State Secretary Alexander Pröll Leads Commemoration of November Pogroms in Vienna

Vienna, Austria – On Friday, November 7, 2025, State Secretary Alexander Pröll participated in a solemn commemoration and wreath-laying ceremony for the November Pogroms at the Shoah Wall of Names Memorial in Vienna. The event marked 87 years since the coordinated wave of antisemitic violence that swept across Nazi Germany and annexed Austria in 1938, serving as a stark reminder of the atrocities committed and the enduring importance of remembrance.

A Solemn Remembrance in Vienna

The ceremony saw the participation of numerous high-ranking Austrian officials, including Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler and State Secretary Pröll, who holds responsibility for the fight against antisemitism within the Federal Chancellery. Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig, along with parliamentary leaders from NEOS and the Greens, were also present to pay their respects. Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker was unable to attend due to an operation.

During the commemoration, Oskar Deutsch, President of the Jewish Community (IKG), delivered a poignant address, warning of a 'tsunami' of antisemitic attacks globally and emphasizing the increasing number of such incidents in Austria. Deutsch called for decisive political action and highlighted recent security concerns, including the discovery of weapons attributed to Hamas in Austria, stating, 'This shows: the danger is getting closer.' State Secretary Pröll, a member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), was sworn into his current role on March 3, 2025, and has made combating antisemitism a key part of his portfolio, including working on a 'Strategy Against Antisemitism 2.0' focused on digitalization.

The Historical Weight of the November Pogroms

The November Pogroms, also widely known as Kristallnacht or the 'Night of Broken Glass,' occurred on the night of November 9-10, 1938. This state-sanctioned wave of violence, orchestrated by the Nazi Party's paramilitary forces, targeted Jewish communities throughout Germany and Austria. Synagogues were systematically set ablaze, Jewish businesses were looted and destroyed, and Jewish homes were ransacked.

The impact in Austria was devastating: at least 30 Jews were killed, approximately 7,800 arrested, and around 4,000 were immediately deported from Vienna to the Dachau concentration camp. Historians widely regard the November Pogroms as a critical turning point, marking the climax of organized terror against Jewish people before World War II and a significant step towards the Holocaust.

The Shoah Wall of Names Memorial: A Place of Memory

The Shoah Wall of Names Memorial, located in Vienna's Ostarrichi Park, serves as a permanent tribute to the approximately 65,000 Jewish children, women, and men from Austria who were murdered during the Shoah (Holocaust). The memorial, initiated by Austrian-born Holocaust survivor Kurt Yakov Tutter, consists of an oval-shaped arrangement of stone walls engraved with the names of the victims.

Construction of the memorial was completed in October 2021, and it was officially inaugurated on November 9, 2021, coinciding with the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht. The project, with a budget of approximately 5.3 million euros, received funding from the federal government, federal provinces, the City of Vienna, the Austrian National Bank, and private donations, underscoring a collective commitment to remembrance.

Austria's continued commitment to confronting its past and combating contemporary antisemitism was evident in State Secretary Pröll's participation, reinforcing the nation's dedication to ensuring that the lessons of history are never forgotten.