Greens slam Nazi tower plans

The Vienna Greens have slammed plans to turn a Nazi anti air raid tower in the capital into a data centre.

The party said yesterday (Mon) they were against the plans to turn one of the two air raid tower in Vienna�s Arenberg Park into a data centre since such war relics should survive as they were as war memorials.

The towers date back to the Nazi era in Austria.

Greens� city planning spokeswoman Sabine Gretner said: "The horror of war can be spatially experienced there."

She called for a round table of representatives of the city government, the federal memorial office and scientists with the goal of arranging tours of the towers. She claimed they were in good enough condition that it would only be necessary to install interior lighting for tours to begin.

Gretner said memorials of National Socialism were of "enormous importance in making young people historically conscious" at a time when "some parties were near to violating the law forbidding neo Nazi behaviour and ideology."

"A data centre can be put into any old industrial building," she added.

Heidemarie Uhl from the Austrian Academy of Sciences said that the tower, one of six in the city, should remain as it was for historic reasons. She added that the 39-metre-high tower had a European dimension in its present form.

It was both a reminder of the spirit of National Socialism and a memorial to the forced labourers who had erected it, she said, noting that the workers had scrawled graffiti on the inside walls of the tower that would not survive renovation work.

The towers� ostensible purpose, combating enemy aircraft, had been secondary since the real reason for their construction had been for them to serve as "propaganda edifices that would be turned into heroes� memorials after the war," she said.

Architectural theorist Jan Tabor said he feared Vienna was turning into "a historical Disneyland without historic wounds � operatic bliss is spreading." He added there was too much concentration on Potemkin facades rather than on preservation of buildings� interiors.

Vienna Social Democratic (SP�) councillor Michael Ludwig confirmed that the city government was talking with a prospective operator of the data centre about its rental of the tower rather than its purchase of it.

A spokesman for Ludwig added that the main questions were the use to which the towers should be put and the financing for it. A data centre had the advantage that its installation would not entail major renovations that would violate protection of memorials.

The spokesman added Ludwig hoped for a solution during the first half of this year.

A similar tower in Vienna�s Esterhazy Park houses the popular "Haus des Meeres" aqua terra zoo.

Austrian Times

Write your comment to this article here

Tag cloud:
tower bliss data Nazi rental Austria raid National government Greens memorials Vienna survive tours Socialism renovation wounds spokeswoman historic Gretner

Latest News

Jennifer Rostock to strike twice
German punk rock stars Jennifer Rostock will perform in Austria twice as part of their current tour, it has been announced.

Salzburg boy foils attempted abduction
A 10-year-old school boy had a narrow escape on Monday when a man tried to abduct him on his way home from school.

Siemens lay-offs may hit Austrian workers
Munich technology firm Siemens announced yesterday (Weds) that it would lay off 4,200 workers in its IT division SIS.

Schwarzenegger Museum to open in summer
The house where Arnold Schwarzenegger was born is to open as a museum.

Car dealers spared by downturn
The economic downturn has had minimal effect on Austrian car dealers as the number of newly registered cars soared last year.

Minister calls for CO2 emissions tax
Austria's environment minister has called for the introduction of a carbon tax that he says would bring in 1.5 to 2.0 billion Euros of revenue annually, according to today�s (Thurs) edition of the newspaper Die Presse.

Seasonal workers number cut
There will be 3.5 per cent fewer foreign seasonal workers in agriculture and forestry this year than in 2009, Social Democratic (SP�) Labour Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer said today (Thurs).

Google Street View cars to roll over Austria again
Google Street View cars are expected to drive all across Austria again this weekend as temperatures are expected to rise.

Asylum seeker tries to torch himself
An Afghan asylum seeker tried to burn himself to death at a petrol station in Hall in Tyrol�s Innsbruck-Land district yesterday (Weds), police said.

Majority believe in some kind of God
Sixty-nine per cent of Austrians believe in some kind of God, according to results of a new poll by Linz public opinion research institute IMAS released today (Thurs).

The most popular stories –
last 7 days

	Giant eye tumour horror
	Nazi era mass grave discovered in Graz
	Vienna Boys Choir faces sexual abuse claims
	Vienna to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with cultural festival
	Real life World War II fairytale to hit the silver screen