Passive fascism? The politics of Austrian Heimat photography
Item
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Title
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Passive fascism? The politics of Austrian Heimat photography
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:e4822bf5a0a1:11156
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identifier
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11599
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Creator
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Cronin, Elizabeth,
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Contributor
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Geoffrey Batchen | Rose Carol Washton Long
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Date
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2012
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Art history | Political science | European history | Austria | Heimat | Photography
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Abstract
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This dissertation focuses on Austrian Heimat [homeland] photography during the 1930s. Seemingly apolitical, this regional and popular photography of bucolic landscapes, quaint villages, peasants in traditional dress, skiers, and mountaineers was fundamental in shaping Austrian identity. Both the pre-war fascist and the postwar democratic governments easily appropriated and encouraged its dissemination. It fully fit within the vision of building a new Austrian nation comprised of distinct regional identities.;Of central importance to my dissertation is the question of how the preference for the local, which is strongly visible in these photographs, intersects with the desire to be part of a nation. It permeated people's lives during the 1930s and again in the 1950s, helping to establish the image of Austria as a peaceful Alpine nation. Examining a little-recognized, yet highly influential movement within Austria not only offers a new perspective on the development of modern Austrian identity, but also stresses the importance of including regional movements in histories of photography.;Chapter One provides the political context for Austrian Heimat photography during the 1930s, bringing to light how the Austrian government encouraged Heimat photography and tried to unify Austria through a policy of cultural superiority and an image of an Alpine ideal. Chapter Two examines the beginnings of Heimat photography in the Heimat preservation movement and the development of Heimat photography in Germany and Austria during the 1920s and 1930s. Chapter Three considers Austrian Heimat photography as an integral part of government-supported tourism that promoted the country as an Alpine haven and a winter sports paradise. Chapter Four examines several different Heimat photobooks published during the 1930s as a basis for comparing the political attitudes of Heimat photographers towards the Austrian government and National Socialists. Chapter Five is a reflection on how the National Socialist government was able to appropriate the nationalist sentiment and romanticized viewpoints seen in the Austrian Heimat, transforming them into representation of the German Heimat. Chapter Six concentrates on post-War Austrian Heimat photobooks which featured much of the same traditional subject matter from pre-War Alpine Heimat. Amidst a cultural atmosphere of denial and victimhood the Heimat remained popular. Finally, the conclusion stresses the importance of cultural histories of photography and suggests further areas research.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Art History
