Visitor program: Tracing history in Vienna

At the invitation of the Jewish Welcome Service, a group of 40 “Second Generation” Jews visited Vienna in mid-October. The program for the guests from Australia, Argentina, Spain, the USA, Canada, England, and Israel included visits to memorials, receptions at the Federal Chancellery and Vienna City Hall, as well as a visit to the National Library.

At the start of their visit, the group was welcomed at the Federal Chancellery by State Secretary Alexander Pröll. Another central point of the program was the reception at Vienna City Hall by City Councilor for Culture, Veronica Kaup-Hasler. The visitor program also included the Shoah Name Wall, the Aspang Station Memorial, and the “For the Child” statue at Vienna Westbahnhof, which commemorates the “Kindertransport.” The expert guides included Hannah Lessing, National Fund of the Republic of Austria, and Milli Segal, who put together the exhibition “For the Child.”

A special highlight was a customized tour of the State Hall of the Austrian National Library (ÖNB). The Austrian National Library is considered a pioneer in provenance research and the restitution of books stolen during the Nazi era.

Counting on America

For Gary Reiner from the United States, visiting Vienna was a particularly profound experience. It was especially emotional for him to find the names of his maternal and paternal ancestors on the Shoah Wall of Names. Gary had already visited Vienna a decade ago to follow in the footsteps of his parents, who survived the Holocaust. Gary’s father Kurt was unable to complete a book based on his memoirs before he passed away in 1985. Gary managed to complete the work for his father: Counting on America was published in 2018. During his trip to Vienna, Gary told his family story at the Kenyongasse secondary school (Vienna 7th district).