Monument 1945/2025 – Artistic Proposals for the Second Republic

To mark this year’s 80th anniversary of Austria’s declaration of independence and the liberation from Nazi rule, the House of Austrian History and the University of Arts Linz have invited, on the basis of a curatorial decision, the artists Ramesch Daha / Fabian Antosch / Philipp Oberthaler, as well as Gabriele Edlbauer and Franz Wassermann, to reflect on a central site of Austrian history and present: the terrace of the Neue Hofburg on the Heldenplatz in Vienna, which is better known internationally as the “Hitler balcony”. This was the place where the Nazi regime celebrated and staged the “Anschluss”, or annexation, of Austria to Nazi Germany in front of a frenetically cheering crowd on 15 March 1938.

Since 2018 the House of Austrian History has been engaging in diverse ways with the history and present of the terrace. The presentation of the artistic models for a monument on this architectural feature is a way of building on this. It serves as a stimulus for discussions about the historical symbolism used by the state 80 years after the liberation from Nazi rule and about future approaches to this gap in the politics of memory in the middle of the Heldenplatz. 

If the Republic of Austria were to give itself a monument to mark these two historic moments and their significance for the present day, what form might it take? 

Altan, verdacht – Ramesch Daha / Fabian Antosch / Philipp Oberthaler

Ramesch Daha, Fabian Antosch, and Philipp Oberthaler propose a spatial intervention with “Altan, verdacht”: a glass ceiling blocks the possibility of using the site as a stage for power and self-aggrandizement.

Further details about this work can be found in the online collection of the hdgö.

Ramesch Daha / Fabian Antosch / Philipp Oberthaler
„Altan, verdacht“, 2025

Milled solid wood, plexiglass, mirror glass

Good Riddance – Gabriele Edlbauer

Gabriele Edlbauer’s “Good Riddance” turns the situation on its head: she swaps the exterior Altan with the interior exhibition space of the hdgö, where commemoration and reflection are already taking place.

Further details about this work can be found in the online collection of the hdgö.

Gabriele Edlbauer

„Good Riddance“, 2025

glazed stoneware, cast tin, glass, fountain pump, hoses

MAHNWACHE / VIGIL – Franz Wassermann

With the 3D print “MAHNWACHE,” Franz Wassermann presents a massive, unhewn block of granite from the quarry of the former Mauthausen concentration camp, intended to occupy the site as a silent sentinel.

Further details about this work can be found in the online collection of the hdgö.

Franz Wassermann

„MAHNWACHE / VIGIL“, 2025

3D print from PAL, granite from the former Mauthausen concentration camp

Download the free brochure for the artistic project "Monument 1945/2025" and discover the story behind the creative concept of this powerful artistic statement.

ⓘ  These works are part of the hdgö collection and were on display in the exhibition Monument 1945/2025: Artistic Proposals for the Second Republic from April 22 to November 23, 2025, in the foyer of the hdgö.

In cooperation with

Kunstuniversität Linz