Stones of Remembrance in St. Pölten
As of November 2020, we know the names of 1,045 persons in the vicinity of the IKG St. Pölten who were persecuted between 1938 and 1945 on the basis of the "Nuremberg Race Laws". 577 of these persons lived in the area of the IKG St. Pölten in March 1938, of these 321 were murdered in the Shoah, 214 were able to escape, for 42 others the fate is unknown. For 168 other persons, we cannot determine beyond doubt whether they were on site in March 1938. Of these, 50 people were murdered, 58 were able to escape. Of the remaining 60 people, the fate is uncertain. Another 301 people, primarily children of St. Pölten Jews, no longer lived in St. Pölten during the Anschluss, but appear in the Memorbuch due to family ties. 135 of them became victims of persecution, 134 were able to escape and further information is missing about 32 persons.
In the commemoration year 2018, in cooperation with the city of St. Pölten, we started to place Stones of Remembrance for these people as a sign of individual remembrance and to mark the 30th anniversary of the Injoest. The 18x18cm large brass plates with names, women's birth name, date of birth, date of deportation and where ascertainable date of death will be placed on the sidewalk in front of the last voluntary address. We would like to thank the Viennese association |Stones of Remembrance| for its expertise and support!
The first twelve stones at eight addresses for 28 murdered people have been set on October 4th, 2018 in the presence of Mayor Mag. Matthias Stadler and of many relatives from Austria, Switzerland, the USA, Great Britain and Argentina. Current residents of the houses as well took part in the ceremony. The accompanying |booklet| “Stones of Remembrance in St. Pölten I/2018” can be ordered at the Injoest (€ 8,- plus postage, |mail: Order|).
On October 3rd, 2019, another 11 stones were set for 21 people. In memory of one of the architects of the synagogue St. Pölten and his wife, Theodor and Anna Schreier, a plaque was attached to the synagogue. The ceremonial stone setting was attended by relatives from Austria, the USA and Israel as well as representatives of the city, residents of the houses in front of which the stones were set and dedicated citizens of St. Pölten. The accompanying |booklet |“Stones of Remembrance in St. Pölten II/2019” can be ordered at the Injoest (€ 8,- plus postage, |mail: Order|).
Further nine stones for 17 people at eight addresses were places on October 1st, 2020. Due to the Corona pandemic, this year no descendants from abroad could attend the ceremony. The event took place in a small setting in the presence of relatives from Austria, as well as representatives of the city, residents of the houses in front of which the stones were set, and committed citizens of St. Pölten. The accompanying brochure "Stones of Remembrance in St. Pölten 3/2020" is available at the Injoest (€ 8,- plus postage, |mail: Order|).
On October 8th, 2021, seven stones were placed for eleven people at six addresses. Again in 2021, no descendants from abroad were able to attend the ceremony due to CoVid. The event took place in a small setting in the presence of representatives of the city, residents of the houses in front of which the stones were set, and committed citizens of St. Pölten. The accompanying brochure "Stones of Remembrance in St. Pölten 4/2021" is available at the Injoest (€ 8,- plus postage, |mail: Order|).
In June 2022 another 14 stones for 25 people at nine adresses were set. Descendants from Israel, Germany and Austria were able to take part and to remeber their ancestors. The accompanying brochure "Stones of Remembrance in St. Pölten 5/2022” is available at the Injoest (€ 8,- plus postage, |mail: Order|).
In September 2023, ten stones were laid for fifteen people at nine addresses. The ceremonial stone-laying was once again attended by relatives from Austria, Germany, the USA and Israel as well as representatives of the city, residents of the houses in front of which the stones were placed and committed citizens of St. Pölten. The accompanying brochure "Stones of Remembrance in St. Pölten 6/2023" is available at Injoest (€ 8,- plus postage; |mail: Order|).
On 19 September 2024, in the presence of numerous descendants of former St. Pölten Jews, we were able to place another six Stones of Remembrance for ten people. As the last residential addresses no longer exist or are now just car parks, the stones were set into the pavement in front of the former St. Pölten synagogue. The ceremonial setting of the stones was attended by relatives as well as representatives of the city, the province and committed citizens. The accompanying brochure ‘Stones of Remembrance in St. Pölten 7/2024’ is available at Injoest (€ 8,- plus postage; |mail: Order|).
The setting of the stones will be continued every year, with the aim of placing them at all the approximately 80 St. Pölten addresses and others in all the places of residence of the catchment area of the former Jewish community.
In 2022 and 2023 Stones of Remebrance were also set for victims of the Shoa in Willhelmsburg. For further information please look at our Website |"Juden in St. Pölten"|.
Support the Stones of Remembrance:
- Trough financial sponsorship (Institut für jüdische Geschichte Österreichs, IBAN: AT87 2025 6000 0005 6655, BIC: SPSPAT21, intended use: Stones of Remembrance)
- Regular cleaning of plates in your vicinity, reporting of damage
- By suggestion fort he setting of stones in smaller towns at the responsible municipality. You will find the addresses in the index of names of the online |Memory Book|.
Contact: |mail: Sabine Hödl|
Besides all our private supportes of this project we want to thank the following organisations:
