''Unser Wien'' (''Our Vienna'') is a book co-authored by
Stephan Templ and Tina Walzer that details how hundreds of Jewish businesses in Vienna were seized by the Nazis and never given back.
Background
Published in 2001, the book catalogued for the first time the hundreds of prominent Jewish-owned properties seized by the Nazis that were never returned, and details the names of famous beneficiaries.
The first section of the book, written by Walzer, describes the various methods of looting employed by the Nazis and the fate of the Jewish victims, with references to specific cases and examples which provides historical and political context for the second section of the book.
The ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' notes that what distinguishes the book is not the history, which was broadly known, but rather the details in the second half of the book, called ''The Topography of Robbery'' which lists businesses, addresses and former and current owners.
The second half of the book, compiled by co-author Templ, acts as a guided tour of the extent of Jewish property confiscations in Vienna under Nazism and the stories attached to them. The book details properties seized by Jewish owners such as
Samuel Schallinger who co-owned the
Imperial and the
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
hotels, which today are still among the city of Vienna's grandest hotels.
Controversy
The book exposed long-held secrets about the Nazi era in Austria, and helped initiate numerous restitution legal claims.
Co-author Templ himself became involved in a restitution case in 2005 which evolved in to a decade of legal entanglement.
In 2015, Templ received a one-year sentence as punishment for having omitted the name of an estranged aunt in an application on behalf of his mother for the return of property seized from his Jewish relatives in 1938. It has since emerged that he had declared the existence of the aunt. The ''
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
News'' notes that critics have suggested that the jailing may be linked to the author's criticism of the government's restitution record.
See also
*
The Holocaust in Austria
Jews were systematically persecuted, plundered, and killed by German and Austrian Nazis in the Holocaust from 1938 to 1945. Pervasive persecution of Jews was immediate after the German annexation of Austria, known as the Anschluss. An estimated 7 ...
*
Aryanization
Aryanization () was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis powers, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. It enta ...
References
External links
Excerpts from ''Unser Wien – Our Vienna''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unser Wien (Our Vienna)
Austrian books
Books about the Holocaust
Vienna in World War II
Companies acquired from Jews under Nazi rule