80 years of liberation: Historical bracelet in the Jewish Museum Vienna

80 years of liberation: Historical bracelet in the Jewish Museum Vienna

Dorotheergasse 11, 1010 Wien, Österreich - On May 2, 2025, the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp marks the 80th time. In this context, the Jewish Museum Vienna opens a new shop window from May 5, 2025, which illuminates the history of the survivors. The focus is on the prisoner bracelet with the number 701, which belonged to Britta Lamberg, which was born in 1927 and died in 2020. This bracelet, symbol of her suffering and survival, was given to the Jewish Museum in 1997.

Britta Lamberg was deported to Theresienstadt in 1942 together with her parents. In 1944 the family was continued to go to Auschwitz, where their parents were probably murdered immediately after arrival. Britta herself spent a few days in Auschwitz before being transferred to the Lenzing outdoor camp of Mauthausen concentration camp. Here she received number 701, which was impressed on her metal bracelet. Forced labor in the Lenzing cell wool factory was her everyday life until it was freed by American troops on May 5, 1945.

The project "Liberation, Objects!"

The shop window is part of the project "Liberation, Objects!", Which was initiated by the Mauthausen concentration camp memorial. The aim of the project is to stimulate 80 years after the liberation to deal with the history of the Mauthausen, Gusen camp and their outdoor camps. A total of 52 institutions, including museums, archives and memorials, take part. They show objects, photographs and documents connected to the system of concentration camps.

In order to promote European memory culture, the exhibition "Tell me where the flowers are ..." will also be shown on May 8, 2025. This includes Roger Cremers photographs and deals with the aftermath of Schoa and the Second World War to the present.

The history of the Mauthausen concentration camp

The context of Mauthausen's liberation is crucial for understanding the events of that time. In April 1945, the SS members began to remove traces of their crimes while the Allied troops moved closer. In the period before the liberation, there were massive losses among the prisoners. On May 3, 1945, the last SS members fled from the Mauthausen and Gusen camps.

On May 5, 1945, American troops finally reached the camps and freed around 40,000 prisoners. In the previous days, many prisoners died, so hundreds of bodies were found during the liberation. Even after the liberation, many survivors died of the consequences of their detention conditions. Of the total of around 190,000 prisoners of the Mauthausen concentration camp and its outer camp, only about 100,000 survived.

The processing of these dark chapters of history remains of great importance. The initiatives such as those of the Jewish Museum Vienna and the project "Liberation, Objects!" contribute to preserving the stories of the survivors like that of Britta Lamberg and keeping the memory of the events.

The shop window is available for visitors in the Jewish Museum Vienna, Dorotheergasse 11, 1010 Vienna, freely accessible around the clock.

press.wien.gv.at | mauthausen-memorial.org-The liberation | Mauthausen-Memorial.org-Mauthausen 1938-1945