Legal Law

Renewed hdgö demand to open the “Hitler balcony”

The arbor of the Neue Burg on Vienna’s Heldenplatz, known in common parlance as the “Hitler balcony”, was to be made accessible to visitors in the future. The director of the House of History Austria (HdGÖ), Monika Sommer, is again campaigning for this. “A ban on entry as before is not an appropriate approach,” said the hdgö boss to the German Press Agency (dpa). Two years ago, the house launched an ideas competition for the use of the arbor.

The hdgö plays on the exhibition area in front of the “Hitler balcony”. It was renamed Alma Rosé-Plateau when it opened in autumn 2018. The arbor itself has remained almost completely closed since 1945. In the past few years, Sommer has already thought about opening the store several times. “As a first step, there should be guided tours for those who are interested,” she said now.

In a survey among visitors to the house, a clear majority were in favor of opening up and dealing with this historically burdened place.

Just the view from there of the Federal Chancellery, the Parliament, the official seat of the Federal President and the Vienna City Hall is suitable for educating people about democracy as a counterweight to dictatorial developments.

On March 15, 1938, from the approximately 200 square meter terrace of the Hofburg, Adolf Hitler gave the speech on the “connection” of Austria to the National Socialist German Reich to the cheering of the masses. “Even 76 years after the end of Nazi rule, Nazi-contaminated houses are still causing heated debates. Opening the terrace of the Neue Burg would be an important symbol for the republic’s new way of dealing with these disturbing places,” said Sommer.

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