The Eighth Tribe, 1979 (6. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1979-09-01 / 9. szám
Page 10 THE EIGHTH TRIBE Szeptember, 1979 properties in Austria were confiscated. In 1921 he twice tried to regain his throne, but failed. In 1922 Charles died in exile on the island of Madeira, and his eldest son, Archduke Otto, assumed the leadership of the imperial family at age 10. In 1932 Hitler offered Otto the opportunity to return to the Habsburg throne if he accepted the Nazi ideology and promoted it in Austria. Otto flatly refused. But his ambition to regain the Habsburg throne did not wane. In 1936, he declared, “I am ready at any hour to return to the Fatherland.” But in 1938, Adolf Hitler annexed Austria to Germany in the infamous Anschluss. Otto spent the major portion of the war in Washington, D.C. Today, von Habsburg no longer pursues his royal claim. In 1961 he renounced the restoration of the Austrian throne, resulting (in 1966)—after a number of legal and political battles—in his receiving permission from the Austrian Supreme Court to reenter Austria. He now has an apartment in Innsbruck for use on visits there. Last year, von Habsburg was granted West German citizenship by Bavarian authorities. He explained in an interview with the Austrian Broadcasting Network that he had sought it because it offered him the opportunity to work for a unified Europe; specifically, to run for a German seat in the elections for the European. Parliament. (Only citizens of the nine member nations of the EEC were eligible as candidates. Austria is not a member.) At the same time, von Habsburg received permission from authorities in southern Austria to keep his Austrian passport. Von Habsburg is married to a German princess, Regina of Saxe-Meiningen. They have seven children —five daughters and two sons, ranging in age from 15 to 26. His eldest son, Charles, is 19. Their home lies about 25 minutes by train outside Munich in the village of Pöcking, not far from the Austrian border. Among other achievements, von Habsburg has earned a doctorate in political science from the University of Louvain in Belgium. He lives mainly as a writer and journalist, producing a regular column expounding his conservative views on world affairs. The column is syndicated to newspapers and magazines worldwide. He has also occasionally written articles for the Saturday Evening Post. He is in constant demand as a speaker, and is a wide traveler, speaking seven languages fluently. He is the author of over a dozen books on political science, world affairs and history, including The Social Order of Tomorrow and Politics for the Year 2000. Von Habsburg says he has no regrets about giving up his imperial claims. Though he prefers to be called simply “Dr. Habsburg,” many of his supporters —especially elderly Habsburg loyalists—persist in refering to him as Kaiserliche Hocheit (“Imperial Highness”). He never uses the title of “Archduke,” which he once bore as a youth. Asked “Where, then, does your Europe end?” von Habsburg answered: “It extends to the borders of Russia.” To the question, “Does that mean that you intend to expel the Soviets from Eastern Europe?” von Habsburg replied4 “That means that we have a feeling of solidarity for the Europeans on the other side of the Yalta line, that we have to stand up for the right of self-determination of these Europeans with all peaceful means. It is for us an unbearable thought that decolonization is applicable exclusively for Africa and Asia and not also for Europe.” In an interview some years earlier, von Habsburg asserted: “Right now politically the only thing one can do in the West is to see to it that the West be united as fast as possible—that we have the United States of Europe here, in order to give all those nations (in Eastern Europe) who are now separated from Europe an alternative when the time comes— God knows when it’s going to come, but it will come one day.” Von Habsburg is also president of the Pan- European Union, an organization dedicated to a united Europe imbued with traditional values. The movement seeks to motivate public opinion toward the goal of full European unification. Inter-European unity has long been a quest of the Habsburg dynasty. Otto himself often speaks of the similarities between the Holy Rom,an Empire of the Middle Ages and his view of a coming United States of Europe. In this regard, Otto has stressed the importance of religion in the formation of a united Europe. He regards Christianity as Europe’s bulwark: “The cross doesn’t need Europe, but Europe needs the cross.” Last April he was received by Pope John Paul II, and discussed at length the subject of European integration. Observers of the efforts toward European unity have often noted that a lacking vital ingredient on the European scene is a charismatic leader and organizing genius—a new Charlemagne, a modern-day Frederick Barbarossa, a second Charles V. Would it not be interesting if a scion of this same stock were eventually to assume such a role—or at least exert a powerful influence in one way or another, whether or not he himself were to be the new European “Charlemagne”?
