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Guilty.....or not?

"In March 1938, tens of thousands of Austrians gathered in the square to welcome home Adolf Hitler, who was born in Austria, like a prodigal son. In deliberate contrast to that loud enthusiasm, yesterday's sombre ceremony was called "The Night of Silence".

Despite open displays of remorse about the Nazi era, the 70th anniversary of Austria's annexation has inevitably revived a long-running debate about whether its citizens were victims or willing accomplices of the Third Reich."

Confronting the past isn't always easy. The Austrians still haven't really done it in relation to its role in Hitler's Anschluss.

The Independent discusses the issue in a piece "Anschluss and Austria's guilty conscience".

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