Construction on the former camp site will inevitably destroy its material traces, erase another place of Nazi terror, and consign it to oblivion. For this reason, together with the Jewish Community of Vienna and the local initiative, we appealed to abandon the plans to erect commercial halls at this very location. Instead, the site should be used to create a dignified place of remembrance together with the local memorial initiatives and ourselves. The Mauthausen Memorial is already involved in several initiatives to preserve remains of former subcamps, is currently carrying out the large-scale redesign of the Gusen Memorial, and continues to support further development of the site in Leobersdorf.
In a time after direct testimony from survivors, architectural remnants are becoming increasingly important. We therefore see it as our duty to use the potential of these rare remains for education in cooperation with locally engaged people—as is currently the case in Guntramsdorf—or at least to defend them against commercial interests that make dignified commemoration impossible.
The mistakes made after 1945—when many camp sites were demolished and built over—should not be repeated. Every remnant of a former concentration camp bears witness to the injustice that occurred there and is worthy of preservation. We cannot understand contrary assessments. The argument that the remains of the Hirtenberg camp are “from today’s perspective” not sufficient to warrant protection should not be a free pass to destroy them and their topographical context irretrievably.
“It is telling that in 2025, of all years—the anniversary year in which we commemorate 80 years of liberation—such a backward step is being taken, subordinating the memory of Nazi victims to financial interests by building over the site of their suffering,” said Willi Mernyi, chairman of the Mauthausen Committee Austria. “Clearly, much work remains to be done to raise awareness.”
The Mauthausen Memorial was informed only very briefly and half-heartedly on August 15 about a site inspection on August 20, at which we learned that construction would begin immediately—the very next day.
This approach leaves no doubt that there is no willingness to face historical responsibility and that further discussion is to be suppressed. We must now acknowledge that the site of the former Hirtenberg camp is lost and will no longer hold any social relevance in the future. All the more important it becomes to work with energy and combined efforts to ensure that the women and girls who were forced to work here are not forgotten.
“It is a disgrace that in 2025 it is possible to demolish the remains of a former concentration camp without any objective public dialogue about it,” said Barbara Glück, director of the Mauthausen Memorial. “The loss of historical structures and potential sources of information for research can never be undone.”
The material witness has been irretrievably lost through these measures. What gives us hope, however, is the commitment of local initiatives, with whom we will find other forms and ways to remember the victims of the Hirtenberg camp.
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