Politics
On May 8th, the so-called Fest der Freude (Festival of Joy), Austria commemorated the nation’s liberation from National Socialism. The commemoration was introduced nine years ago as a counter-project to a revisionist ceremony staged by right-wing extremists. In a televised speech, Chancellor Kurz (ÖVP) and Vice-Chancellor Kogler (Grüne) emphasised Austria’s ‘historical responsibility’.
Fest der Freude 2019. Photo: Christian Michelides via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Culture
May 6th marked the 100th anniversary of Erich Fried’s birth. The Austrian author, famous for his wordplay and political compositions, is considered the most-read German-speaking poet after Bertolt Brecht. You can read and listen to his poem Was es ist here.
Elsewhere
An iron meteorite was found near Innsbruck and transferred to the city’s university for further analyses. The rock, which is the first of its kind to be found in Austria, weighs 4kg and is 4.5 billion years old.
Word of the week
The German word ‘die Aprikose’, ‘apricot’, is known in Austria as ‘die Marille’.
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