New exhibition areas in the Gusen concentration camp are also intended to relieve the burden on the residents

The most recent citizen information on the “Gusen Concentration Camp” master plan in the Langenstein municipal office was also the best attended. While those responsible for the implementation process, including memorial director Barbara Glück and project manager Robert Vorberg, presented the legal and organizational work that had been completed since the beginning of the year, the residents’ interest focused primarily on the construction measures specified in the master plan.

Protect privacy

Concern was expressed several times that the expansion would result in a significant increase in visitor numbers and thus a burden on the population living directly next to the memorial: “Already, on peak days, many residential streets and driveways are parked. Visitors look over the fences our gardens and living rooms.”

This is exactly what the new design and communication concept wants to prevent, director Glück assured the affected Gusen residents: “The additional parking areas and, above all, the newly created welcome zone at the SS barracks in the east of the settlement should help us to better direct the flow of visitors, When it came to landscaping measures, we also kept a very close eye on the visual axes.” Accessibility by public transport will play a major role in the parking problem, said Robert Vorberg: “Our goal is accessibility for all target groups on the one hand and minimizing the burden on residents on the other hand.”

Criticism was expressed at the information evening on the audio path “The Invisible Camp”. This leads visitors through the middle of the settlement and should therefore be revised. Vorberg promised that this suggestion would be incorporated into the design process. The routes of future educational programs could help here, says Bernhard Mühleder from the memorial’s educational team: “The majority of visitors come in groups. With our themed tours, we have control over where we go with these groups and where we don’t.” The number of people exploring the area on their own will decrease significantly.

A curious problem has already been solved: Google Maps previously located the Gusen Memorial exactly in front of a neighbor’s garage. The entry has now been corrected. “A few days after our first attempt, the point moved back, but it should now work,” says Julius Sevcik, an employee at the concentration camp memorial.

The mayor of Langenstein, Christian Aufreiter, made an appeal to continue to be actively involved in the citizens’ dialogue: “The fear that decisions will be made in Vienna without listening to us has not come to pass. Things are going very well and I will make sure that it stays that way. “