The Vienna Model of Radicalisation. Austria and the Shoah

On the 80th anniversary of the first deportation transports in the German Reich in October 1941, the House of Austrian History, in cooperation with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Culture Studies and Theatre History, and the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Vienna, presents the outdoor exhibition “The Vienna Model of Radicalisation. Austria and the Shoah” on Heldenplatz square. It highlights Vienna’s role as the motor behind the radicalisation of antisemitism in the Nazi state. In 1941 the “Central Office for Jewish Emigration”, which had been set up by Adolf Eichmann in 1938, developed the organisational model for the deportations of the Jewish population to ghettos, extermination camps and murder sites in the east. The exhibition also explores Jewish self-help and acts of resistance by courageous individuals. Moreover, it illuminates the silence around the Shoah in postwar Austria from which the perpetrators benefitted.

The outdoor exhibition “The Vienna Model of Radicalisation. Austria and the Shoah” is aimed at a wide audience. Located at the heart of the republic, it makes it clear that our society is charged with remembering the Shoah both now and in the future—and that the fight against antisemitism and racism remains highly relevant today.

Curator-led tours with Michaela Raggam-Blesch, Heidemarie Uhl and Isolde Vogel.

Director of hdgö: Monika Sommer

Curators: Michaela Raggam-Blesch, Heidemarie Uhl, Isolde Vogel

Research assistant: Pauli Aro

Picture research and rights management: Stefan Benedik, Birgit Mollik

Education: Eva Meran and the education team of the hdgö

Communication: Juliane Fink, Ildiko Füredi-Kolarik, Simone Schmid

Exhibition design: Fuhrer Wien

Display production: Martina Berger – Nägel mit Köpfen

Administration: Anna Bausch, Tanja Jenni

An exhibition of the House of Austrian History in cooperation with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Culture Studies and Theatre History, and the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Vienna, together with the Verein zur Förderung kulturwissenschaftlicher Forschungen.

Outdoor exhibition on Heldenplatz square - Kindly supported by:

Conception - Kindly supported by: