Hidden Nazi Activism. Spotlight on a Personal Archive
from 28 April 2026 in the museum foyer
Even today, common perceptions of National Socialism are still shaped by the cult of the “Führer” and notions of masculinity. This overlooks the fact that many women played an active role in building and upholding the Nazi regime—for example, by helping to prepare for the Nazi seizure of power in Austria in 1938.
From 28 April 2026, the hdgö presents the personal archive of Paula Lang (1906–1991) whose collection has been donated to the museum. The display in the Foyer uses documents and objects from her personal archive to illustrate the ways in which she was politically active in the Nazi movement between 1933 and 1938—and the contradictory gender roles that characterised Nazi rule.
The entire personal archive can be explored digitally as part of the Online Collection of the hdgö.
Video interview with the donor of the estate of Paula Lang and Hans Wackerle, 2025
In 2021, the estate of Paula Lang and her husband Hans Wackerle was added to the collection of the House of Austrian History. Prior to this, the physical artifacts from that period had been kept in their apartment for decades. In this interview, Lang’s granddaughter discusses the objects, why she donated them to the hdgö, and how the long silence surrounding the Nazi past has shaped how her family deals with memory.
Exhibition team
Director hdgö: Monika Sommer | Head of Public History Team: Stefan Benedik | Curator: Mara Metzmacher | Academic advisor: Heidrun Zettelbauer
Exhibition design and exhibition graphics: Nora Pierer | Cataloguing: Pia Ebner, Xaver Dopplinger, Tanja Jenni, Mara Metzmacher | Transcription from shorthand: Martin Springinklee | Conservation and restoration: Linda Kral | Creation and production video, audio and object photography: David Tiefenthaler | Communication: Johanna Miller, Ildiko Füredi, Bettina Zöttl | Social Media: Louise Beckershaus, Katharina Kraus | Additional and former hdgö team members: Anna Bausch, Isabella Burtscher, Andreea Dosa, Flore Friden, Karolin Galter, Antonia Heidl, Laura Langeder, Eva Meran, Antonia Plessing, Johannes Pötzlberger, Vanessa Tautter, Franziska Veronika Winkler | Proofreading: Ela Maywald | Translation: Joanna White | Montage, display production and arthandling: Museom | Media production: 7Reasons | Web development Online Collection: Axiell Germany
We would like to express our sincere thanks to the donor.
We also extend our heartfelt gratitude for the support to:
