Heimat#

Heimat, German for native place, native country, a place or area to which individuals have strong emotional ties on account of earliest experiences in childhood and youth, often with more or less political overtones. In former times (in Austria up to 1939) the "right of domicile" (Heimatrecht) was also the legal basis of a claim to welfare support in case of destitution. Excessive ties to the Heimat can, however, often result in patriotic-nationalistic feelings, with the concomitant lack of understanding for larger issues and in intolerance vis-à-vis other regions and peoples. The social upheavals of the late 19th century and well into the 1920s were accompanied by a strong wave of patriotic/nationalist ideology, which was exploited by the National Socialists. After 1945 the concept of Heimat fell into disrepute but has again been revived in the context of nature conservation and environmental protection as well as in reaction to new waves of immigration into Austria.

Literature#