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The Detour via Remembrance Leads Us to Ourselves

Since 1994 the charity Erinnern-Villach attempts to call into the public's mind the repressed aspects of Villach's national socialist past. With this in mind we organised a series of events, prepared various publications and initiated a public discussion on this issue.

We place particular importance on uncovering the names of those men, women, and children, who fell victim to the NS tyranny. To date, we have documented the life-dates of more than a hundred people and made them accessible to the public. The investigation into the names and lives of the Sinti of Villach has proved to be especially difficult and full of obstacles.

Various documents and interviews with people who witnessed the 1938 November pogrom and the deportation of Jews and Gypsies are published on this website for the very first time.

Since 1996 we organise an annual remembrance ceremony on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1938 November pogrom.

After a long and controversial public discussion we succeeded in installing a "Memorial of Names" in Widmanngasse opposite the City Museum, which was unveiled in the spring of 1999. This memorial features the names, dates of birth, days and places of death of those children, women, and men who fell victim to the Nazi regime. It is the only sign of remembrance in Villach that commemorates the atrocities of the Nazi dictatorship. Since the unveiling of this memorial we have organised an annual public remembrance ceremony. The memorial, which was designed by the artist Heinz Aichernig, is a living monument. Each time research brings information about new victims to light it is extended. Today it consists of 116 name-plates.

In April 2003 and again May 2004 the memorial was defiled by unknown culprits. Thanks to donations we were able to restore the memorial and each time we celebrated its renovation with an opening ceremony.

The memory and the elucidation of the holocaust is the main aim of our charity. We therefore cooperate with similar organizations in Carinthia as well as in the rest of Austria. With this spirit we keep on working and planning for a variety of future events and activities.

Unfortunately the information on this website is currently only available in German. However, should you require any of the information in English or another language, we will be more than happy to help you. So please do not hesitate to contact us.