Friday, 10 November, 2000, 08:34 GMT

Austria's chancellor angers Israel

Under fire: Schuessel is accused of denying responsibility

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel has angered

Israelis and domestic critics after saying that Austria

was the first victim of the Nazis.

The English-language Jerusalem Post quotes Mr

Schuessel as saying: "The sovereign state of Austria

was literally the first victim of the Nazi regime... They

took Austria by force."

The newspaper said Mr

Schuessel did admit that his

country had a "moral

responsibility" for the past.

The chancellor's office said

that his assertion of moral

responsibility was a

"decisive" part of his

comment, Austrian radio

reported.

'Willing ally'

Jewish groups have long rejected the assertion that

Austria was a "victim" of the Nazis, saying that Austrians

welcomed the Anschluss that unified Austria with Hitler's

Germany in 1938.

In 1993, then-Chancellor Franz Vranitzky said that

Austria had been a willing ally of the Nazi regime.

About 65,000 Austrian Jews

died in the Holocaust.

Nazi-hunter Ephraim Zuroff

of the Simon Wiesenthan

Centre in Jerusalem said

the comment was "simply

absurd."

He said the comments

pointed to "a dangerous

new trend which seeks to

absolve Austria for all

responsibility for its Nazi

past."

Austria's opposition Greens

called Mr Schuessel's

comment "a historical lie",

Austrian radio reported on Thursday.

The opposition Social Democrats also criticised the

remark, comparing the Chancellor to right-wing

politician Joerg Haider.

Mr Schuessel's People's Party is in coalition government

with Mr Haider's Freedom Party.