discrimination in the scientific world as well as in common life. Paul Urban himself  suffered from the Nazi regime. The bringing together of (predominantly young) physicists from many countries was and still is a central concern of the Schladming School. Over the years the organizers have always been successful in making possible the participation of physicists from the Eastern countries. During the time of the Iron Curtain it was Austria's neutrality and financial support that made it possible for colleagues from  Eastern countries to come into personal contact with their colleagues from the West. We are proud to have had renowned physicists and honoured speakers as our guests, among them many Nobel Prize Laureates. Needless to say, there has never been any hint of racial discrimination at our school and we are determined that this will continue to be so.

We are convinced that the best way to fight dehumanizing tendencies, demagogery and xenophobia is to have the Winter School take place as planned. Having physicists from all over the world meet in Austria provides the opportunity to demonstrate the importance of international and cultural openness that have been the hallmarks of these meetings. We will, of course, let our sponsoring institutions know of the damage to scientific life in Austria that has been caused by the recent political developments. We shall also ask the authorities to do their best to prevent any further isolation of Austria caused by xenophobic statements of opportunistic politicians and their lack of sensitivity to international criticism.

Let us preserve the Schladming Winter School as an event that not only serves the cause of scientific exchange, but also enhances international and intercultural communication. Let us show that the only way to face xenophobia, racial prejudice, and other aberrations of a demagogical policy is to meet and discuss in a friendly and open-minded atmosphere.

In this spirit we invite you to join our efforts and we kindly request your further cooperation towards making the forthcoming Schladming Winter School another successful meeting in a long series of highly acknowledged scientific events.

The Organizing Committee of IUKT2000
(Graz, February 8, 2000; slightly modified March 9, 2000)