Mauthausen Concentration Camp.

Mauthausen

Seventy years ago, on 5 May 1945, Mauthausen Concentration camp was liberated.

http://scrapbookpages.com/Mauthausen/KZMauthausen/Liberation/index.html

Liberation and Liberators, seventy years ago.

The huts and the entrance.

In the depths of Winter 2015, we visited Mauthausen, the notorious, Nazi death Camp (there are differences between a concentration camp and a work camp) but death camp fits both.

Winter was a fitting time to visit. Bleak, grey, depressing. Thousands of people were sent here, never to return.

No escape

Mauthausen death camp was the site of a quarry, where stone was hewn to build in nearby Linz, (Hitler’s birthplace). It was opened late, in 1938, and was liberated late in 1945. Many occupants of other death camps were forcibly marched to Mauthausen, once other camps had been liberated. The 186 steps from the camp to the quarry, die Todsstiege, became a symbol for the survivors. Mauthausen was a grade III camp, meaning that inmates were never released. At least at other camps, Arbeit Macht Frei, gave the illusion that hard work might one day have its reward of freedeom.

Sign to the Death Stairs

The Stairs of Death

During the Second War, Messerschmidt war planes were secretly built at the quarry.

After the assassination of Haydrich, one of the architects of the ‘final solution’ those who might had harboured the soldiers who carried out the killing were taken to Mauthausen, if they weren’t shot beforehand.

Bleak, cold, sad. Who were the thousands of people who suffered and died in the Death Camp?

Then came the photos. All incoming inmates to the camp were photographed. When the SS knew the Allies would liberate the camp, all records of the camp inmates were destroyed.

What I saw at the camp exhibition were hundreds of familiar names and face. Spanish names and faces. Good, handsome young men. All died at Mauthausen. 

Spanish prisoner

 This brought things home. Rocognisable names and faces. ‘We are people, not beasts.’ One inmate recalled shouting to the SS guards. Many inmates had clerical roles had the camp.

http://scrapbookpages.com/Mauthausen/KZMauthausen/History/SpanishRepublicans.html

More than 23000 Republican prisoners of war were based at Mauthausen. 16000 Spanish prisoners died.

Spanish prisoners

Two clerks were in charge of the dark-room, where photographs of the prisoners were developed and printed. Three copies of each were to be made. There, secretly and at great risk to their personal safety, printed a secret fourth copy and hid them. These are the photos were are seeing know as all the others had been destroyed. It is thank to the personal bravery of people like Antonio Garcia alonso, that we know what went on at Mauthausen. Francesco Boix gave evidence at the Nuremburg trials in the late 1940s.

Memorial boeard to Spanish prisoners.

In the exhibition, postcards from 1940s were on exhibit from holiday makers at this pretty riverside village on the Danube. Did they know what happened at the quarry a few kilometers up the hillside? In 1943 locals complained to the military authorities about the smell coming from the camp. Did they talk mention that they knew that this stench was of burning human corpses?

We must remember what happened at the death camps, to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again, or that people forget and question what happened.

Blank photo for the gas chamber. Why do people want to take photos of this?

Czech prisoners took any physical evidence home, knowing the SS would destroy as much as they could. Parts of the the death chambers, the gas tubing, for example were returned for the exhibition.

15000 Nazi soldiers worked at Mauthausen in the 7 years it operated. Of those, 200 were prosecuted. It was known that the SS would cover up crimes that

All this sounded like a bad dream. But it really did happen. Die Todesstiege (the deathstps). The 186 steps were a symbol of people walking to their death. Now it is a symbol of hope.

May is the 70 anniversary of the liberation of Mauthausen. I will remember this place as constantly bleak and in winter.

Camp electric fence.

Snow and Ice in Vienna

At least the trams run on time.

Clear that path!

This trams had to stop in the blizzard, as it was ploughing through too much snow.

This is the pavement next to the Ring,under snow.

Yes, I know that it is now spring, but it is good to remember the Vienna winter.











When it snows in Vienna, and this past winter we had six snowfalls in the city by my counting, things don't grind to a halt. People appear early in the street to clear the pavements and small snow ploughs appear. The trams continue working if their tracks have been cleared a little. In fact Vienna is quite beautiful in the snow.

                                           

Cars parked in the street, get covered, but their owners don't seem to be bothered and scrape off just enough to see through the windscreen. Winter tyres are compulsory here from November to March, so there isn't too much skidding into the car in front. There is a tranquility the day after a snowfall and buildings and streets are tranformed.








Not many bikes were borrowed on this cold January day.

This car park leaks!

This Park and Ride car park is safe, but it lets in the snow. One does not expect to pay and then have your car coated in snow when it is blown through the grills!

Mariahilferstrasse.
Not a lot of shopping went on on the day of the blizzard,
but at least the shops were open!

A Vienna Christmas: Frohe Weihnachten.

It is Christmas time in Vienna. The city-centre is a spectacular site. Most of the people visiting the Christmas markets are busily drinking 'punsch glühwein', or mulled wine.

City Hall.

A tram passes City Hall

 

Stretch-limo passes City Hall

Busy shopping street with Stephensdom in background

Shoppers on Mariahilfer Srasse

Horses and Carriage in Mickaelerplatz.

Mickaelerplatz.

Christmas Shoppers.

Cured meat stall.

Christmas market outside City Hall.

Tram stops in front of city hall.

Happy Christmas.

1989. The End of the Cold War. 25 Years on.

The End of the Cold War

Twenty five years ago this November, the Berlin Wall was torn down and with it, the Iron Curtain fell, and the communist Bloc countries found themselves a bit freer. Many of countries then looked to the West for their ideas. One of the consequences for education in these countries was that Russian was dropped at schools and English replaced it as a foreign language.

