A central question in memory studies is how societies come to terms with historical experiences of political violence and relate constructions of the past to understandings of the present and visions of the future. Memorials in public space are key media through which these processes of collective remembrance, memory formation, and the symbolic appropriation of space are negotiated. In their synchronic and diachronic diversity, they provide valuable insight into the changing forms, actors, and phases through which societies confront and reinterpret legacies of political violence.

Drawing on an object- and actor-centred database comprising approximately 2,300 memorials, this research and publication project examines when, where, how, by whom, and under what political circumstances the experiences of victimhood, witnessing, and perpetration of political violence against different social groups have been publicly commemorated—or, conversely, omitted from public remembrance. By tracing the evolution of Vienna’s commemorative landscape between 1945 and 2025, the project analyses the relationship between memory politics, public space, and social change over eight decades. The principal outcome of the project will be a scholarly monograph.

Head of Project:Peter Pirker
Duration: 07/01/ 2026 – 06/30/2029
Funding: ÖAW

Cooperations: