Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what's happening in the Jewish Bay Area.

"When I was 6 or 7," the Austrian student said, "I was told by my mother that the Jews were killed because they were too smart."

Roman Schroek, an intern at the Holocaust Center of Northern California, gathered his thoughts and looked over the audience at San Francisco's Congregation Emanu-El late last month.

"It's not easy to talk about my family like this," he continued quietly, "but in order to talk about Austria today, you have to talk about its history and its contradictions."

Schroek, a slight 23-year-old with tousled hair, discussed his experiences growing up in a small town in Austria during a panel discussion. The event was co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Holocaust Center, in cooperation with the Consulate General of Sweden.

Also participating were James Sheehan, professor of German history at Stanford; Nina Ersman, the press counselor from Swedish Embassy; and John Rothmann, the co-president of the Holocaust Center of Northern California and a San Francisco political consultant. Rabbi Doug Kahn, JCRC executive director, moderated.

Both Schroek and Sheehan examined the recent Austrian election, which brought Jorg Haider's far-right Freedom Party into the government, in light of the country's Nazi history.

Schroek said that only in the last decade had Austria put an end to the "highly unfortunate legend" that it was the first victim of Nazi aggression, and that the country is still uncomfortable with its past.

Weiner Neustadt, the town of Schroek's birth, was home to forced labor camps, and to the biggest manufacturer of fighter planes in Nazi Europe, he said.

The wartime legacy of the town and of Austria as a whole aren't often discussed, Schroek said, adding that Austrians also overlook Haider's associations with neo-Nazi groups.

"Austrians are willing to forgive and forget," Schroek said of the Austrian leader. "We are a very pragmatic people."

Sheehan elaborated on those comments, saying outsiders should be careful not to meddle in European affairs.

"This moral outrage is actually a lack of faith in the institution of the European community itself," said the Stanford scholar, adding that Europe is "internally powerful enough to prevent a violation of individual rights."

As a few of the roughly 100 people in the audience tittered, Sheehan continued, criticizing protesters of the Austrian politician as traffickers in words, not actions.

"This excessive rhetorical condemnation has since disappeared," said Sheehan, "and I'd like to add, had there been a real danger, this would have been far too little."

Sheehan said the impact of Haider's politics were mitigated because Austria lay "on the margins of Europe." Such sentiments would be considered more problematic had they been espoused by a leader from Germany, France or Italy, he said.

"Some of Mr. Haider's stances are morally outrageous," Sheehan conceded. "But it is equally disturbing to interfere in free democratic elections — something that should only be done in moments of grave danger.

"Clearly," Sheehan concluded, "this is not a moment of grave danger."

But Haider's populist appeal shouldn't be viewed as a sign of rising racism or anti-Semitism, Schroek added, saying that "many decent Austrians, including most of my family, consider Haider to be a breath of fresh air."

"The Freedom Party speaks to the problems of the have-nots and deals with these problems very directly," he said. "In Austria, you win votes by providing economic relief for [Austrian] families…not by granting citizenship for foreigners.

"It might be sad," he said, "but that's the reality."

Ersman and Rothmann addressed other European concerns, including the Holocaust. Ersman read the resolutions of the International Forum on the Holocaust, and Rothmann commented on the London trial of Holocaust denier David Irving, saying that the verdict represents "an important statement concerning Western Europe's beliefs about the events of 55 years ago."

Returning to the topic of Haider during a brief question-and-answer session, Schroek said that while he did not believe all Austrians supporting the Freedom Party were racists, he had participated in rallies against the group.

"I offer myself as a young man caught up in the ambiguity of my country's history," Schroek said, "and come to you as an ambassador from a country full of contradictions."

When asked by an audience member if he had any Jewish friends, Schroek said he didn't.

"Why not?" the questioner persisted.

Schroek nervously toyed with his microphone before responding.

"Because there aren't any left."