Tour Locations | Vienna and the Holocaust: From Tragedy to Justice

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LOCATION 1
Vienna and the Holocaust
Hello and welcome to the VoiceMap walking tour “Vienna and the Holocaust: Tragedy and Justice.” My name is Raymond White, and I am Krista White, and we will be your guides. Our life has been one ...
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LOCATION 2
Leopoldstadt
Keep going straight.
We are in Leopoldstadt also known as Vienna’s 2nd District. This was, and still remains the heart of the Jewish community in Vienna. Among its notable residents, Sigmund F...
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LOCATION 3
Nestroyhof Theatre
Stop here for a moment. You should be at the large blue Ubahn sign at the crosswalk at the corner of Nestroyplatz and Praterstrasse. You will see the Apotheke in the yellow building in front you.....
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LOCATION 4
Tempelgasse
Continue walking along the sidewalk on Tempelgasse keeping the theatre on your left.
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LOCATION 5
Leopoldstadt Temple
Stop here please.
"The synagogue was attacked, all the windows were shattered, the pews were smashed, the curtain on the Ark torn into pieces, and a Torah scroll thrown outside. The entire con...
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LOCATION 6
Untere Donaustrasse
You should now be facing the canal. Turn right onto Untere Donaustrasse and continue straight.
You should now be approaching the first bridge which is on your left. Let’s keep walking, and ta...
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LOCATION 7
History of Jewish Vienna
As we walk to our next stop, which will be the second bridge on your left, let’s also walk through the history of Jewish Vienna.
Theirs is a history of repeated exile and return, as well as pr...
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LOCATION 8
History of Jewish Vienna continued
So far, we have been walking through the neighborhoods of Leopoldstadt or “Leopold’s City.” Unknown to most, this regal-sounding name has a dark history. Here’s why.
By the mid-1600s, a robu...
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LOCATION 9
Schweden Bridge
Okay, let’s cross the Schweden Bridge and walk toward the city. Use the pedestrian crossing on your left to access the bridge. We will be walking towards the Schwedenplatz Ubahn station on the oth...
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LOCATION 10
Danube Canal
Stop on the bridge.
You are standing over the Danube Canal, which was a major route for shipping goods into the city. Behind you is Leopoldstadt. In front of you in the first district of Vie...
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LOCATION 11
Franz Josefs Kai
Okay, use the pedestrian crossing in front of you to walk towards the city.
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LOCATION 12
Schwedenplatz
You should see in front of you a blue street sign that says Schwedenplatz. At the sign, turn right and cross the crosswalk.
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LOCATION 13
Vienna Woods
You should be walking along the sidewalk with the tram tracks to your right.
Continue straight along the shop-lined sidewalk in front of you. You will pass the Ubahn station and several food st... -
LOCATION 14
Simon Wiesenthal background
Cross the street and turn left at McDonalds onto Rotenturmstrasse.
While you walk, let's talk about Simon Wiesenthal, the greatest Nazi-hunter of all time and a central character in our theme o...
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LOCATION 15
Rotenturmstrasse
At the Hard Rock Cafe, turn right into the alley.
On three separate occasions, Wiesenthal was lined up to be shot. Each time, the gunmen failed to reach him in line. Another execution was ha...
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LOCATION 16
Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies
Turn to your left and walk up the street about 15 paces and stop in front of the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies. It will be on your right. It houses the papers of Simon Wiesen...
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LOCATION 17
Seitenstettengasse
Take your immediate left. Walk up the sloped street of Seitenstettengasse.
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LOCATION 18
Stadttempel
Stop here for a moment. On your left is the Stadttempel, Vienna’s main synagogue the City Temple.
The pogrom of 9-10 November 1938, the “Night of Broken Glass”, was particularly brutal in Vienn...
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LOCATION 19
St. Rupert's church
At the top of the hill, turn right. Walk towards St. Rupert's church.
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LOCATION 20
Ruprechtsplatz 5
Turn right here. Ahead on your right is Ruprechtsplatz 5. Stop in front of the sign.
