Political, economic, social, and cultural modernization dramatically transformed twentieth-century Austria. Innovative new methods of production and management, such as the assembly line, changed Austrian business after World War I, much as the Marshall Plan shaped the economy after World War II. At the same time, jazz, Hollywood movies, television programming, and mass commodities were as popular in Austria as elsewhere in Western Europe. Even political campaigns followed American trends. All this occurred despite the fact that in West Germany, American nostrums and models had been rejected, modified, or "translated" into milder versions. Ultimately, Austria was "Western Europeanized" when it joined the European Union in 1995. How Western are the Austrians? This volume analyzes trends toward Americanization and Westernization in Austria throughout the twentieth century. Reinhold Wagnleitner's lead essay studies the foreign politics of American pop culture. Anna Schober and Monika Bernold analyze the influence of Hollywood movies and television on postwar Austrian society. Reinhard Sieder follows changing discourses on family life, while Ingrid Bauer looks at American influences on Austrian women. Maria-Regina Kecht, Kurt Drexel, and Christina Hainzl follow the American impact on Austrian literature, opera, and art. Banker Anton Fink examines American banking and finance practices. Andre Pfoertner and Matthias Fuchs study the Americanization of Austrian business and tourism. Helmut Lackner describes how well-heeled Austrian travelers to the United States brought back innovative American production methods and other ideas gleaned from world expositions before World War I. American influences on Austrian politics and political science are dissected by Gunter Bischof, Martin Kofler, Fritz Plasser, and Anton Pelinka. The Americanization of Vienna is the subject of journalist Armin Thurnher's essay. Comparisons with West Germany are presented by Michael Hochgesc

After the breakup of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian-American relationship was characterized by a dwarf confronting a giant. America continued to be a heaven for a better life for many Austrian emigrants. For the growing American preponderant position in the world after World War I, the small Austrian Republic was insignificant. And yet there were times when Austria mattered geopolitically. During the post-World War II occupation of Austria, the U.S. helped reconstruct Austria economically and was the biggest champion of its independence. During the Cold War, the U.S. frequently used Austria as a mediator site of summit meetings. American mass production models, consumerism, and popular culture were adopted by Austrian youth. Americanization and American preponderance also produced anti-Americanism. With the end of the Cold War and Austria's accession to the European Union it once again lost significance for Washington's geopolitics.

Using Germany as a case study of the impact of American culture throughout a period characterized by a totalitarian system, two destructive wars, ethnic cleansing, and economic disaster, this book explores the political and cultural parameters of Americanization and anti-Americanism.

French and Soviet Musical Diplomacies in Post-War Austria, 1945-1955 investigates how promoting 'national' music and musicians was used as an important asset by France and the USSR in post-Nazi Austria, covering music’s role in international relations at various levels, within changing power frameworks. Bridging international relations, musical sociology, media studies, and Cold War history, four incisive chapters examine the crossroads of Soviet, French, and Austrian cultural politics and discourse-building, presented in two parts - institutions of musical diplomacy: Soviet and French cultural diplomats in comparison; sounds of music coming to Austria: Soviet and French musicians on tour. Using a communication- and media-oriented approach, this study casts new light, firstly, on the interpretative power of 'receiving' publics and, secondly, on the role of cultural transmitters at different levels. This is a valuable study for those specialising in Russian and East European music and music and politics. It will also appeal to cultural historians and all those interested in the intersections between music, international relations, and Cold War history.

This collection of studies by American and European scholars explores the various ways in which American evangelicals found their way to postwar Europe, what they did there, and how they were received. With attention to the American and European organizations that brokered their mission, the social and political settings that framed their activities, and the mixed results of their efforts, these studies provide a much-needed overview how an important twentieth-century style of Christianity "returned" to Europe.