Never Forget

During the Pogromnacht on November 9-10, 1938 the SA paramilitary forces demolished Jewish-owned stores, buildings, cemeteries and synagogues and attacked and arrested Jews. In Vienna 18 synagogues were completely destroyed, 7 were damaged and diverted from their intended use during the Nazi period. The commemorative project "OT" now places a permanent light symbol marking where the Viennese synagogues once stood. The 5m (16,5 feet) tall light sculptures, created by Austrian artist Lukas Kaufmann, feature an intertwined, illuminated Star of David. "OT" stands for "symbol" in the Hebrew language. In Judaism this not only means a symbol, but also a visible religious feature of the relationshop between God and man.

Jordanhaus

The "Jordanhaus" on Judenplatz is one the oldest buildings of Vienna. In the Middle Ages Judenplatz was the center of Jewish life. In 1420 Duke Albert V ordered the imprisonment and forcible conversion of the Jews. Those that had not converted or escaped were sent off in boats down the Danube, while wealthy Jews remained under arrest, several of them tortured and stripped of their property. On March 12, 1421 Albert sentenced the remaining Jews to death and their synagogue was demolished. The inscription on the façade of the "Jordanhaus" refers to these dramatic incidents.

Judenplatz

In the Middle Ages Judenplatz was the center of Jewish Life and the Viennese Jewish Community. Today the Jewish Museum Judenplatz, the Holocaust Memorial and a monument to the German poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing still relate to this past.

Holocaust Memorial

The Holocaust Memorial (also known as the "Nameless Library"), the central memorial for the 65.000 Austrian victims of the Holocaust, is located on Judenplatz and was unveiled in October 2000. The outside surfaces of the memorial, designed by British artist Rachel Whiteread, are cast library shelves turned inside out. The spines of the books are facing inwards and are not visible, therefore the titles of the volumes are unknown and the content of the books remains unrevealed. The shelves appear to hold endless copies of the same edition, which stand for the vast number of the victims, as well as the concept of Jews as "People of the Book". As a work of art, the memorial was not intendend to be beautiful and forms a contrast to the beautiful architecture nearby.

Waiting for guests

This is how the outdoor areas of Vienna´s restaurants look most of the time this summer: deserted due to bad weather. So far, we had only one week of sunny and hot weather... This photo was taken on Judenplatz which was the center of Jewish life in the Middle Ages.