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After America; What we have taken for granted
Topic Started: Nov 1 2011, 05:22 AM (628 Views)
Chris
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ngc1514
Nov 2 2011, 03:13 AM
One more point. There is a huge difference between what happened in Austria and what happened in the Saarland a couple of years earlier. The plebiscite was held BEFORE the German army marched in and the residents of the Saarland voted 91% in favor of becoming citizens of the Third Reich. This vote was mandated by the 1919 peace treaty that ended World War I and gave the citizens of the Saarland a referendum as to which country (France or Germany) they wished to be a part of after a period of 15 years elapsed.

Saarland - first the plebiscite then the occupation.
Austria - first the occupation and then the plebiscite.
One more point here too. The woman's story wasn't about historical fact but political facts, that a nation, enjoying its freedom, can so easily and quickly abandon that freedom for socialistic promises of security that turn out to be tyrannical.

It's the same tale foretold by Richter's 1907 Pictures of the Socialistic Future.

It's the same story Hayek warns us about in The Road to Serfdom. Here, a cartoon version, not factually the book, but the same story...

Edited by Chris, Nov 2 2011, 07:41 AM.
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ngc1514
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Chris
Nov 2 2011, 07:37 AM
One more point here too. The woman's story wasn't about historical fact but political facts, that a nation, enjoying its freedom, can so easily and quickly abandon that freedom for socialistic promises of security that turn out to be tyrannical.

What promises of security were made to the Austrians?
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Chris
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ngc1514
Nov 2 2011, 08:18 AM
Chris
Nov 2 2011, 07:37 AM
One more point here too. The woman's story wasn't about historical fact but political facts, that a nation, enjoying its freedom, can so easily and quickly abandon that freedom for socialistic promises of security that turn out to be tyrannical.

What promises of security were made to the Austrians?
See the woman's story. First Paragraph covers austrian problems. Second points out the Communist and Socialist Parties had failed them. Begin at "we looked to our neighbor on the north...."

Nevermind, found an unprotected version:
Quote:
 
In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed. We had 25% inflation and 25% bank loan interest rates.

Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were going from house to house begging for food. Not that they didn't want to work; there simply weren't any jobs. My mother was a Christian woman and believed in helping people in need. Every day we cooked a big kettle of soup and baked bread to feed those poor, hungry people - about 30 daily.

The Communist Party and the National Socialist Party were fighting each other. Blocks and blocks of cities like Vienna, Linz, and Graz were destroyed. The people became desperate and petitioned the government to let them decide what kind of government they wanted.

We looked to our neighbor on the north, Germany, where Hitler had been in power since 1933. We had been told that they didn't have unemployment or crime, and they had a high standard of living. Nothing was ever said about persecution of any group -- Jewish or otherwise. We were led to believe that everyone was happy. We wanted the same way of life in Austria. We were promised that a vote for Hitler would mean the end of unemployment and help for the family. Hitler also said that businesses would be assisted, and farmers would get their farms back. Ninety-eight percent of the population voted to annex Austria to Germany and have Hitler for our ruler.....
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