Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies (BIAAS)

Dietrich Botstiber witnessed the most unsettling times in modern Austrian history. In his memoirs, he describes the difficult social and economic conditions in Austria from the time of the breakup of the Dual Hapsburg Empire to the 1938 Anschluss. He left Austria for the United States in 1938. He was grateful to become an American but at the same time Botstiber believed that Americans did not fully appreciate the Austrian predicament leading up to World War II. One of Botstiber’s objectives in establishing his Foundation was to “promote an understanding of the historic relationship between the United States and Austria.”

To that end, the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies (BIAAS) supports projects that implement Botstiber’s mission. BIAAS and the Austrian-American Educational Commission jointly sponsor two Fulbright-Botstiber visiting professorships, one in Austria and the other in the United States. BIAAS offers an annual fellowship in Austrian-American Studies, and it provides grants for work, and sponsors programs, in the fields of history, politics, economics, law and cultural studies.