Remembrance in danger: business park planned on former concentration camps!

Remembrance in danger: business park planned on former concentration camps!

in the Baden district, in Leobersdorf, is to be built on the site of the former Hirtenberg concentration camp, the second largest women's concentration camp in Austria. As reports noe.orf.at , the building permit is already available, and the mayor Andreas Ramharter (List of future Leobersdorf) is said to have earned over a million euros by selling the property. The entire area comprises 81,000 square meters. These plans have caused massive excitement among the population, since many put the moral questions about the commercial use of the former concentration camp.

To clarify these questions, it was decided at the last council meeting to found a working group that deals with commemorative opportunities. This happened to an appeal from the Mauthausen Memorial. Surprisingly, however, the work of this group should only begin after the local council elections in January 2025, which initially pushed the discussion onto the long bank, according to Ramharter with reference to the limited ability of the community.

releases and financial profits

like puls24.at reported, ramharter via his real estate company by umwidmungen, over the years In 2023 and 2024, an additional 1.34 million euros. These relocations concern public traffic areas that have been converted into building land. In addition, there was a massive criticism from Mauthausen Memorial, which repeatedly pointed out that the commercial building from a historical location cannot be done without further ado, and made several attempts to initiate a dialogue that failed.

The question of political bias and dealing with historical sites is in the room. SPÖ spokeswoman Sabine Schatz described the plans as "unbearable forgetfulness of history" and called for the federal government intervention in order to secure the site as a memorial in the long term. The area is not under monument protection, since the remaining structures are not considered sufficient to maintain this protection, as the Federal Monument Office explained.