nPostednon October 26, 2014
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nOnnthis date in 1955, Austria adopted its Neutrality Constitutionndeclaring the nation permanently neutral, like Switzerland, duringntimes of war between nations…
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nAustrianis no stranger to war… For hundreds of years, it has been embroilednin one or another war – wars with Egypt, the Ottoman Empire,nHungary, even England and Sweden and France and Spain! During WorldnWar I, Austria was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and fought—andnlost—on the side of the Germans. In 1938, Austria was annexed bynNazi German, so once again it fought on the losing side of a worldnwar. At the end of World War II, Austria was occupied by the SovietnUnion, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. n
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nItnwas able to finally become free and independent again only byncommitting itself to neutrality.
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nThisndeclaration of neutrality is so important to Austrians that theyncelebrate the anniversary of the declaration of neutrality as theirnnational holiday. The country’s neutrality is explicitly stated innboth the nation’s constitution and in international law.
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| This Google doodle celebrates Austria’s Neutrality Constitution. |
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nDidnyou know…?
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nTherenare 12 neutral nations, plus 5 more nations who claim to be neutral.nAlso, there have been many nations who have declared themselvesnneutral for a period of time – but then abandoned their neutralitynto enter into NATO or some other protective treaty.
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nThenU.S. formally declared neutrality for three years before WWI and fornone year before WWII. It abandoned its neutral stance when U.S. shipsnwere attacked (WWI) and when Hawaii was attacked (WWII).
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nBeautifulnAustria…
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nWantn an American view on some of the more surprising things aboutn Austria? Check out Real Life of an Expat Wife’sn list. I found it interesting that dogs are allowed to go everywhere (evenn movie theaters!), most people learn to ski when they are still kids,n and kids only have to go to school until they are 14!
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Viennan has several unusual museums, including one devoted to globes andn another to the artificial language Esperanto.n
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| At the Esperanto museum, kids can plan Pac Man and learn the language at the same time! |
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nAlsonon this date:
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nMulenDay
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nAnniversarynof the opening of the Erie Canal
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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- Historicaln anniversaries in October
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nNovembern holidays
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nNovembern birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in November
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