Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance

Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance

Have a look at a very nice Austrian history resource, the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstands [DoeW]).  As the name implies, the emphasis is on the history of fascism in Austria, particularly National Socialism and its victims.  Additionally, the Centre keeps tabs on modern-day Austrian right-wing activity.

Their english section contains a fair amount of content (click “english” on the left-side navigation when you get there), but of course the german content is more complete.

One of the more interesting sections of the DoeW’s site is the victim database, actually a collection of two databases, the first containing Gestapo arrest records, the second the names of 62,000 Holocaust victims.  Both databases are searchable by name.  The Gestapo search even contains an option to search by victim group.  For example, you can limit your search to Roma/Sinti arrestees.

You will definitely want to have a look if your area of interest is the Holocaust period or modern right-wing extremism.

Note: The photo accompanying this post comes directly from the Nicht mehr anonym project on the DoeW website.  The front page of that project shows random Gestapo victims (i.e., if you continue to refresh the page, you will see different victims each time).  This particular photo is described as follows:

Emma Bauer, Wien
Geboren am 28. Jänner 1889

Weil sie sich “wiederholt in abträglicher Weise über den Ausgang des Krieges” äußerte, wurde Emma Bauer am 21. 5. 1943 festgenommen. Gegen sie wurde Schutzhaft beantragt.

The reason given for her arrest is that she continuously made disparaging remarks about the outcome of the war.  At the time of her arrest she would have been 54 years old.