Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies
The Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies is an institution that deals with the historical relations between Austria and the USA. It is based in Media in the state of Pennsylvania and goes back to Dietrich Botstiber , who emigrated to the United States in 1938 after Austria was "annexed" to National Socialist Germany.
The BIAAS supports initiatives that deepen the understanding of the relationship between the two countries. It mainly works with four institutions, the Center Austria at the University of New Orleans , the Center for Austrian Studies at the University of Minnesota , the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Washington .
Dietrich W. Botstiber was born in Vienna in 1912 . His father Hugo Botstiber (1875–1941), who converted to Catholicism in 1897, headed one of the most important Viennese music institutions, the Konzerthaus , as General Secretary of the Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft. In 1935 he completed his studies at the Technical University of Vienna and became a graduate engineer. He had to break off his dissertation on semiconductors in 1938 because he had to flee from the Nazis. In the USA he worked on projects in cigar manufacturing, but mainly in mechanical engineering and on helicopters . He founded the Technical Development Company (TEDECO), which specialized in troubleshooting and high-speed networks, as well as in aviation. In 1985 he sold TEDECO. Botstiber died on December 21, 2002.
On September 29, 1995, he signed the charter of his foundation. This foundation focuses not only on research on the historical relations between the USA and Austria, but also deals with work on the prevention of cruelty to animals and people, on reforms in scientific research, as well as on technology and economics and sets Scholarships for students and teachers in these areas. Accordingly, the Botstiber Scholars Program , the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies , the Botstiber Fund for Food Security and Aid to Vulnerable Animals exist today .
The facility was initially headed by Robert T. Boylan, who, however, died in 2002 before the founder.
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Remarks
- ↑ Maria Helfgott , Eike Rathgeber, Nikolaus Urbanek (eds.): Viennese music history: approaches - analyzes - outlooks; Festschrift for Hartmut Krones , Böhlau 2009, p. 612, note 10.