Gmünd refugee camp

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Former sister house

The Gmünd refugee camp was a refugee camp in the municipality of Gmünd in the Gmünd district in Lower Austria from 1914 to 1919 . The refugees came from Galicia . The former nurses' house of the camp surgery at Pestalozzigasse 8 has been preserved and is a listed building .

investment

In the autumn of 1914, Russian troops invaded Galicia and drove out the local population. As recently as 1914, the construction of a camp in Gmünd began. With residential barracks for 200 to 250 people each, so that the camp could accommodate 30,000 people, the camp was located on an area of ​​550,000 m² southwest of the city center. In 1916 the camp was expanded to 50,000 people and had a hospital, water supply, sewer system, electric light and a church. Of the approx. 200,000 refugees, most of whom came from Galicia and Bucovina , many died of exhaustion and illness and were buried in the camp - their number is estimated at around 40,000. After the end of the war, many refugees returned to their old homeland.

Succession

After the camp was closed in 1919, Otto Felix Kanitz's " Children's Republic " was housed here, a holiday project run by Kinderfreunde . Afterwards, the district of Gmünder Neustadt developed in this area , whereby many residents from České Velenice and the surrounding area who were expelled after the First World War also settled here. The spacious main street was built on the former parade ground, the camp gate still exists, and residential buildings, detached houses and numerous businesses and factories were built all around. One of the largest residential complexes in the Waldviertel at the time, the so-called "new building" with a total of 130 apartments, was built between 1926 and 1927. The extensive kitchen facilities were taken over by the Agrana food company.

The "House of Gmünder Zeitgeschichte" was set up in the former information center at the camp gate (Weitraer Straße 107). The financially supported by the LEADER program of the EU Museum created was opened on May 11 of 2019.

literature

  • Maria Ostheim-Dzerowycz: Gmünd. A camp of Ukrainian refugees in Austria during the First World War. In: Ilona Slawinski, Joseph P. Strelka (ed.): The Bukowina. Past and present . Österreichisches Ost- und Südosteuropa-Institut, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-906755-37-1 , pp. 73-89.
  • Manfred Dacho, Franz Dach, Harald Winkler: In the beginning there was the warehouse. Gmuend-Neustadt. Provincial Library, Weitra 2014, ISBN 978-3-99028-350-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ursula Köhler: Gmünd: House of contemporary history is created. In: noe.orf.at . November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Bettina Talkner: Renovation for “House of Contemporary History” begins. In: mein district.at. November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018 .
  3. ^ "House of Contemporary History" was ceremoniously opened. In: gmuend.at. 2019, accessed July 3, 2019 .

Coordinates: 48 ° 45 ′ 33 "  N , 14 ° 58 ′ 33"  E