Die Presse, October 8, 2019
German original: https://www.diepresse.com/5718555/das-verschuttete-judische-leben
A chance discovery in a school’s basement in Vienna’s Malzgasse reminds of Jewish everyday life until the November progrome in 1938: On display at the Haus der Geschichte (House of History).
If it wasn’t for the display case, the burnt smell would still be perceptible, they say. In any case, the two improvised incendiary devices that were shot at 16 Malzgasse 81 years ago can be seen now. Two weathered, lumpy cans. For decades they were hidden below meters of rubble in the building’s basement, together with the leftovers of the destruction they caused.
The world’s first Jewish museum, a Jewish school, and a synagogue were at this Viennese address, which turned into a scene of devastation during the November progrom in 1938. The special exhibition No Longer Buried (“Nicht mehr verschüttet”) at the House of History now presents discovered objects in a big display case that recount Jewish life until 1938.
The fact that they were unearthed is due to the lack of space at the Jewish orthodox Talmud Thora School: It could resume school operations at Malzgasse in 1956; today it is bursting at the seams. During his search for more room, the Secretary General of the school’s association, Arieh Bauer, discovered a vault cellar full of rubble underneath the school’s gymnasium. It was filled and walled up in 1939: the synagogue standing at this location was destroyed down to the building envelope; the NS rulers forced the Jewish Community Vienna (“Israelitische Kultusgemeinde”) to erect a retirement home on top of the sealed rubble (later the location served as a collection depot and as a Jewish hospital).
The reason why everyday objects, school supplies and (already) valuable religious exhibition objects were also buried in the cellar is a mystery to Bauer and exhibition curator Birgit Johler. Laid out in forensic order and by material and intended purpose, the discovered objects – already under protection of historic conservation – now tell about the everyday- and school life at Malzgasse. Enameled kitchenware, pots and ladles remind of the school’s kitchen that fed destitute pupils. A shiny nutcracker has already been restored, the rest has only undergone a basic cleaning.
This will – at least partly – remain this way: the ashes covering the objects also record the moment of destruction, which is commemorated here. It seems like a miracle that the students’ inkwells made of glass remained intact, next to them lay little dumbbells from gym instruction. Not much is left from the synagogue’s equipment: the loose sheets of a clock that displayed the three daily prayer times, a few scripture enclosings, parts of candlesticks.
A Chanukah lamp made of soapstone, from the holdings of the first Jewish museum that was located at Malzgasse as of 1913, is better preserved. The museum was closed in 1938, the collection was partly distributed to other institutions – but about half was considered lost. Some objects have now resurfaced, among them fragments of gravestones from the 16th century, as well as the shards of a Passover plate that was recognized by Arieh Bauer on old photographs. “We have opened a time capsule here,” he said.
A Paralyzed Museum
The objects will remain on display until April 2020, then the Jewish school itself wants to display them. It is the House of History’s fourth temporary exhibition at the Alma-Rosé-Plateau, the location in front of the door to the Hitler Altan – one of the few locations where the museum can currently show its creative drive. Its opening exhibition, which was shown a year ago in the tiniest space meanwhile has become a permanent exhibition. Director Monika Sommer is considering to set an example at the Altan – from where Hitler declared the Anschluss in 1938 - in 2020, 75 Years after the end of WWII. “But that is not a discussion we want have amongst ourselves.” Until then, the discovered objects from Malzgasse shall “challenge” the Altan until then.