Language:
English
Pages:
15 + 89
,
typescript.
Year of publication:
2004
Former Title:
Delusions and denials: Viennese life under the Nazis / Visit to a Viennese cemetery.
Keywords:
Fireside, Harvey,
;
Feuerzeug family.
;
Zelman, Leon,
;
Zentralfriedhof (Vienna, Austria)
;
Antisemitism.
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
;
Kristallnacht, 1938.
;
Nazis.
;
Austria History Anschluss, 1938.
;
United States Emigration and immigration.
;
Vienna (Austria)
;
Autobiographies
;
Biographical sources
;
Memoirs
Abstract:
"Visit to a Viennese Cemetery" is a personal reflection about Fireside's first trip back to Austria since his arrival in the USA. It was organised by the "Jewish Welcome Service" in September 2000. This trip brings forgotten memories back to life, questioning the role of Austrians in the Holocaust, and their denial afterwards. The author describes the trip, first days of sightseeing and conversations of his fellow travellers. On the last day, the group went to Zentralfreidhof, the main cemetery in Vienna.
Abstract:
The memoir "Delusions and Denials: Viennese Life under the Nazis" starts with a description of the author's family and an essay-like reflection about Austria and its role and engagement with Nazism, and soon turns to the author's own childhood in Vienna, presenting his personal memories in context of the political situation in the 1930s. In the main part of the memoir, Fireside talks at length about the immediate events leading to the "Anschluss", followed by its consecutive years, still being in Vienna. "Kristallnacht", the pogrom in November of 1938, is dealt with in detail, over 15 pages. Until their escape in April 1940, Fireside describes plenty incidents of humiliations and persecution, the process of getting affidavits for the USA, and finally his family boarding a ship in Italy and their arrival in the USA.
Description / Table of Contents:
Visit to a Viennese cemetery
Description / Table of Contents:
Delusions and denials: Viennese life under the Nazis
