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Euro Cup Arena Covers Vienna's Dark Past

More than 1,000 Jewish prisoners died after being held there

By Ambreen Ali,  Newser User

Posted Jun 28, 2008 7:10 PM CDT
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(Newser) – The Vienna stadium that will host tomorrow's Euro Cup final hides a brutal past beneath the stands, where more than the 1,000 Jewish prisoners were held in 1939. Nazis took medical samples and made plaster casts of the prisoners, who were allowed outside daily but could not step on the grass—because soccer games were still being played there.

Almost all of the prisoners held at Ernst Happel Stadium later died in the camps. A tablet outside the stadium recounts how Nazis took them away, but one historian says he fought to have the word "murdered," not "died," included at the end. "Austrians still have an enormous problem dealing with the truth about their wartime past," he told Radio Free Netherlands.

The referee for the final of Euro 2008 Italy's Roberto Rosetti, center, and his assistants pose for photographs in the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Saturday, June 28, 2008.
The referee for the final of Euro 2008 Italy's Roberto Rosetti, center, and his assistants pose for photographs in the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Saturday, June 28, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Workers are silhouetted as they sweep the stands in the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 27, 2008.
Workers are silhouetted as they sweep the stands in the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 27, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Spain's Xabi Alonso talks with the press in Vienna. Spain will face Germany on Sunday in Happel Stadium, which housed 1,000 Jews during the Holocaust.
Spain's Xabi Alonso talks with the press in Vienna. Spain will face Germany on Sunday in Happel Stadium, which housed 1,000 Jews during the Holocaust.   (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Players gather with head coach Luis Aragones during training a session of the national soccer team of Spain at the Ernst-Happel stadium, Saturday, June 28, 2008 in Vienna, Austria.
Players gather with head coach Luis Aragones during training a session of the national soccer team of Spain at the Ernst-Happel stadium, Saturday, June 28, 2008 in Vienna, Austria.   (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
The official ball of the Euro 2008 final match is displayed on the grass at the Ernst-Happel stadium in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday, June 28, 2008.
The official ball of the Euro 2008 final match is displayed on the grass at the Ernst-Happel stadium in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday, June 28, 2008.   (AP Photo)
A general view shows preparations being made ahead of the final of Euro 2008 in the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, where 1,000 Jews were held during the Holocaust.
A general view shows preparations being made ahead of the final of Euro 2008 in the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, where 1,000 Jews were held during the Holocaust.   (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Spain will face Germany on Sunday in Happel Stadium, which housed 1,000 Jews under the stands during the Holocaust.
Spain will face Germany on Sunday in Happel Stadium, which housed 1,000 Jews under the stands during the Holocaust.   (AP Photo/Roger Jackson)
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Holocaust victims still audible in Vienna
BBC

Only 26 stadium prisoners survived
Der Spiegel

 
Holocaust • Jews • Austria • Vienna • Euro 2008

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