Jewish war memorial (Vienna)
The Jewish war memorial is the central structure of the Jewish war grave complex in Vienna's central cemetery in the 11th district of Simmering .
history
The establishment of a war memorial specifically for from Vienna originating fallen Jewish soldiers were from the Jewish Community of Vienna already planned 1919th The newly created group for fallen soldiers in the Israelite department was planned as the location in the central cemetery.
The plans for the construction of such a monument were interrupted by the offer to purchase the unfinished Archduke Rainer monument. Since this did not fit into the overall concept of the war cemetery due to its size, this offer was rejected in November 1919.
In August 1926, the documents for the competition on the horticultural and architectural design of the complex were sent to Jewish architects based in Vienna. After two meetings of the responsible committee under the leadership of Clemens Holzmeister , Leopold Ponzen was declared the winner on November 8th of the same year and was entrusted with drawing up the necessary detailed plans.
From July 8, 1927, newspaper advertisements called on the Jewish population of Vienna to inform the religious community of the names and dates of relatives who had died in the World War in order to be able to publish them on the war memorial. Because of the numerous responses, the names of the soldiers buried in Vienna were published on the war memorial, while those of the other fallen soldiers were immortalized on marble votive tablets in the ceremonial hall. The monument itself was erected between September 1927 and 1928 by master builder Max Liewer based on plans by Leopold Ponzen.
The inauguration ceremony of the Jewish war memorial in Vienna's central cemetery took place on October 13, 1929 in the presence of Federal Chancellor Johann Schober and City Commandant Major General Otto Wiesinger and the President of the Jewish Community of Vienna Alois Pick.
Between 1932 and 1937, the “Union of Jewish Front-line Soldiers Austria” organized a well-attended memorial service every year with the participation of an honorary formation from the Austrian Armed Forces . About 30,000 visitors are named for 1934.
During the so-called Reichskristallnacht in November 1938, the ceremonial hall was badly damaged and demolished in 1977. Nothing is known about the whereabouts of the memorial plaques created by the master stonemason, Sonnenschein, who was also involved in the creation of a burial complex for 16 Russian prisoners of war of Jewish faith buried in the central cemetery.
The actual Jewish war memorial and the war cemetery were spared by the National Socialists and have remained unchanged to the present day. They are looked after by the Austrian Black Cross . A wreath-laying ceremony is held by the Vienna Military Command on All Souls' Day.
description
The Jewish war memorial in Vienna's central cemetery stands on the edge of the semicircular grave field and has the shape of an octagonal, crenellated defensive tower. A porch forms the entrance to the interior, which is open at the top. On the ceiling is the inscription “The Israelite community of Vienna for their sons who died in World War 1914-18”. A second portal leads into the interior of the open octagon, on the seven free wall surfaces of which there are free-standing panels made of Lasa marble with the names of the fallen. On the wall opposite the entrance there is an additional plaque with the Hebrew inscription, which reads in German: “People will no longer take up sword against people, and they will no longer learn to war” ( Isaiah , 2,4). On the two side walls of the entrance there are two memorial plaques from 1999.
literature
- Martin Senekowitsch: An unusual war memorial - the Jewish hero memorial at Vienna's central cemetery . Vienna Military Command, Public Relations Department, Vienna 1994.
- A thousand dead. The war memorial in Vienna's Jewish cemetery . In: Die Neue Welt of October 18, 1929, p. 3.
Web links
- Jewish war memorial WWI
- Online project fallen memorials - Vienna-Simmering (central cemetery - Jewish war memorial), Austria
- Image of the unveiling of the hero monument. In: Wiener Bilder , October 20, 1929, p. 6 (online at ANNO ). ( bottom left )
Coordinates: 48 ° 9 ′ 8.7 ″ N , 16 ° 25 ′ 39.7 ″ E