The woman with the handbag

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A Woman Hitting a Neo-Nazi With Her Handbag in Växjö, Sweden 1985. Photograph by Hans Runesson.
Hans Runesson , 1985
photography

Link to the picture
(please note copyrights )

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The woman with the handbag ( Swedish Kvinnan med handväskan or more often Aunties med handväskan ) is a life-size memorial created by the Swedish sculptor Susanna Arwin , which is intended to commemorate a courageous campaign against the neo-Nazi demonstrations of April 13, 1985 in the southern Swedish city ​​of Växjö . It honors the then 38-year-old Danuta Danielsson, who - hitting a demonstrator with her handbag - spontaneously defends herself against the re-emerging hatred of Jews. Danielsson, whose mother is said to have been imprisoned in a concentration camp according to the Swedish press, immigrated from Poland in 1981 after she met her future husband. Their spontaneous attack was linked to physical attacks by other, mostly communist opponents of the right-wing group. The scene was captured by a photo journalist, made famous in this way and later named Picture of the Year .

anniversary

The memorial was supposed to be unveiled on Stortorget on the 30th anniversary on April 13, 2015 , but after the Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris and Copenhagen there were massive protests against erecting the memorial. On the other hand, in the days before the decision, many Swedish stills were decorated with handbags as an expression of approval, something that various media, including international ones, took up. Above all, conservatives and Greens , however, expressed themselves against a list. Basically, they find it questionable, according to City Councilor Eva Johansson, that hitting someone else's head with a handbag is idealized.

"But you have to meet those who think differently with words, not with violence."

However, other cities, such as Malmö, agreed to take over the monument in the event of a rejection in the city council, which is supposed to decide on the installation. Danielsson's son, on the other hand, does not want to see such a monument to his mother erected everywhere in Sweden.

background

The approval by the culture committee of the city of Växjö for the demonstration of the neo-Nazis at 12:00 p.m. is considered frivolous today, because a little later a communist rally was allowed at the same place for 11:00 a.m., at which their state chairman Lars Werner also spoke should. Until then, excesses of violence in their tranquil city were unimaginable for city leaders.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ellen Provoost: Hand cups against neo-Nazis . In: HLN .be, February 15, 2015 (Dutch)
  2. ↑ In Sweden, monuments carry handbags . Deutschlandfunk, Europa heute, broadcast on February 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ Silke Bigalke: Hoch die Taschen , in: Süddeutsche Zeitung , February 28, 2014, p. 49
  4. ↑ Anita Bengtsson: Berättelsen om det förra århundradets bästa foto , in: Dagens Nyheter, February 15, 2015
  5. ↑ Mats Bergström: Kulturnämnden hyllar det råa våldet , in: Smålandsposten, January 3, 2015 (Swedish)