Since last weekend, the memorial for the Gmunden victims of National Socialism has been mounted on the sea wall of Herrmann-Kais on the Esplanade. Traunsee waves glitter through a metal band with the names of 60 Gmundners who were killed during the terror regime for racist, religious and political reasons, because of their disability or sexual orientation.
The memorial was suggested by General i. R. Hubertus Trauttenberg and the local historian Holger Höllwerth, who has done a great job in coming to terms with the Nazi era in Gmunden in recent years and saved many of the now immortalized names from oblivion.
Originally, the memorial was to be built at the Jewish cemetery in the city cemetery. But the city officials instead opted for a place where as many people as possible can see the memorial – and so they came up with the Esplanade.
The Gmunden architect Franz Ellmauer prevailed in the ideas competition for the monument. The jury particularly liked the poetic, reserved design. The memorial is a simple metal band in which the names of the Nazi victims have been omitted and are therefore literally missing.
Because the special metal was not available for a long time, the celebratory official unveiling is no longer possible this year. This will take place in conjunction with the Gmunden world premiere of the musical “Briefe von Ruth” on March 31, 2023. Until then, the fates of all Gmunden Nazi victims researched by the Gmunden historian Holger Höllwerth can also be read on the web via QR code.
The musical tells about the life and death of the Austrian Anne Frank, the Jewess Ruth Maier, who was found in hiding in Oslo and murdered in Auschwitz on December 1, 1942.
Source: Nachrichten
