Austria long presented itself as the first victim of the Nazis, a narrative initially supported by the Allies even though large parts of Austrian society celebrated the Anschluss and many took on roles in the Nazi war effort and the Holocaust.
The so-called 'victim myth' only began to crumble in the 1980s when an international scandal unfolded around Kurt Waldheim, who played down his past as an army intelligence lieutenant attached to Germany military units and became United Nations Secretary-General and president of Austria.
The process is still going on. Until 2013, visitors to an Austrian exhibition in Auschwitz, the Nazis' most notorious death camp, could see a display reading "Austria - First Victim of National Socialism". Austria is still updating the exhibit.
Source: YNET News - "Austria's Nazi past encroaches on election campaign", 1 Dec 2016, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4887151,00.html
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