 

1956 Hungarian revolt

 

I found a reminder of these historic events the other day in a central street in Vienna. An artist from Ukraine, Mykola Bilart, exhibited the following tailor’s dummies to the title ‘Europe Wake Up!’ Many of the dummies mention previous dates, such as 1956 and 1968 when attempts made by Hungary and Czechoslovakia to become free of Soviet influence failed.

1989 Czechoslovakia

                                                                                 

1968 Czech revolt

End of Russian Involvement in afghanistan

Poland 1989

 

When Churchill made his famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech in 1946 in Fulton, Missouri, USA, he included Austria as behind the curtain (communist controlled), probably not knowing himself which way Austria would fall. Vienna was mentioned in the written version, but if you watch a spoken version he didn’t mention Vienna as being behind the curtain.

 Churchill's 'Iron Curtain Speech'.

As you can see Bilart’s works of art represent the various Eastern Bloc countries and the dates of counter-revolutions which date 25 years ago this month. 

 How does Vienna and Austria fit into the story? Well, the Russians ‘liberated’ Vienna, in 1945 (see the photos below of Denkmal der Roten Armee (Red Army Memorial) in Schwarzbergenplatz commemorating this. 

Red Army Soldier

Commermoration of Liberation of Vienna

 

Schwartzbergenplatz

Schwarzbergenplazt

It was only in 1955 that they agreed to leave Vienna, along with the Allied forces (France, the UK and the USA . The Russians’ (led by foreign minister Molotov of cocktail fame) condition was that Austria declare themselves a neutral country, similar to its neighbour, Switzerland.

However, yet again the Austria, proved to be the eastern border of Western Europe. Austria accepted aid from the US backed Marshall Plan and in 1955, (negotiated on behalf of the Soviet Union, by Molotov, of the cocktail fame) with allied and Soviet support, Austria declared itself to be neutral, similar its neighbour, Switzerland.

If you look at a map of Europe, you can see that Austria, and particularly Vienna, was surrounded on three sides by Communist countries (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia). In fact, it was the opening of the border between Hungary and Austria, that encouraged East Germans to escape to Western Germany and, pre-empting the fall of the Berlin Wall by 5 months.

One interesting titbit of history, is that four key players in WW2 and the subsequent Cold War (Adolph Hitler, Tito, Trotsky and Stalin were all in Vienna in 1913 and very possibly crossed paths in the famous cafés. (One of these, the Café Central, will be talked about later in this blog).

Ukranian artist Mykola Bilart (wearing beret).

  

You can see the artist himself here.

He believes that present day Ukraine is in a similar battle to the former communist Bloc countries and hence the title ‘Wake Up Europe!’.

 Sources.

Kühnhart, A. 2009. The Fall of the Berlin Wall and European Integration https://www.google.es/#q=the%20fall%20of%20the%20berlin%20wall%20and%20european%20integration%20ludger%20k%C3%BChnhardt Last accessed 29/11/2014

Tarr, R. 2011. Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain speech’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2PUIQpAEAQ

Last accessed 29/11/2014

History Beta. 2013. Vienna, Austria and the Iron curtain

http://history.stackexchange.com/questions/6099/austria-and-iron-curtain-during-cold-war

Last accessed 29/11/2014

Fordham University. N.D. Modern History Sourcebook: Winston S. Churchill:

‘Iron Curtain Speech’, March 5, 1946

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/churchill-iron.asp

Last accessed 29/11/2014

Vienna Allotments after almost 100 years.

Kleingartens (Small gardens).

Zukunft auf der Schmeltz

(The Future on the Schmeltz)

There are 659 allotment plots on the old parade ground.

  

During WW1 food was short in Vienna and 'Kriegsgemüsefelden' (War vegetable fields and 'Kleingarten' (small gardens) were encouraged. After the WW1 in 1918, food remained  in Vienna was in short supply and there were many unemployed soldiers and many underused military facilities. 

Radezky Infantry Barracks from the Kleingartens.

Fieldmarshall Radetzky Commemorated.

Der Schmultz, had been a military parade ground, where the famous Field Marshall Josef Graf Radetsky, viewed his trooped as they marched to the waltz written for him by Strauss the Elder (supposedly written to prevent Strauss the younger being enlisted in the army). 

A pleasant small house on an allotment in front of the Radetzky barracks.

Gardeners associations were formed and when Austria became a republic Der Schmeltz became property of the Republic, which rented out the land to the associations.

Mouths were fed, and military hardware was made way for the ploughshare. The hundreds of families who were able to feed themselves on the Schmeltz started to enjoy the summers on their allotments. 

 

There was fresh air and plants and trees and many families decided to build little huts for shelter on those warm summer nights. A holiday in the city. 


Some of the the huts became more substantial and, 15 years ago, it became legal to build on 30m2 of the plots. It is interesting how often the law follows the practice of what people were already doing!

 

So where are the vegetables?

Perfect for summer! Note flats in the background.

                       All sorts of modern wooden, brick, glass and concrete tiny house gems!

A row of tiny houses.

At the weekends people come to visit and ogle the tidy little gardens, (no longer vegetables, but flowers) and the beautiful tiny houses, which perhaps are lived in for more than the summer months.It is very pleasant to stroll alongside the tiny houses and gardens on a sunny winter's day.

Tiny houses at the edge of der Schmeltz.

A modest wooden house.

Now, all over Vienna, there are thousands of tiny holiday houses, built on tiny plots, next to one another. They encourage a return to nature, in the city, neighbourliness and civic pride.