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The Austrian Empire rose to a position of splendid dominance in central Europe. Niall Ferguson, Civilisation: Is the West History? Channel 4 2011
Frederick the Great was committed to the rational rule of Prussia. ibid.
He set out to create a series of spectacular buildings. One of the first edifices in what Frederick [the Great of Austria] thought of as a kind of forum in the heart of Berlin was this wonderful theatre – the State Opera House. ibid.
People in Prussia were free to pray as they pleased. As long as their beliefs didn’t stand in the way of scientific enquiry and secular progress. ibid.
In the West science and enlightened government worked in tandem. And no monarch understood this better than Frederick the Great who offered scientists cash prizes for solutions to unsolved problems. Yet rulers like Frederick were interested in science for more than intellectual reasons. ibid.
The city of Vienna was the capital of an empire which held together a multitude of nations and languages. It was a famous centre of literature, music and the arts. Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man 12/13: Generation Upon Generation, BBC 1973
In January 2006 Austrian police began a search of a wooded area outside Vienna. It was a strange place to look for a salt-cellar but it was no ordinary salt-cellar they were seeking, but a solid gold one by Benvenuto Cellini, more than three hundred years old ... worth about £30,000,000 and stolen from Vienna’s History of Art Museum. The thief had been toying with the police sending them anonymous letters and leading them on a treasure hunt with written clues along the way. For three years the audacious thief led the police on a wild goose chase playing hunt the salt-cellar. Art of the Heist s2e5: The Thieving Don Juan, Sky Arts 2008
On the seventh floor they found chaos: a window had been broken from the outside. In the centre of the room a glass cabinet had been broken, and it was empty. ibid.
Valued for insurance today at $65,000,000. ibid.
The sculpture was unique, and uniquely important. ibid.
Germany’s crucial decision to back Austria was made with no care for the consequences; neither the Kaiser nor his senior political and military leaders took any steps to find out what Austria-Hungary had in mind. It was an extraordinary oversight because nothing in the Balkans happened in isolation. Europe was divided into two camps: on one side were Germany, Austria, Hungary and Italy; on the other were France and Russia. War with one could mean war with the others. The First World War: To Arms, Channel 4 2003
Serbia had scattered the Austrian army. ibid.
A German official said, referring to Austro-Hungary, that his country was now shackled to a corpse. The First World War: Shackled to a Corpse
1938: The majority of Austrians welcomed it. Third Reich: The Rise I, History 2010
Within days 70,000 Austrians would be sent to concentration camps. ibid.
More than 99% of Austrians voted for Hitler: 99.7%. The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler I: Leading Millions into the Abyss, BBC 2012
I proclaim a new mission for this country. It is like the command which summoned German settlers here from every part of the old empire. The oldest Ostmark of the German people shall be from now on the newest bulwark of the German nation and thus of the German Reich. Adolf Hitler
I have become so fond of the Reich. And yet people are surprised at the longing which lives in me to bring my own homeland into this most precious Reich. Adolf Hitler
This country and this people are not entering the Reich in a humiliating role. I myself am leading you there. Adolf Hitler
Germans. Men and women. I proclaim that these old eastern lands of the German people will from now on be the youngest bastion of the German nation, and thereby of the German Reich. Adolf Hitler, Vienna 15th March 1938
Although the Western powers were clearly uneasy about the Anschluss of Austria even now they did not consider military action. Hitler: A Profile
The majority of Austrians welcomed the Germans into their country. The Austrians too had suffered as their empire was dismantled in the settlement at the end of World War I. The Nazis: A Warning from History: The Wrong War, BBC 1997
In central and eastern Europe ... the extreme right-wing military coup in Hungary, led by Admiral Horthy, was warmly endorsed by the church, as were similar fascist movements in Slovakia and Austria. (The Nazi puppet regime in Slovakia was actually led by a man in holy orders named Father Tiso). The cardinal of Austria proclaimed his enthusiasm at Hitler’s takeover of his country at the time of the Anschluss. Christopher Hitchens, God is Not Great p236
Of equal importance in the spiralling decline of the Islamic empires were external factors, in particular the growing power of Christian Europe. The last of the great Muslim empires was that of the Ottomans. The heartland of the Ottoman empire was Turkey. It began its rise to power in the fifteenth century, and eventually its armies reached the gates of Vienna. It was here in 1683 that European forces decisively halted Islamic expansion. For two months 200,000 soldiers fought each other outside the city walls. In the end the Ottoman army was defeated. Decoding the Past: The Koran, 2006
During the late 1930s another authoritarian ruler set in motion the events that would lead to the outbreak of the Second World War: Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s campaign began with the strangest invasion in history. On 12th March 1938 German tanks rolled across the border into Austria. They are welcomed by smiling civilians who greet the German Fuhrer as a hero. Tyrant: The Rise of Adolf Hitler aka Hitler: Countdown to War, Channel 5 2023
When he was last in Vienna he was a nobody. ibid.
The truth is something many politicians want to conceal or cover up. The Ibiza Affair: Uncovered, investigative journalist, Sky Documentaries 2021
The Ibiza Affair was easily the greatest political scandal in Austria’s history. ibid. dude
It concerns a video in which we see Austria’s sitting vice-chancellor, Mr Strache, doing things he shouldn’t be doing. ibid. investigative journalist
Heinz-Chrisian Strache was the embodiment of success for right-wing populists. ibid. old boy
This is the man who always claimed he was clean. ibid. investigative journalist
The video was made in the summer of 2017, a few months before the elections in Austria. ibid.
He was secretly recorded making corrupt promises … The plan was to donate a huge sum of money to an FPO-related association without anyone knowing … He’d pass all of Austria’s biggest road construction campny’s contracts on to her. ibid.
Private purchases, and especially grocery shopping, he simply wouldn’t pay for. We had to advance the money from our own salaries. ibid. ex-securit officer
What we saw was a negotiation that lasted seven hours. ibid. investigative journalist
In the end we were sure that we have taken all necessary precautions. ibid.
When the news of the coalition government’s end was announced people started cheering. ibid.