Sonderband 2. International Council on Archives. Dritte Europäische Archivkonferenz, Wien 11. bis 15. Mai 1993. Tagungsprotokolle (1996)

1. Session / Séance. Experiences gained, current Situation, future Prospects / Expériences acquises, Situation actuelle, Perspectives futures - Csendes, Peter: Cooperation between the Successor States of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy / Coopération entre les Etats Successeurs de la Monarchie austro-hongroise (english 59 - français 66)

1. Session/Séance: Csendes, Cooperation between the Successor States

During the last decades of the Monarchy leading archivists from all over the empire had received their training at the Institute for Austrian Historical Research {Institut für österreichische Geschichtsforschung)1. This training has always been - and still is to quite a degree - based on research and not only meant as an education for future archivists3 4. A result of this situation is that up to today most Austrian archivists have worked in the field of historical research themselves, quite a lot of them have become professors at universities. And I’m convinced there is no need for a substantial change.

There are, of course, discussions on an international level nowadays, as to whether this conception of the archival profession - the historian-archivist - is still sufficient in respect to the impact of modern office automation. But, and I think this is very important, the close connections of archives to historical science were the link between Austrian and Hungarian, Czechoslovakian, Yugoslavian, Polish historians and archivists during the period of the Cold War. Although the Iron Curtain separated Europe, and, for political reasons, no normal relationship on the level of democratic states was possible, nevertheless the common historical roots could not be neglected and the approach to this subject of research was a profound basis for professional cooperation.

In various symposiums, e. g. on the history of European cities5, on the History of the Labour Movement6 etc., archivists from various countries took a leading part in organizing, giving lectures or at least attending. Such activities led to international projects and publications, of which the Architectural History of European Capitals is one example, which was initiated and edited in cooperation with ICA by the Budapest City Archives7. Quite exceptional events were an Austrian archival exhibition in Moscow 1959 and a corresponding project in Vienna the following year8.

Besides these activities there were often informal contacts on a personal basis - e. g. between the Archives of Vienna, Bratislava or Budapest9, the Provincial Archives of Lower Austria and archives in Moravia, or those of Upper Austria and Trebon in Bohemia, to give some examples. Also microfilming projects were initiated. Naturally such forms of cooperation were more intensive among former Socialist coun3 Cf. the biographical information given by Lhotsky, Alphons: Das Institut fur Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 1854-1954. Wien 1954 (Mitteilungen des Instituts fur österreichische Geschichtsforschung, Ergänzungsband 17) p. 299 and passim.

4 There had been a basic reformation of the schedule only about ten years ago; cf. Mitteilungen des Instituts fur österreichische Geschichtsforschung 90 (1982) p. X-XVI and Hageneder, Othmar: Die wissenschaftliche Ausbildung der österreichischen Archivare und das Institut für österreichische Geschichtsforschung, in: Archiv für Diplomatik 27 (1981) p. 232-298.

5 The Arbeitskreis für mitteleuropäische Stadtgeschichtsforschung was founded by the head of the Municipal Archives (Linz), the Municipal and Provincial Archives of Vienna are cooperating closely.

ITH (International Conference of the Historians of the Labour Movement).

7 The Capitals of Europe. Budapest 1980.

8 Neck, Rudolf: Die österreichische Archivausstellung in Moskau (Oktober 1959) und die österreichisch- sowjetische Archivausstellung in Wien (Juli 1960), in: Mitteilungen des österreichischen Staatsarchivs 13 (1960) p. 476-486.

In 1974 part of a Viennese symposium, organized by the Municipal and Provincial Archives of Vienna took place in Bratislava and other Slovakian towns.

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