29 February 2008
An artwork commemorating the suffering of Austrian Jews under the Nazis has been destroyed shortly after it was installed. Artist Peter Wagner had planted the 70 wooden stakes last week alongside a road in the town of Oberschützen, near a controversial memorial that serves as a reminder of Germany's annexation of Austria on 13 March 1938. According to the ‘Kurier’ newspaper, Wagner's project was called ‘Zone38 – 70 years after the annexation’, and was dedicated to the memory of the Jews of the Oberwart district. Wagner reported the incident to the police.
Oberschüzen’s mayor, Gunter Toth, was quoted by the JTA news agency as saying that he had noticed that many stakes had been removed but thought it had something to do with traffic regulations. Wagner said the vandalism was probably a deliberate act by those who disliked being reminded of the past. Austria has been slow to recognize its complicity in Nazi crimes. "Someone deliberately did this, removing the stakes so we can't set them back up again," he said. Wagner has another art remembrance project scheduled to open nearby in mid-March.