This paper investigates whether and how the idea of European integration has been a subject of politics of remembrance in Vienna. It draws conclusions from the interdisciplinary research project “Politics of remembrance and the transition of public spaces. A political and social analysis of Vienna, 1995-2015” conducted at the University of Vienna from 2014 to 2016.
The research project investigates all memorials and other material items of remembrance addressing the political violence of Austrofascism and Nazism and have been erected in public spaces in Vienna since 1945 with an emphasis on the period of the last twenty years. It tackles the following questions: Who are the protagonists of politics of remembrance in Vienna? How is it shaped and regulated? What meanings are ascribed to practices of remembrance? Which interpretation frames and narrative structures characterize the „memory boom“ in Vienna since 1995? Which changes to the form and usage of the public sphere are ascertainable?
The research is conducted with an interdisciplinary mix of methods to be applied along three research axes: 1. Investigation of the ways historical commemoration projects are proposed and negotiated, and the decision-making processes regarding their implementation with emphasis on mnemonic actors at the municipal, national, European and global level (policy analysis); 2. Analysis of the significance ascribed to politics of remembrance on the municipal, national, European and global level (discourse analysis); 3. Finally, the analysis of public spaces as places of remembrance in the area of tension and interplay between politics of history and everyday use and perception (socio-spatial analysis).
The project staff consists of political scientists, historians, anthropologists and landscape architects. Since January 2014 the team has gathered political and social data on more than 1700 memorials, plaques and other commemorative items which since 1945 had been established in the urban space of Vienna by a diverse range of protagonists from the private and public sector. Around 60% of these items have been installed since 1995 when Austria became a member of the European Union. Drawing from the data of our project I will discuss four questions: 1. How many and which memorials refer to the idea of European integration or European identity? 2. How is Europe framed in key papers of relevant mnemonic actors? 3. Which repercussions of memory and identity projects initiated by the European Union can be identified in Vienna? 4. How do various mnemonic actors use European symbols in their public commemorations, f. e. at the celebrations of May 8?
