Peter Sichrovsky (born 5 September 1947) is an Austrian journalist, writer, former politician and Member of the European Parliament. He belonged to the Freedom Party of Austria during his two terms in the European Parliament, although he was officially non-attached.
Peter Sichrovsky was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. His father was sparred by an SS officer as a teenager, after they were caught trying to flee to the belgium border through Germany. [1] [2]
He lost most of his family to the Holocaust. [1]
From 1963 to 1968, Sichrovsky studied at the Higher Technical School of Biochemistry in Vienna, graduating from there to study pharmacy and chemistry at the University of Vienna from 1970 to 1975. After receiving his university qualifications, Sichrovsky became a high school chemistry and physics teacher, leaving education in 1976 to take up management positions in various pharmaceutical companies. From 1980, Sichrovsky found employment as a journalist in a variety of newspapers, including Der Spiegel , Männer Vogue, and Der Standard , which he co-founded in 1988. After positions in Europe, Sichrovsky travelled abroad to New Delhi and Hong Kong to become a foreign correspondent there. During the 1990s, he continued his trips abroad through Hong Kong, Vienna, Chicago and Los Angeles. [3]
He first made headlines for, whilst working for Der Standard, dubbing Jörg Haider (leader of the Freedom Party of Austria who described the Waffen SS as “men of honour”), as “the scum that floats to the surface”. But he would soon join Haider's FPÖ, defending Haider's controversial words about the SS by claiming that "not every SS man was a devil and not every concentration camp survivor was a saint”. [1] And, on 11 November 1996, Sichrovsky was elected to the European Parliament as a representative of his home country. Although he was a parliamentary member of the Freedom Party of Austria, he was considered non-attached as his party did not have the required number of seats in the European Parliament to form a political group. Sichrovsky served on several committees during his two terms in the European Parliament, including the Committee on External Economic Relations, the Subcommittee on Security and Disarmament, the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport and the Delegation to the EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan and EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees and Delegation for relations with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia. From 2000 to 2002 Sichrovsky was the general secretary of the Freedom Party of Austria. [4]
Facing the prospects of leaving the European Parliament, in 2003, he would claim that his "political career has been something of a failure", since he failed to "establish a democratic right-wing platform", lamenting that the parliament remained "dominated by two large groups, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the socialists.” [1]
Sichrovsky is a controversial figure within the conservative right. Some opine[ dubious – discuss ] that because of his Jewish origin he was supposed to help the Haider's party make peace with Jews. [5]
Sichrovsky has written fifteen books, including four children's books, plays, and screenplays. [3] In 1986, an English translation of Sichrovsky's book Wir wissen nicht was morgen wird, wir wissen wohl was gestern war: Junge Juden in Deutschland und Österreich, a collection of interviews with the children of Jewish holocaust victims and survivors, was published as Strangers in their own land: Young Jews in Germany and Austria today. Two years later, in 1988, an English translation of Schuldig geboren: Kinder aus Nazifamilien, a collection of interviews with children of Nazi parents, was published as Born Guilty: Children of Nazi Families. [6] Controversially, the interviews were thought to be fictitious by his former friend Niklas Frans, who inferred it from a discussion with Peter. [2]
Wolfgang Schüssel is an Austrian politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in contemporary Austrian politics, his governments were also highly controversial from the beginning, starting with the fact that he formed a coalition government with Jörg Haider's Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) on both occasions. In 2011, he retired from being an active member of parliament due to a multitude of charges of corruption against members of his governments.
Alois Brunner was an Austrian officer who held the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer (captain) during World War II. Brunner played a significant role in the implementation of the Holocaust through rounding up and deporting Jews in occupied Austria, Greece, Macedonia, France, and Slovakia. He was known as Final Solution architect Adolf Eichmann's right-hand man.
The Alliance for the Future of Austria is a right-wing populist, national conservative political party in Austria.
Othmar Karas is an Austrian politician who served as the First Vice-President of the European Parliament since January 2022, having been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 1999. He is a member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which in turn affiliates with the European People's Party.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Austria have advanced significantly in the 21st century, and are now considered generally progressive. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Austria. Registered partnerships were introduced in 2010, giving same-sex couples some of the rights of marriage. Stepchild adoption was legalised in 2013, while full joint adoption was legalised by the Constitutional Court of Austria in 2016. On 5 December 2017, the Austrian Constitutional Court decided to legalise same-sex marriage, and the ruling went into effect on 1 January 2019.
Andreas Mölzer is an Austrian politician and former Member of the European Parliament for the Freedom Party of Austria.
The history of the Jews in Austria probably begins with the exodus of Jews from Judea under Roman occupation. There have been Jews in Austria since the 3rd century CE. Over the course of many centuries, the political status of the community rose and fell many times: during certain periods, the Jewish community prospered and enjoyed political equality, and during other periods it suffered pogroms, deportations to concentration camps and mass murder, and antisemitism. The Holocaust drastically reduced the Jewish community in Austria and only 8,140 Jews remained in Austria according to the 2001 census. Today, Austria has a Jewish population of 10,300 which extends to 33,000 if Law of Return is accounted for, meaning having at least one Jewish grandparent.
Friedrich Peter was an Austrian politician who served as chairman of the Freedom Party of Austria from 1958 to 1978. He was an active Nazi between 1938 and 1945 and an SS-Obersturmführer of the Waffen-SS.
Heinz-Christian Strache is an Austrian politician and dental technician who served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 2017 to 2019 before resigning owing to his involvement in the Ibiza affair. He was also Minister of Civil Service and Sports from January 2018 to May 2019 and chairman of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) from April 2005 to May 2019. He previously served as a member of the National Council from October 2006 until December 2017 and as a member of the municipal council and state legislature of Vienna (2001–2006).
The Kreisky–Peter–Wiesenthal affair was a political and personal feud in the 1970s, fought between the then Austrian chancellor Bruno Kreisky and the Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, arising from Kreisky's ministerial appointments and the SS past of Freedom Party leader Friedrich Peter, which had been revealed by Wiesenthal.
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 28 September 2008 to elect the 24th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The snap election was called after Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) withdrew from the ruling grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) in July. Due to dissatisfaction with the governing parties, the opposition and minor parties were expected to make significant gains. Opinion polling indicated that up to seven parties could potentially win seats.
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria, a breakaway party from the FPÖ.
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, eurosceptic and russophile. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five parties in the National Council, with 58 of the 183 seats, and won 29.21% of votes cast in the 2024 election and it is represented in all nine state legislatures. On a European level, the FPÖ is a founding member of the Patriots.eu and its six MEPs sit with the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group following the dissolution of its predecessor, Identity and Democracy (ID).
Johannes Hahn is an Austrian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Budget and Administration under Ursula von der Leyen since 1 December 2019.
The Freedom Party in Carinthia (German: Die Freiheitlichen in Kärnten, FPK, alternative English translations: Carinthian Freedom Party, Freedom Party of Carinthia, The Freedomites in Carinthia, or Carinthia Freedom Party) was a political party in Austria, operating in the federal state of Carinthia.
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria from 1945 until 1991, the party is the oldest extant political party in Austria. Along with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), it is one of the country's two traditional major parties. It is positioned on the centre-left on the political spectrum.
Angelika Werthmann is a Member of the European Parliament since 2009, representing Hans-Peter Martin's List in Austria. Between 4 July 2012 and 7 April 2014 she was a member of the Liberal Group in the European Parliament.
Since its foundation in 1889, the Social Democratic Party has often been one of the main political forces in Austria. At the start of the First World War it was the strongest party in parliament, and on the ending of that war in 1918 the party leader Karl Renner became chancellor of the First Republic. The party lost power in 1920, but retained a strong base of support in the capital Vienna. A period of rising political violence culminated in the banning of the Social Democratic Party under the Austrofascist dictatorship (1934–38).
Christian Kern is an Austrian businessman and former politician who served as Chancellor of Austria from 17 May 2016 to 18 December 2017 and chairman of the Social Democratic Party from 25 June 2016 to 25 September 2018.
Herbert Kickl is an Austrian politician who has been leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) since June 2021. He previously served as Minister for the Interior from 2017 to 2019 and general-secretary of the FPÖ from 2005 to 2018. He has been described as a far-right politician. Kickl calls himself Volkskanzler and advocates a Fortress Austria and Remigration.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
