Something that has stayed with me over the days since our visit to Vienna and Judenplatz was something that I observed that has caused me great concern. 65,000 Austrian's lost their lives in the Holocaust of World War II and the Holocaust-Denkmal is a memorial designed by British sculptor Rachel Whitebread to remember the lives and stories of their lives that will never be told. The memorial is in the shape of books on shelves with the bindings facing inwards and therefore can not be read much like the lives of the Austrians who were killed during the Holocaust. Clearly, Rachel Whitebread put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into creating a way honor the victims.
To me this appeared to be sacred ground in Austria much like a visit to Arlington National Cemetary or the "Vietnam Memorial Wall" would be in the US. The Holocaust-Denkmal would cause most people great concern and pause for reflection but what was especially troubling for me was to see 5 young teenage boys most likely Austrian's skatebording right on top of the memorial and indeed right across the "Star of David." To make things worse as they left, their empty plastic soda bottles were discarded on the memorial. I have to admit I almost came unglued with anger.
And so my reflection starts with the proposition that most likely two factors were relevent to what occurred and neither choice is a good one. First, were the teens completely unaware of where they were meaning that the tragic events revolving around the memorial had never been told to them? Was this a part of Austrian history and world history that they did not know? Did they not feel a connection? One of the most important aspects of studying history is to learn from the past often from time periods that far predate our own existence so that we do not repeat past errors and in the case of the Holocaust one of the darkest events in history. The second choice is that the teens knew exactly where they were and intentionally acted with disregard for the memorial.
Did anyone else observe this? Does anyone else have a theory that I may have overlooked? My conclusion at this point is that both factors probably played into their thought process, that most likely they knew where they were but lack an understanding of the tragedy which I guess is why this observence was so troubling to me. It means that a generation of Austrian's may be growing up not knowing or understanding their own history and failing to learn from the past. I realize this was the behavior of five individuals and it is difficult to draw conclusions from five people, but still I am left with a great deal of concern.
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With so many things going on at Judenplatz, I did not consciously notice the boys skateboarding at the memorial. But now that you mention it I have a vivid image of this.
ReplyDeleteMy take on this is that the memory of the Holocaust and racism / anti-Semitism in Austria (including Vienna) is still a sore spot in the Austrian (or Viennese) psyche. There are many indications that the Viennese government and general population are, at best, "ambivalent" about these issues.
For example, the presence of a police substation at Judenplatz sends a message that the Monument, the Museum, and the plaza shall be protected against vandalism, desecration, other "hate" crimes or behavior, etc. But at the same time, the police are not particularly vigilant about keeping watch on the Plaza or patrolling the Monument.
The police were oblivious to the boys skateboarding on the Monument or leaving their trash there. On previous visits, I have seen the Monument spray painted with graffiti (on the side not visible from the police box). I have seen candles left by visitors knocked over, with the melted wax poured on the side of the monument. Flowers left by visitors were torn apart and spread like trash.
There seems to be insufficient effort to communicate the sacredness of the Monument, whether in schools and history books, or at the Judenplatz location itself. Perhaps they might consider increasing the vigilance of the police at Judenplatz; or consider turning them into honor guards standing in front of the Monument like the honor guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington.
I also vividly remember having to hold back a sense of anger that the skateboarders were disrespecting a place of honor for so many who have died.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on why they decided to do that? By the looks of it, it looked as if it happens all the time. There was no trepidation of the children coming up to the monument, as if they recognized what it was.
Someone suggested as we left the area that a fence be constructed around the perimeter to protect it. While I think that would be most sufficient, it also runs contrary to the openness of the Austrian Society. They are not known to heavily guard things as we know well in the United States.
Education and a stiff fine could help turn other skateboarders away. I really liked the idea that with our bus passes we only had to validate them once and then we were on the "honor system" otherwise if you were caught breaking the rule you would get a heavy fine. Perhaps some sort of rule like that should be implemented among the youth to help add to the protection of these precious monuments.
Hmm..that was an interesting reflection. I would agree with you.
ReplyDeleteI remember this, and I remember thinking what was up with that behavior while we were there. At the time, I just figured the kids didn't care. To them, they were just hanging out on a flat bed of concrete, which is better for skateboarding than the cobblestones we were standing on. Also, they looked more like 9 to 11 year-olds to me, not teenagers, which excuses the behavior to some extent.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I did have the faint thought in the back of my head saying "hey, get off there kids!" But, even though it is a memorial with great historical significance and a profoundly sad connotation, it really looked like just part of the landscape of the square we were standing in. With so much history, and so many significant monuments in Vienna that are just a day-to-day occurrence for the Viennese, I just summed up the behavior as normal and non-alarming to the local community.
However, after reading Dr. Tamashiro's comment about having seen the monument desecrated during past visits, I don't know what to think about the kids. Were they just looking for a flat surface to skate on, or were they little neo-nazi brats? Or maybe neither of these?
Overall, it seems that if the Viennese cared enough to really protect the monument, they would have put a fence around it, or placed guards at it, by now. There's probably a combination of wanting to keep their dark history in the dark, and blissful apathy toward the monument in the minds of the Viennese that leaves the monument vulnerable. But how can I really know?