Preserving memory: Exhibition in the Jewish Museum Vienna on the Second World War

Preserving memory: Exhibition in the Jewish Museum Vienna on the Second World War

On April 30, 2025, the Jewish Museum Vienna announces a major exhibition dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in 1945. The exhibition sheds light on the European culture of remembrance and the aftermath of the Shoah and the Second World War. Photographer Roger Cremers, born in 1972, is the main protagonist of this prestigious show, entitled “World War Two Today”, which has existed since 2008. Cremers documents historical, contaminated landscapes as well as former theaters of war and memorial sites in Europe.

The press tour will take place on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. in the Jewish Museum Vienna at Judenplatz 8, 1010 Vienna. Director Barbara Staudinger and curators Adina Seeger and Andrea Winklbauer will take part in the event. Anyone interested can register by calling +43 1 535 04 31-1519 or by email at presse@jmw.at.

The legacy of the Second World War

The Second World War, which severely destroyed Europe from 1939 to 1945 and caused immeasurable human suffering, still leaves noticeable traces today. The project, initiated by Roger Cremers, came from a personal experience visiting the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. There he noticed that the place was increasingly perceived as a tourist attraction, which led to his decision to create a documentary series about the phenomenon of tourist behavior. This inspired him to take a closer look at how people in Europe deal with the legacy of this war

He discovered that different places have different approaches to keeping memories alive. In countries like Poland, war is often perceived as an existential threat, while neutral countries like Switzerland have a different perspective. These individual experiences shape national cultures of remembrance and show how important it is not to forget the legacy of the war in order to learn from these times.

Commemoration and culture of remembrance

The discussion about commemoration has evolved over the decades. In the last 70 years since the liberation of Europe, commemoration of the war has become more abstract and personal. People are looking for new ways to keep memories alive and fulfill the duty of remembrance. This is all the more important as the number of contemporary witnesses is dwindling and personal stories are in danger of being forgotten.

The historical evidence about the Second World War shows that military and political narratives differ from country to country. While May 8th is celebrated as Liberation Day in France and Poland, it has long been a contentious issue in Germany. These differences are also reflected in national founding myths and influence how people interpret history.

The upcoming exhibition in the Jewish Museum Vienna will not only offer an artistic representation of historical events, but also a platform for examining the challenges of the culture of remembrance. It is a call to learn the lessons of history and keep the memories of the victims alive, while at the same time maintaining the need for the transition from a wartime society to a peacetime society.