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LOCATION 21
O5 Resistance Group
Throughout WW2, the most prominent pro-Austrian resistance group was called the O5. You are standing near their clandestine headquarters in the basement of Ruprechtsplatz 5 — a nondescript apartm...
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LOCATION 22
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LOCATION 23
Bottom of steps
Now that you are at the bottom of the steps, turn left.
Follow the paved path through the grassy area across the park towards the canal.
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LOCATION 24
Stone memorial
Turn left and follow the sidewalk. We'll be stopping at the large stone memorial on your left.
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LOCATION 25
Hotel Metropole
Stop here please.
This green space in front of you was once the most feared location in Vienna. This was the site of the Gestapo headquarters, housed in the luxurious Hotel Metropole. The Nazis...
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LOCATION 26
Towards Golsdorfgasse
Cross the pedestrian sidewalk in front of you and continue walking straight until you reach the next corner, Golsdorfgasse.
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LOCATION 27
Golsdorfgasse
Now, turn left here on Goldorfstrasse. Our next stop will be 7 Rudolfsplatz which will be on your left.
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LOCATION 28
Karl Silberbauer
Stop here please.
Nazi Hunter Simon Wiesenthal worked in a small office on the 3rd floor of the building on the left at Rudolfsplatz 7, until 1975. It was in this office that Wiesenthal learne...
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LOCATION 29
Gonzagagasse
Continue walking to the corner and then stop and look to the left.
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LOCATION 30
Documentation Center to the Victims of the Gestapo
Stop here at the corner. Look across the street to the left at the large apartment building.
In 1975, Nazi Hunter Simon Wiesenthal moved his office to Apartment 5 on the 2nd floor of that build...
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LOCATION 31
Saltzorgasse
Cross the street and continue straight. Saltzorgasse will turn into Vorlaufstrasse. I will catch up with you at the traffic circle.
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LOCATION 32
Marcus Aurelius
Cross the street and continue straight on Marc Aurel Strasse.
This street was named after the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. History tells us that the Emperor died near this street in 180 AD ...
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LOCATION 33
Nazi resistance
Okay, turn right here onto Wipplingerstrasse and continue walking.
The resistance distributed leaflets to counter Nazi propaganda and collected donations to support the families of arrested indi...
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LOCATION 34
Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance
Pause here for a moment please.
This gorgeous building on your right houses the Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance or DÖW. At one time it was the Alte Rathaus. or Old Town Hall. In a...
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LOCATION 35
Futterergasse
You will see a wide cobblestone alley on your left across the street. Cross Wipplingerstrasse but be careful as there is no pedestrian crosswalk here. Continue down that wide alley. You are now...
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LOCATION 36
Vienna Holocaust Memorial
Stop here please.
In the center of Judenplatz, a basic yet elegant memorial reminds us of the Holocaust. Its concrete walls are shaped like an inside-out library containing 7,000 identical blan...
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LOCATION 37
Mariensäule
Continue down the alley until you see a large tall statue in the square which is also a parking lot.
Facing the statue, follow the sidewalk to your right. Take it all the way around the squar...
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LOCATION 38
Heideschuss
At the end of the sidewalk turn right onto Heideschuss. Walk one block, cross the sidewalk and continue straight. As you are aware, the theme of our walking tour today is “Tragedy and Justice.” ...
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LOCATION 39
Haganah
It is 1945 and the War has ended. A band of Holocaust survivors were determined to track down Adolf Eichmann and other Nazis who had escaped without a trace. These Jewish survivors were part of a...
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LOCATION 40
Adolf Eichmann
In 1947, Haganah members Arthur Pier, Tuviah Friedman, and Manus Diamant broke the Eichmann case wide open when they successfully acquired a photograph of him — the only known photograph at the tim...
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LOCATION 41
Maria Mösenbacher
Continue walking through Freyung Square. The sidewalk will curve to the right and the road will turn into Schottengasse. Continue straight.
