Monument Against War and Fascism — Attraction in Vienna

At Albertinaplatz, there is a series of sculptures located upon the grounds of an apartment building which collapsed during a WWII air raid over the city in 1945. A marker on the sight reveals that hundreds who sought shelter in the apartment cellar died during the bombing.

The four monuments collectively are sombre reminder of the tragedies of war. They include 'The Gates of Violence' - a contemporary two-piece arrangement depicting a mass of humanity in locked in from the unfinished blocks of white granite. The granite comes directly from the area of the former Mauthausen concentration camp. The monument is dedicated to all victims of war and violence and particularly those who suffered at the hands of Nazi rule in Austria.

Just beside 'The Gates of Violence' you will also see a hunched-over bronze figure, bound by barbed wire with brush in hand. This disturbing image is that of a Jewish person being forced to clean anti-Nazi graffiti off the streets in a most humiliating way.

'Orpheus Enters Hades' is another monument of more contemporary design, depicting a male emerging from unfinished limestone. This particular monument is dedicated to those who lost their lives during bombings as well as those who died in their resistance to National Socialism.

Lastly, 'The Stone of the Republic' monument is that of an erected slab and bears excerpts of the Austrian Declaration of Independence which was...

The “Mahnmal gegen Krieg und Faschismus” translates as the Memorial to war and fascism. The monument is a sculptural ensemble depicting various scenes from the aforementioned named of this monument. The most prominent of the sculptures are sundered the granite sculpture representing mass murder, and the bronze sculpture of a kneeling jew forced to scrub the streets. The latter is particularly poignant as the bronze sculpture is forced down by barbed wire so that they cannot escape the persecution.

A fine monument to anti-war and...

Very problematic, and characteristically Austrian, image of "The Jew" crouching on the floor... Also till today, people, especially tourists, use the sculpture as a bench! In 2015, the artist Ruth Beckermann contextualized this aspect of the monument with her installation "The Missing Image" showing original footage of the grinning Viennese enjoying themselves while watching the Jews scrubbing the street. Unfortunately, but also quite typical, no solution was found to make this addition to the...