Ceremonial Opening of a Memorial Wall Plaque in Vienna’s 13th District, Hietzing:
October 4, 2019
Around 40 people gathered for the festive opening of a commemorative wall plaque in Hietzing.
The musical group Avanim opened the ceremony, with Daliah Hindler (vocals) Christoph Kögler (accordion) and Agnes Riha (violin) playing the partisan song “Sog nit keynmol”.
Roswitha Hammer provided opening words, speaking on behalf of politician Peter Florianschütz who unfortunately was unable to attend. She explained that this was the first initiative in Hietzing by the “Stones of Remembrance” Association that aims to provide a symbolic return for victims to Vienna. Speaking afterwards, District Council Representative Matthias Friedrich stated that commemorative culture in some of Vienna’s districts remains extremely difficult. For the time being it is not possible, for political reasons, to place a stone in the pavement of this district’s pavement. He expressed his gratitude to Margarethe Bröcker, initiator of the plaque, and the homeowner Hubert Dreßler for their efforts.
Elßlergasse 6
At this address, we commemorated Karl Haas’ relatives: his mother Hermine (née Lavetzky) Löwenthal, his stepfather Bruno Löwenthal, his brother Rudolf Haas’ and his half sister Ilse Löwenthal.
By initiating this plaque, Margarethe Bröcker would like to honour Karl Haas as well as her aunt, Karl Haas’ long time companion.
The ceremony was closed with Avanim playing the Jewish song: Oseh Shalom.