Vienna municipality plans to tilt statue of antisemitic mayor by 3.5 degrees 

The Vienna municipality has resolved to tilt the statue of former antisemitic mayor by 3.5 degrees in an effort to take a stance against antisemitism.

The statue of Karl Lueger, located in the heart of the Austrian capital on Ringstrasse Boulevard, was formerly protected by the Vienna municipality after protesters called for its removal in 2020.

Mr Lueger served as mayor of Vienna for thirteen years until his death in 1910 at the age of 65. He was known for antisemitic rhetoric that is claimed to have inspired the young Hitler, who lived in the Austrian capital and spoke in Mein Kampf of his “undisguised admiration” for the Viennese mayor.

For example, in one speech delivered to members of the Christian-Social Workers’ Association in Vienna in July 1899, Mr Leuger invoked the kind of antisemitic rhetoric that would later be employed by the Nazis, saying: “The influence on the masses is in the hands of the Jews…the largest part of the press is in their hands; the vast majority of capital and especially big business is in the hands of the Jews.” He added: “above all, this is about the liberation of the Christian people from the domination of Judaism.”

Although Mr Lueger’s name was previously erased from the street next to the University of Vienna, his bronze statue, which he commissioned himself, still stands in Dr Karl Lueger Platz, the square situated next to the capital’s arts and crafts museum.

The idea to tilt the 4.5m high statue was proposed in 2010 by Klemens Wihlidal, an art student. The intention is reportedly to give the observer a nagging sense of disorientation, since the angle of inclination is believed to be the point at which the human eye begins to notice that something is wrong.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.