Marginalised Perspectives. Continuities of Labour Migration Politics in Austria

Until recent years the history of labour migration in Austria was largely neglected in the field of contemporary history. The paper looks at historical continuities of politics concerning labour migration in Austria. Starting from historical studies in which continuities and differences between forced labour and labour migration are discussed, the paper focuses on three areas: (1) contemporary discourses on the demand of labour migration versus racist ideologies, (2) legal basis and forms of regulation and (3) language and representation. Based on a public TV-debate from 1973 it can be shown that criticism on racist strategies and discriminatory laws was formulated by reference to historical continuities of National Socialist laws and ideologies. The paper argues for differentiated and multiperspective studies of labour migration across political and historical breaks and boundaries.