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social issues & initiatives | Austria | by Barbara Tóth | 2010-06
“Never again”Danielle Spera, since Juli 1, 2010 manager of the Jewish Museum Vienna, in conversation with Barbara Tóth about thematising the Holocaust, the current relation to racism and xenophobia, as well as possible prevention.Barbara Tóth: Ms Spera, did you see the film “Inglourious Basterds” by Quentin Tarantino which earned the Austrian actor Christoph Waltz an Oscar as Best Actor in a supporting role?Danielle Spera: Yes, I did – immediately on the first evening. How did you like it? Let us say that it is a film which I will always remember. It is violent entertainment à la Tarantino with popcorn, Coke and thigh-slapping adolescents at the cinema. The Jews take revenge on the Nazis and finally scratch a Svastika into the villain’s forehead – great, no further questions, and let’s go for a drink afterwards. I was shocked by that. A lot has been written about this film – among other things that it heralds a new era of dealing with the Holocaust. Because it was “cold history” at last, it was possible now to shoot funny action thrillers like “Inglourious Basterds” about it. Do you see it that way, too? No, not at all. The Shoah happend right here in Europe, in the midst of highly civilised people who either were perpetrators or looked away. It makes this event unique, even if now that is slowly happening what contemporary history calls “historisation”. Therefore it still remains the most important thing to point out how this could happen in order to prevent any repetition. Still, memory culture has to change regarding the Holocaust. Soon there will be no more witnesses to give lectures for school classes. Alas, that is true. The witnesses will not be there much longer, and only a few are healthy and strong enough to talk about their horrible experiences. However, luckily numerous memories have been recorded. There are, e.g., organisations like Centropa who process these records to make them easily accessible for a young audience – or one that has had no previous information. For me, the institution to pass on knowledge about our past ist still school and not cinema. It is definitely the task of tuition to make adolescents acquainted with such projects. Is it hard to imagine for someone who was born before 1975, but for today’s youths the Holocaust lies about as far back as World War One for us. How is it possible to put the singularity of this crime into a contemporary context? It seems to be so indeed. But I find it fascinating that it was young people who initiated campaigns like “Letter to the stars” or “Blumen der Erinnerung” (Flowers of Memory) where youths placed thousands of roses in front of the entrances of Viennese houses to show that Viennese Jews were expelled from these houses. These were impressive campaigns and executed with unbelievable dedication. The important point about thematising the Holocaust is creating a contemporary context again and again – e.g., with racism, prejudice and xenophobia in contemporary politics, because it was the same methods which made the National Socialists strong. Isn’t there a danger of overload, too? Youth researchers know the phenomenon that adolescents provoke with Nazi symbols without knowing their historical meaning, only because they know that they are breaking a taboo. How does one deal with that? It is exactly those youths one has to communicate intensively with. They want to provoke and are searching for symbols to do it. On the one hand, they certainly need more insight into history. On the other hand, one also has to search for the reasons for their aggression. Contemporary history alone is no solution for someone who, e.g., doesn’t find an apprenticeship and canalises this through race-baiting. That is where parents, teachers and the social surroundings have to share the responsibility. Teachers often relate that for example for children with a migratory background the Holocaust has hardly any or an entirely different meaning. That makes mediation difficult. How can one make the Holocaust understandable beyond the borders of belief and culture? Alas, youths who come from the “modern” war zones of this world, e.g., from former Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Afghanistan or the Kurdish part of Turkey often already know racism, persecution and so-called ethnic cleansing from their own experience. One can cautiously tie up to this knowledge. I believe that it is most important to call attention to the principle on which this is founded. This means sensitising the adolescents for the sources of racisms. To show how quick the step from everyday racism to mass executions even in Nazi times. That people were segregated, stigmatised, and how easy it thus became to prepare the ground for what happened afterwards. One should point that out again and again. The organisation Yad Vashem which has a branch of its own in Austria, makes commemoration and education projects. Yad Vashem is a memorial which everyone should see. Whether one wants it or not, one is continuously confronted with Austria there, be it through perpetrators coming from Austria, through victims or the scenes of crimes. Yad Vashem Austria does valuable work to make people aware of that. The Holocaust as central memorial place of Europe – does that work? For those who go to school today unified Europe is normal. The European Union is founded on the principle of “never again”. The rejection of all ideologies which led to the Holocaust is part of its foundation myth. This should be as self-evident for today’s adolescents as neutrality was a part of Austrian identity for our generation. Of course it is better to put it in a positive way: Racism and violation of human rights habe no place in Europe. “Act before it is too late” is still valid. One of your main tasks as new manager of the Jewish Museum is developing exhibitions that are interesting for the young generation, too. What are your concrete plans? Many young people are afraid to ask: What is Jewish? What does it mean to be a Jew? They grew up with the silence of their grandparents’ generation, and for their parents Jewry mostly doesn’t play any role at all because there are hardly any Jews left in Vienna. At the same time, there is great curiosity concerning Jewry. The Jewish Museum should be a place where they get answers to their questions, are able to get rid of their uncomfortableness and get to know that being Jewish is perfectly normal. Of course it is important to me that the Shoah stays in our memory, but that is not the only thing by which Jewry defines itself. First of all, Jewishness always was the life of manifold religious traditions, dealing with spiritual matters, with culture and the sciences, in the tension field of Europe’s Jewish-Christian culture which has brought forth such brilliant personalities and works. How do you want to communicate this? There’s a wonderful way to do this. The history of Vienna is inseparably connected with the history of the Jews in Vienna. Many young people do not know this at all. I want to point this out. The Museum has unbelievably interesting objects, each of which tells a fascinating story. It is also important for me to present the religion, to show Jewish Vienna today – how alive it is, how many parallels there are with other religions. This can be the source of fruitful discussions, especially for youths with a migratory background. Many visitors – young ones, too – will still know you from the ORF news. How do you deal with this prominence? By employing it for my concern. I will stand up against anti-Semitism and any form of xenophobia. Self-confidently, occasionally fiercely, but not aggressively. I want to find dialogue. That is the only way to make progress. Danielle Spera (*1957) began work as a free-lance staff member of the ORF’s foreign matters department in 1978. From 1987 on the publicist with a degree worked as a correspondent at the ORF office in Washington; since 1988 she has moderated “Zeit im Bild 1”. From 1990 until 2002 she also was assistant lecturer at the Institute for Journalism and Communication Studies in Vienna. Since 2000 Spera has been permanent author for the Jewish magazine “NU”. As of July 1, 2010 Danielle Spera takes over the management of the Jewish Museum of the City of Vienna. Barbara Tóth is an author, editorial journalist for the Viennese city paper “Falter”, and editor in chief of the Jewish magazine for politics and culture “NU”. Her latest publications are “1986. Das Jahr, das Österreich veränderte” (Czernin Verlag, Wien 2006) and “Wahl 2008. Strategien, Sieger, Sensationen” (Molden Verlag, Wien 2008, with Thomas Hofer). External links: YAD VASHEM
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