Memorial for the victims of a free Austria 1934–1945
The Vienna City Memorial is a memorial located at the Vienna Central Cemetery and dedicated to "the victims for a free Austria 1934–1945". It was donated by the City of Vienna, designed by Fritz Cremer, Wilhelm Schütte and Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky and handed over to the public by Mayor Theodor Körner on 1 November 1948.
Dedication
The monument consists of three statues by
The dedication explicitly refers to both authoritarian systems that had oppressed and terrorized Austria's population for twelve years: the
The dedication of the memorial is ambiguous: The name implies all victim groups, the subtitle "To the victims for a free Austria" reduces the target group to only those who actively resisted. However, most of the victims of the
The donor of the monument is the City of Vienna, which is why it is also called the Memorial of the City of Vienna. The monument can be found in the Vienna Central Cemetery, Gate 2, Group 41, Rundplatz. The official address is Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234 in Vienna-Simmering.
Construction, design, opening
On October 30, 1945, the Vienna City Senate decided to erect a monument of the City of Vienna for the "fallen in the fight against Nazi fascism and for a free, independent Austria",[4] which was originally to be erected in the city center. On the other hand, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) wanted to erect a monument to its members murdered by the Nazi regime at the Central Cemetery and announced its own competition, which Ernst Plojhar won. In October 1946, the Vienna Communist Party applied to the City Senate for the land at the Central Cemetery to be given to the City Senate for its monument. After the Communists had attained only 7.9 percent in the state and municipal elections on 25 November 1945, while the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) had a sovereign majority of 57.18 percent, the effectiveness of the Communists was essentially extinguished.
On 18 December 1946, the Vienna City Planning Office announced a competition for a monument to the Nazi victims at the Central Cemetery, in which Fritz Cremer, Mario Petrucci and Fritz Wotruba took part, as well as Karl Stemolak, who later resigned. The jury consisted of Deputy Mayor Paul Speiser, three city councillors, two visual artists, two senior civil servants of the City Planning Office, and three representatives of the State Association of Politically Persecuted Persons. The committee unanimously supported the Red Circle design, which had been submitted by the German sculptor and communist Fritz Cremer and the Austrian architects Wilhelm Schütte and Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, both KPÖ members. Therefore the Communists were reassured, but an independent KPÖ monument was averted.
The foundation stone was laid on 1 November 1947 by the then Mayor Theodor Körner, the later Federal President of the Republic of Austria.[5] The ceremonial unveiling of the memorial took place on 1 November 1948, again by Körner. The musical framework of the ceremony was provided by a trumpet choir of the City of Vienna and the Mens Choir of the Municipal Tramway Association with the participation of four brass players from the Municipal Tramway Chapel.
References
- ^ "Mahnmal der Stadt Wien". www.nachkriegsjustiz.at. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
- ^ "Für die Opfer von 1934 bis 1945". www.arbeiter-zeitung.at. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
- ^ Kuretsidis-Haider, Claudia (2015). Der Umgang mit der beschwerten Vergangenheit. Täterverfolgung und Täterforschung in Österreich. Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes.
- ^ "Die Trauernde". Bildhauerei in Berlin (in German). Retrieved 2020-02-06.
- ^ "Mahnmal der Stadt Wien". nachkriegsjustiz.at. Retrieved 2020-02-06.