Die Rückkehr der „Ehemaligen“: Belastete „Skihelden“ und das nationalsozialistische Erbe im österreichischen Skisport

Abstract

Alpine skiing played a central role in the nation-building process of the Second Austrian Republic. To this day skiing in Austria is a national affair of the highest rank. In post-war-narratives, celebrated stars became untouchable. They served as national heroes and role models for the tourism industry and media. Sport officials and state politicians made it their task to present skiing as the national sport and to emphasize Austria’s hegemonic role in it. In the wake of this operetta-like depiction, myths and male-dominated heroic stories have inscribed themselves in the seemingly innocent white of the snow. In this way, the illusion of a snow-covered idyllic parallel world has been powerfully feeding the “ski nation” Austria for decades – a nation with lost memory. The analysis focuses on the National Socialist legacy in Austrian skiing in the post-war-years and describes how mostly male athletes and sport officials used the victim myth to wash themselves clean. This article shows how the National Socialist past was repressed and reinterpreted.