“…an active, affective and agile museum that is attuned to its visitors.”

The hdgö has its roots in the Gründerzeit period. In architecture, these years stand for prosperity, security and a stable period of construction. But here there is a different founding in mind, that of a democracy based on a new constitution that was not so stable. What, at the time, appeared to be the start of something new and unknown was followed by a collapse into periods of violence, yet later on also by the renewal and development of democracy within a growing Europe.

The main exhibition repeatedly shows the connections between then and now in the 100 years it covers. It shows the dangers and threats as well as the lessons and successes. The range of subjects shows clearly the topicality of some fundamental questions throughout a shifting history: consumption and consent, dealing with crises, the significance of borders, and the demand for equal rights. The main exhibition encompasses multiple perspectives and multiple voices, but is clear and unequivocal in the weight given to conveying the democratic values of civil society. The exhibition is conceived as a discussion forum that takes up the central and far-reaching questions of the past afresh in a changing present. The House of Austrian History also examines the darker facets of history and therefore prevents them from becoming blind spots. Places burdened by the past, such as the balcony, are brought back into the discussion and used as additional exhibition space for the history of the Shoah.

What is decisive about this museum is not only the What but also the How. The visitor becomes aware of this when, instead of being given a catalogue, she receives an artistic accompanying booklet in the form of a graphic novel. Frontal parcels of information are replaced by an interactive style that prompts questions and enables participation. In general the hdgö is a multi-generational museum, in which exhibits can be explained by grandparent to child or grandchild to grandparent. It not only shows history but offers space as well for the as yet unwritten and undocumented history of the citizens. They can find out about the themes of their own lived everyday history through videos and slide shows and exhibit these on digital platforms.

The hdgö is dynamic and flexible, traits that served it very well during the coronavirus crisis. It was able to react swiftly to the new situation. It is an active, affective and agile museum that is attuned to its visitors, stirring their curiosity and prompting questions. Especially in times of the polarisation of society and the dismantling of democratic structures in Europe, this museum has undertaken completely new tasks. No wonder that it has found a fixed place in Vienna's museum landscape and on Heldenplatz square. Austria needs this museum. This place must be maintained, likewise the successful and rightly lauded concept put together by the director and her creative team.

Aleida Assmann is a cultural researcher and literary scholar who has been shaping the debate on cultural memory since the 1990s. Together with her husband, Jan Assmann, she was awarded the 2018 Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels. She has been a member of the museum’s Scientific Advisory Board since the founding of the House of Austrian History.