In the middle of Vienna, in a cobbled side lane, behind the Hof, is Judenplatz. It’s a place you stumble upon by accident and wonder why it’s not a compulsory part of a visit to Vienna. The restaurants are good. Mostly, though, it’s the powerful memorial, erected by the Jewish museum and designed by British artist Rachel Whiteread, that you should go and see. A concrete chamber made as an inverted library of 65,000 books, whose titles you can’t see; 65,000 Austrian Jewish people whose stories will never be written because they were murdered in the name of purifying Germany on the whim of an Austrian man who decided that everything was the fault of some immigrants. The stark contrast between the concrete block and the cobbled streets and baroque architecture
On this visit, we didn’t find it by accident, instead choosing to routemarch our friends to it after watching a protest march and looking at a defaced statue that has been turned into a modern art structure.
Last time we visited Vienna there was an election going on. It was the start of rise of the right wing parties. Press were everywhere because it looked like, in Austria of all places, Naziism was starting again. They didn’t win the election but the movement had begun.
We were crossing the road to Dr Karl Lueger Platz just a a noisy protest came through. Stop. I love a protest.
I wouldn’t join but I love watching the people in them. The mixture of exhaustion and pride on their faces, always feeling that they are doing something special, making a difference, changing lives. Maybe they are. Who knows! God. I hope not. We were all impressed with the cowbells but the signs were terrifying. (I translated them as we sat in a wonderful restaurant eating Tafelspitz).
Close the borders
Repatriation now!
How dumb to use aggressive propaganda still to stop our pastures due to lockdown when further immigration is allowed.
Enough with masks - 3G - Gene injection - or merit - Santa animals - illegals- mass migration. (There might have been spelling mistakes in that one)
Free speech
Austria out of the Eu
Peace with Russia
Quite depressing. History repeats. Suddenly, none of us are feeling hopeful about the future and we are worried about those Santa animals because no one wants the reindeer to take over.
After they passed and we crossed the road we found Leuger’s Denkmal: A statue of the burgermeister of Vienna between 1897 and 1910. It had been defaced. Black paint. Shame. A small stubby penis painted with spray paint. The city has embraced this vandalism and erected a modern piece of artwork over the top (neon pieces of plastic), including a QR code, highlighting the crimes of this man, who had used Jewish immigrants to make the city great.
Yes, the Christmas markets are great with lights, festive smells from Gluwein and wurstal stands, music everywhere but Vienna is so much more.
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