Schoenau ultimatum

The hostage-taking in Marchegg took place on September 28, 1973 held by Palestinians who called themselves eagle of the Palestinian revolution. This could well be a command of the Palestinian group As- Sa'iqa led by Zuhair Muhsin.

Background

Soviet Jews allowed to emigrate to Israel, were taken in these years in groups by train to Austria, where since 1965 in Schönau Castle in Lower Austria is a transit camp for the engineers. Here they were taken by representatives of Israel in reception, care and as a result - if their immigration desire actually existed - conveyed to Israel by plane from Vienna airport. Chance opted Soviet emigrants in Schoenau to not immigrate to Israel, but to stay in Europe. The Palestinians resisted all immigration to Israel because, strength the Jewish element in the region, as they thought at the expense of the Palestinians.

Chronicle

On 28 September 1973 the Jewish New Year this year, brought two Palestinian captors in the border station Marchegg three Jewish emigrants and the Austrian customs guard officials Franz Bobits into their power by making them brought from one arrived from the Soviet Union train at gunpoint. The hostage-takers then drove with the hostages in a VW van to the airport Vienna. They demanded the closure of the transit camp in Schönau an der Triesting and their free passage to the Middle East.

The government Kreisky went to these demands on the same day. The radio broadcast of the government was:

"The federal government has decided in one on September 28, 1973 took place, extraordinary Council of Ministers, which in view of the fact that the safety of in groups emigrating from the Soviet Union to Israel of Soviet citizens is endangered in their transit through Austria, from now on and in the future been granted concessions, such as the placement in the camp Schönau, adjust. "

Thereafter, the hostages were released after hours of negotiations on 29 September. Involved in the negotiations, the then Director of Security Oswald Peterlunger were ( as a representative of the Ministry of Interior ) and the psychiatrist Willibald Sluga.

The two terrorists who identified themselves as members of the " as- Sa'iqa " were two pilots who had volunteered to be flown in a Cessna 414 after a few stopovers and further negotiations to Tripoli in Libya.

Follow

Although the hostage situation was even bloodshed, the government was exposed in particular Bruno Kreisky, strong criticism, because the Chancellor had given the terrorists in the eyes of Israelis. The Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir traveled only three days later to Vienna and called on her visit on October 2, 1973 by Kreisky the unlock of Schönau. This was stated by Kreisky, however, rejected the argument that there had previously been threats against Schönau. The political relationship between Meir and Kreisky remained tense. Meir claimed after her conversation with Kreisky, you have not even offered her a glass of water at the Federal Chancellery.

The transit camp Bad Schönau was closed on 12 December 1973. As a substitute, the " help point Wollersdorf of the National Association of the Red Cross Lower Austria for refugees and other transients " was established in the Babenberg barracks Wollersdorf. De facto entered for emigrating from the Soviet Union thus no deterioration in their care in Austria.

The attack led to the expansion of the executive branch in Lower Austria. The gendarmerie Bad Vöslau moved into the Schloss Schönau, which was subsequently converted to the gendarmerie escort squad Vienna, located in the Burstyn barracks in Zwölfaxing. As a result of further terrorist incidents in Europe, it was from January 1, 1978, the Gendarmerieeinsatzkommando, which in turn referred the Castle Schönau February 14, 1978.

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