Why Austria?

The Great Reisner (Jacobson) Return to the Old Country Pilgrimage and Apology Tour

By Mike Gaston

Why Austria in November?

Ann Reisner Jacobson’s two sons and daughter (Mark, Steven and Susan) and their spouses are embarking on a late fall trip to Austria at the behest of the Austrian government. Some may find it odd to take this journey in the fall (or early winter) when Austria is arguably at its most scenic during the summer months.

So why Austria in November?

Steven Jacobson (Ann’s middle child) had a random conversation with a friend in Boulder. The man explained he had just returned from Vienna on a “Jewish Welcome Tour” sponsored by the Austrian government and an agency tasked with presenting the merits of their country to Jews. More remarkably the Austrians are making their welcoming pitch to Jews who had been expelled/escaped, mistreated, persecuted, maligned, harassed, robbed, imprisoned (feel free to insert your own verb in this sentence) during the period of unpleasantness known as the Holocaust. Since the Reisner family qualified as Austrian expats, Steven immediately started the process to request our family trip to Vienna.     (I would love to have heard the budget pitch someone made to Austrian government officials to secure funding for this program. Wouldn’t you?)

Ann Reisner (a 13 year old girl) left Vienna, in 1939 with her family and immigrated to Kansas City. Ann was born in Berlin, but the family had moved to Austria hoping that the rampant anti-Semitism in Germany would be less in Austria. Not to be. When they left Austria, all their family assets were taken from them except household goods and clothing.  Good timing that they left in 1939, as Jews who stayed in Austria were not well treated by the Nazis. (You may have read about WWII. It was in all the newspapers.)

Ann’s history as a previous Jewish Viennese citizen qualified the Jacobson clan for the tour.  Like Ann, many of the original Austrian Jewish citizens who were booted in the 30’s and 40’s are gone from us. So, the Austrians are inviting their children to see the splendors of the country where their ancestors were not wanted. The result- Mark, Steven and Susan are getting airfare and hotel paid by the Austrian agency and Ilona, Sheryl and Mike are tagging along. While in Vienna, the agency will wine and dine the group and share the sights of old and new Vienna. We will report on each day’s happenings in coming posts.

So why in Austria in November? That’s when the Austrians are paying for the trip.
Two final observations:
Free stuff always works.
What is the Austrian word for “Irony”?
More to come from Europe.
Cheers! 

x