Sixty years following the end of the Nazi terror regime, and fifty years after the signing of the Austrian State Treaty, a monument is to be erected in Vienna to commemorate the homosexual and transgender victims of National Socialism. Morzinplatz has been selected to be the site of this monument. It is here that the GESTAPO headquarters were located from March 1938 to 1945. Here people perished from maltreatment, committed suicide or were sent to camps. How many of the Austrians who were murdered in the concentration camps were actually homosexual or transgender can no longer be determined with certainty. According to estimates, about 15,000 people lost their lives.
As early as 1951, the organization of concentration camp survivors unveiled a commemorative plaque for the victims of the GESTAPO at Morzinplatz; it was subsequently removed since its erection had not been authorized. In 1985, the City of Vienna erected a still existing monument for the victims of fascism on this location. In 2001 activists at the Europride Parade added a bar to this monument in memory of the homosexual and transgender victims. Since Morzinplatz is a stop on the annual Regenbogen Parade, the future monument commemorating those persecuted for their sexual orientation will remain a focus of the activities of the present dynamic community.
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To develop a fitting project that will also take into account the artistic tasks and the historical and symbolic significance of Morzinplatz, eight renowned artists from all over the world have been invited to participate in a competition coordinated and financed by “Art in Public Space Vienna”. The monument for homosexual and transgender victims of National Socialism is intended to serve as a visible commemorative sign for a group of victims which is still repressed by the general public and has yet to be recognized elsewhere, e.g., in Austria’s legislation concerning the support of victims of National Socialism. The winner of the competition is expected to be announced by the end of 2005 at the latest.
Invited artists who have agreed to participate:
AA Bronson
Tom Burr
Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset
Ines Doujak
Hans Kupelwieser
Matt Mullican
Ann-Sofi Sidén
Monument for victims of the Nazi terror regime
Photographs of the Regenbogen Parade 05
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