Vienna, the pearl of the Habsburg Empire, was in ru...
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LOCATION 42
Manus Diamant
Continue walking straight and cross the next two streets.
While at Mösenbacher's apartment one evening, Diamant freely shared photographs of his travels in Europe.
As hoped for, Mösenbac...
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LOCATION 43
Schottengasse
We'll take a short break from our story so we can get through some directions.
At the Schottentor Ubahn station turn left and cross the pedestrian crosswalk. Then turn right and cross the cross...
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LOCATION 44
Votivkirche
With the city bike stations ahead of you, head toward the church. Stay to the left to walk on the path around the park. The Cathedral will always be on your right.
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LOCATION 45
Search for Eichman
Now back to our story...
Diamant discovered the photo of Eichman while visiting with Mosenbacher and could barely contain himself. He raced back to his office as fast as he could to share his ...
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LOCATION 46
Rooseveltplatz
Okay cross the pedestrian crosswalk and continue straight.
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LOCATION 47
Closing in on Eichmann
Cross the pedestrian crosswalk and immediately turn right, following the cobblestone path straight and then around the corner to the left. I'll let you know when to stop.
The Haganah sent the p...
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LOCATION 48
Haganah headquarters
Stop here.
The Haganah headquarters were located on the second floor of the building on the street corner ahead and to your right. You can identify it by the balcony around the corner office....
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LOCATION 49
Eichmann on the run
Now our plot really thickens. At the end of the war, Eichmann was on the run. He hid in the Alps masquerading as a low ranking Wehrmacht officer until he was captured by the U.S. Army. They had Eic...
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LOCATION 50
Back on Rooseveltplatz
Cross the crosswalk on your left and continue straight.
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LOCATION 51
Reichsratstrasse
Take the pedestrian crosswalk in front of you to the corner then turn right and cross the street again. This street is Reichsratstrasse. You will be heading toward the Rathaus or Town Hall. This...
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LOCATION 52
Ricardo Klement
In 1948, Eichmann obtained an International Committee for the Red Cross humanitarian passport under the new alias “Ricardo Klement.” Relying on Nazi sympathizers and ratlines, Eichmann successfully...
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LOCATION 53
Eichmann captured
Cross the street and walk towards the Rathaus in front of you. Walk to the front of the building.
Initially, Israel’s fledgeling intelligence agency, the Mossad, was skeptical. After reviewing ...
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LOCATION 54
Rathaus
Stop here.
The majestic building in front of you is the Rathaus, the centerpiece of Vienna. On 9 April 1938, almost one month after declaring the Anschluss, Hitler returned to Vienna and delive...
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LOCATION 55
Ringstrasse
The elegant building in front of you is the Burg Theater. Now, turn right and continue walking along the Ringstrasse.
This is the main thoroughfare where the medieval city wall stood. Emper...
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LOCATION 56
Alphonse Rothschild
Continue straight and cross the pedestrian crosswalks in front you. The Austrian Parliament will be on your right.
Alphonse Rothschild was an incredibly wealthy international banker. He was a...
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LOCATION 57
Hofburg Palace
On the opposite side of the street, you will see a large open area with palatial buildings behind a black fence. This is the Hofburg Palace, the home of the Habsburg Emperors. The large open area i...
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LOCATION 58
Burgring
Let’s cross this road. There is no crosswalk so be careful.
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LOCATION 59
Nazi plunder
The last chapter of our story concerns the Kunsthistoriches Museum, one of the world’s most renowned art galleries.
Alphonse Rothschild's brother Louis was not as lucky. He was arrested boardi...
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LOCATION 60
Monuments Men
After World War II, Allied forces uncovered the Nazi-looted artwork in the Austrian salt mines of Alt Aussee near Salzberg and began the process of returning it to its rightful owners. Clarice Roth...
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LOCATION 61
Kunsthistoriches Museum
Stop here please.
In 1999, Austria finally passed a national restitution law and the Rothschild family was able to recover only 250 of their paintings. Today, Vienna’s major museums and galle...