Join us as we travel to the festive, snowy alps and explore how locals and visitors alike ring in the New Year. In this video, Austrians and Americans share their personal memories and traditions—feasting on raclette or goulash, sipping sparkling wine, watching the annual broadcast of “Dinner for One,” and gathering outdoors to admire fireworks and enjoy a midnight waltz. Discover the heartfelt stories and cherished rituals that define an Austrian New Year (German: "Silvester"), connecting past and present, family and friends, as the old year gracefully gives way to the new.

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Thank you to our interviewees who made this video possible: Max, Leandra, Johanna, Christian, Philipp, Constanze, Kara, Mel, Lilly, Adrienne, Xavier, Bernhard, and Julia!

In this episode, we are joined by Judith Eiblmayr, a distinguished Austrian architect and insightful writer on the history and evolution of architecture.

Our conversation highlights the extraordinary life and legacy of Elizabeth Scheu-Close, a trailblazing Austrian-American architect. Born in 1912 Vienna, Elizabeth—often known as Lisl—was exposed to some of the most influential thinkers and creatives of her time, inspiring her early passion for architecture.

Despite the challenges of entering a field largely dominated by men, she pursued her dream with determination. Her journey led her to the United States, where she earned a degree from MIT in Boston and later established herself professionally in Philadelphia. In 1938, she and her husband, Win Close, founded the firm Close and Scheu Architects, through which she contributed to numerous significant projects, including Ferguson Hall at the University of Minnesota.

Elizabeth Scheu-Close is celebrated today as one of the most important figures in modern Austrian-American architecture.

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Find more from our guest, Judith Eiblmayr: https://www.eiblmayr.at/de/

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Intro and Outro Music: https://archive.org/details/lp_franz-lehars-the-merry-widow_dorothy-kirsten-robert-rounseville-the-mer

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Who we are: The Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies (BIAAS) promotes an understanding of the historic relationship between the United States and Austria, including the lands of the former Habsburg empire, by awarding grants and fellowships, organizing lectures and conferences, and publishing the Journal of Austrian-American History. We engage with a broader public audience through digital programming, including videos, podcasts and blog posts.

For more information go to https://www.botstiberbiaas.org or follow us on our various social media accounts!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/botstiberinstitute

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BotstiberBIAAS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BotstiberBIAAS

Auf Wiedersehen! / Until next time!

In this episode of The Botstiber Podcast, host Luke Morgante sits down with Megan Brandow-Faller, a professor of history at the City University of New York - Kingsborough, to discuss her forthcoming book.

"Child Creativity in the Visual Arts: From Secessionist Vienna to Postwar America," will trace the origins of Franz Cižek's ideas on child creativity and examines how these ideas migrated across the Atlantic, further developed by educators such as Emmy Zweybrück and Viktor Lowenfeld.

Keep an eye out, the book will be published with Bloomsbury Academic in 2025!

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Intro/Outro Music: https://musopen.org/music/2326-scenes-from-childhood-op-15/

In this special podcast episode presented by the Botstiber Institute, we hear stories of adventures from the life of Eduard Medinger. As a teenager in 1860s Austria, Eduard was full of eager anticipation to experience the world beyond his home in Central Europe.

In part one of two, we are introduced to the young man and his bold plan to reach the distant shores of Yokohama, Japan beginning in the imperial capital, Vienna. What he expects to be a straightforward journey across the continents to Asia, becomes a much different, challenging adventure filled with eccentric characters, new destinations, and 19th century criminals.

Stay tuned for part two, coming soon!

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Eduard Medinger's personal letters and diaries were provided by his great grandson, Gregor Medinger, to make this special possible. Gregor Medinger also provides narration throughout the episode.

After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a newly independent Austria sought fresh business ventures to aid the reconstruction process and its battered economy. In this episode, guest Andrew Behrendt of the Missouri University of Science and Technology joins host Luke Morgante to discuss the emergence of tourism as a salve to Austria's financial woes, and why American tourists were so highly coveted despite their low numbers.

Follow along to hear about the ways Austrian tourism promoters propagandized to Americans overseas, how the arrival of tourists affected local culture, and the changing modes in which Austrians and Americans perceived each other during the 1920s and 1930s.

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If you would like to find more from Andrew Behrendt and his work, click the links below:

- Missouri University of Science and Technology Profile

- Historical Representation in Video Games

This reading comes from Chapter One of Deitrich W. Botstiber's 2007 autobiography, "Not On The Mayflower."

Dietrich Botstiber was born in 1912 in Vienna, Austria, during the final years of the Habsburg monarchy when the country flourished with abundant natural resources and high culture. In his memoirs, Botstiber writes about his life in Austria during the first part of the twentieth century, and describes an Austria of great beauty and bounty that, over those years, diminished in size, culture, wealth and prestige, due in large part to the breakup of the Habsburg Dual-Monarchy, the 1938 Anschluss and the ensuing war. Botstiber witnessed the most unsettling times in Austrian history, but in Chapter One he poignantly recounts the innocence of his own youth in 1931 when he was 18.

On September 29, 1995, Dietrich Botstiber penned his name to a trust that would be the governing document for the Dietrich W. Botstiber Foundation. In the trust, Botstiber set forth his charitable intentions: to provide scholarships to talented students of good moral character in the fields of science, technology and commerce; to promote an understanding of the historic relationship between the United States and Austria; to support programs that prevent cruelty to animals and human beings; and to reform education systems in the fields of science, technology and commerce.

Growing from its roots, today the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies and Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control continue to advance the mission of the Dietrich W. Botstiber Foundation.

The full book, "Not On The Mayflower" (2007) can be found here.

We're thrilled to bring you an engaging conversation between two esteemed guests: Lotte Bailyn and guest host, Gary Cohen.

Lotte Bailyn, Professor Emerita at the MIT Sloan School of Management, is a trailblazer in the field of organizational behavior and the daughter of acclaimed Austrian social scientists Marie Jahoda and Paul Lazarsfeld. Her pioneering research on work-life integration and gender equality has had a profound impact on workplaces around the world.

Joining her is Gary Cohen, a distinguished professor from the University of Minnesota, renowned for his expertise in modern European history, particularly focusing on Central Europe and the Jewish experience.

In this episode, Bailyn shares parts of her remarkable life story, highlighting her deep connections to Austria. From her family's Austrian roots to her academic and professional collaborations, Austria has played a significant role in shaping Bailyn's perspectives and achievements.

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More from Lotte Bailyn and her work:

Lotte Bailyn at MIT Sloan School of Management

Lotte Bailyn Books & Publications

Raymond Jonas is a Botstiber grant recipient and the Jon Bridgman Endowed Professor in History at the University of Washington. In this episode, he discusses the rise and fall of Maximilian I and the Second Mexican Empire. A brief yet impactful period, the story of the Second Mexican Empire connects 19th century Mexico and the United States with European powers of the era and a motivated Habsburg monarch, Maximilian I.

Much of the conversation stems from Jonas' recent book, Habsburgs on the Rio Grande: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire (2024).

More from Raymond Jonas and his work:

Raymond Jonas Website

Raymond Jonas Publications

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Intro & Outro Music: Erroll Garner Trio - When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1950)