Dear friends of the Connecting Memories project,
thank you for your interest in Connecting Memories, a transnational memory community on Nazi forced labor in Lower Austria, which is currently under development. With our newsletter, we want to keep you informed about developments in the project, but also about specific opportunities to participate in the project and upcoming events and reports!
“This pioneering project will make people aware […] of the ‘treasures’ that can be found in their memories or in their own attics.” (translated from the scientific evaluation of the project application)
During World War II, as everywhere else in the German Reich, many thousands of people in Lower Austria were forced laborers—prisoners of war, Hungarian-Jewish forced laborers, and other civilians. Much of this history remains unknown and inadequately documented. However, many testimonies remain in private ownership to this day, and memories are passed down within families – in Lower Austria among those of the ‘employers’ and neighbors, and worldwide among those of the former forced laborers.
The Connecting Memories project is developing an internet platform that will allow these valuable sources to be digitally collected and preserved for the future, as well as support collaboration between interested individuals, local and international descendants of those affected, and researchers.
To build this platform, we are starting with two topics: Hungarian-Jewish forced labor and the Stalag XVII B Krems-Gneixendorf prisoner-of-war camp in Lower Austria.
The Connecting Memories project team consists of researchers from the University for Continuing Education Krems, the Institute for Jewish History in Austria, and the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies. In addition, we invite anyone interested in the topic of Nazi forced labor in Lower Austria to participate: to share their memories and sources, to conduct their own research, and to get in touch with others. Examples of such memories can be found on the project website www.connectingmemories.at.
How can I get involved at this stage?
There will be many different opportunities to get involved in the various phases of the Connecting Memories project. We will therefore be providing information about current opportunities for collaboration in our newsletter – but we are always happy to hear your ideas and input – please feel free to contact us at connectingmemories@donau-uni.ac.at
We would currently like to know what support people interested in the topic of Nazi forced labor need: What interests you, how do you conduct your research? How can we support you? To this end, we have created an online questionnaire that takes about 10 minutes to complete: https://uwk-krems.limesurvey.net/connectingmemories?lang=en
Your feedback will be incorporated into the development of the platform.
Upcoming Events & Press Reports
The project plans regular events with lectures, opportunities for exchange, and excursions (online and offline).
Many Austrian media outlets have reported on our project, with articles appearing in Kurier and ORF, for example. NÖ heute reports on the project in a TV feature.
If you would like to get in touch with us personally, we invite you to two upcoming events:
Presentation of the book “Spuren lesbar machen” (Making Traces Legible. The Nazi Forced Labor Camp at the Roggendorf Granite Quarry. New Forms of Historical Reconciliation between Art and Science, ed. Edith Blaschitz and Martin Krenn) on February 17, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in Vienna.
Lower Austria Museum Day on March 15, 2026, at Katzelsdorf Castle. At the “Forum Bürger*innenforschung Niederösterreich” (Lower Austria Citizen Research Forum), you are invited to engage in informal conversation with us and each other around so-called “theme tables.” One table will be dedicated to our project.
Warm regards from the “Connecting Memories” team!
Would you like to subscribe to the newsletter or do you have any questions or suggestions? Send us a message at connectingmemories@donau-uni.ac.at!