Hitler and Vienna

Today, or I suppose yesterday, was the 70th anniversary of the Anschluss. On this date, seventy years ago, Hitler and his Nazis marched into the streets of Vienna to be greeted with cheers and crowds of supporters. That evening, Hitler came to Heldenplatz (or "Heroes' Square), which is directly below the new wing of the Hofburg palace, the former winter residence of the Habsburg monarchy. He entered the palace, and climbed to the grand balcony of this Neueburg; from the balcony he spoke out across the square to the masses that had gathered in support. Hitler, who was born an Austrian but left Vienna after rejection from art school**, was welcomed back to the city as a hero. Following this event, Parliament was dissolved, the country was absorbed into Germany at last; Austria disappeared from the map for the next seven years and the world fell in to another more terrible World War.

**Adolf Hitler was born in Austria, not far from Linz. He came to Vienna to study art, but after he was rejected from the Art School multiple times, he moved to Germany. I have recently learned that his old apartment is only about a mile from where I live. He used to frequent a coffee shop, the Cafe Sperl, that is a short walk from my apartment and which I have visited multiple times. How eerie and disturbing!

Last night, on the evening of March 12, 2008, the Volksgarten and lawns of the Heldenplatz were covered in 80,000 candles as a memorial to the events of March 12, 1938. Last night there were masses gathered once more in Heldenplatz; but these were not crowds that were riled up by the words of one terrible man, but somber crowds that walked between the groups of candles, quietly remembering and reflecting on a past singed with guilt and so many lost lives. 80,000 candles were prepared for the memorial, one candle to signify each lost Austrian life. The people of Vienna took the candles at dusk and arranged them into meaningful patterns across Heldenplatz and the Volksgarten, creating a garden of light. Some common symbols were the Star of David and the peace sign.

Events continued through the day to mark the anniversary of the Anschluss. On Mariahilfestraße (a popular shopping street), I saw a woman dressed as Hitler, using a megaphone and a grave voice to call upon everyday shoppers to take a moment to remember and never forget the past. Various exhibits are on display at the museums, and the Opera will do a special study of how the building was used during Nazi occupation. Though an anschluss and merging with Germany was welcomed and praised at the time (since the end of World War I, the Austrians had longed to join Germany and return to some semblance of an empire), hindsight is 20/20. March 12, 1938, was a very grave day indeed in Austrian history.

To close, here is a picture of the candles of Heldenplatz. I am sitting beside one of the Stars of David:


I leave for Italy tomorrow and will not have internet access. Have a blessed Easter and a relaxing spring break! Tschüssbaibai!