Germany has made a good effort to remember the horrors of the Nazis, while Japan is a nation in denial. And then there is Austria. The convenient truth is that Austria did not exist after it was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. That did not keep 800,000 Austrians from serving in the Wehrmacht, or 150,000 in the Waffen SS, or a high number of high-ranking nazis being Austrians. Nor does it deny the delightful welcome the Nazis got and the enthusiasm for the Anschluss (though some have argued it had more to do with escaping the unrest of the First Republic). If you want to understand Austria, look around Vienna: The past is almost solely imperial Austria, Habsburgs. Andrew Cohen • Memory lapse
