On a spring Friday / Saturday

By Dalia Sarig (Jewish Anti-zionist Initiative) and Ernst Wolrab (Anti-fascist and Communist)

For registration pls mail to: info@palaestinasolidaritaet.at

Programme Overview

This tour will take us through key sites in Vienna connected to Jewish history, Nazi persecution, resistance, and remembrance. The aim is to engage critically with Austria’s historical responsibility and to reflect on how public memory is shaped and mobilised today — including the ways in which Holocaust remembrance is instrumentalised in contemporary political discourse to justify racism against Muslims and Arabs, and to legitimise unconditional support for Israeli state policies.

Morzinplatz – Memorial at the former Hotel Metropol

We will begin at Morzinplatz, the site of the former Hotel Metropol, which served as the Gestapo headquarters in Vienna after the Anschluss. From here, thousands of people were interrogated, tortured, and deported. The memorial marks one of the central sites of Nazi terror in the city. (We are currently clarifying afternoon opening hours for access to the exhibition space.)

Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW)

The Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW) documents the crimes of National Socialism, the Holocaust, and the history of resistance in Austria. It plays an important role in addressing the capitalist elite’s responsibility during the Nazi period and in shaping post-war narratives of memory and accountability.

At the same time, the DÖW has positioned itself within a framework that contributes to legitimising Austria’s unconditional support for Israel. By centring Jewish suffering in a way that is detached from broader anti-racist and anti-colonial struggles, the institution is narrowing the meaning of “Never Again” to a selective memory politics, rather than applying it universally to all peoples facing oppression.

Seitenstettengasse – Stadttempel

The Stadttempel is Vienna’s main synagogue and the only synagogue that survived the November Pogrom of 1938 intact. It remains a central place of Jewish religious life in Vienna today.

The Jewish Community of Austria (IKG) identifies itself as Zionist. As we pass the synagogue, you will notice the Israeli flag displayed above the entrance — a visible expression of the close alignment between the community’s leadership as well as their members and the State of Israel.

The First Jewish Ghetto – 2nd District (Leopoldstadt)

We will visit the area of the historic Jewish ghetto in Leopoldstadt, once the vibrant centre of Jewish life in Vienna before the Holocaust.

Tempelgasse – near Nestroyplatz

Tempelgasse was home to one of Vienna’s largest synagogues before it was destroyed during the November Pogrom in 1938.

Vienna Regional Court (Landesgericht) – Execution Site

At the Regional Court we will visit the former execution site where numerous resistance fighters and victims of Nazi justice were executed.

Saturday (optional, for those who are interested)

Central Cemetery – Group 40 Memorial (Zentralfriedhof, Gruppe 40)

We will conclude our programme at Vienna’s Central Cemetery, at Group 40, a memorial site dedicated to victims of Nazi persecution and members of the resistance. It is a space of collective remembrance, mourning, and reflection, inviting us to consider the legacies of violence, resistance, and historical responsibility.