Austria's second-largest women's concentration camp to be demolished, become a Lidl supermarket

Austria is set to demolish the remains of the Hirtenberg subcamp, the nation's second-largest World War II women's concentration camp, to make way for a Lidl supermarket and a refrigerated logistics facility. The site, located near Leobersdorf, was part of the Mauthausen concentration camp network and primarily held Jewish women transferred from Auschwitz to manufacture munitions.

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a disgrace.

The plan has ignited significant controversy. Barbara Glück, director of the Mauthausen Memorial, condemned the demolition as a "disgrace." Oskar Deutsch, president of the Jewish Community of Vienna, stated that the site should be preserved to commemorate "this dark chapter of our history" and must not be "covered over by a shopping center." He criticized the profit made from the sale of the land at the expense of the memory of the victims.

However, the Federal Monuments Office has permitted the construction, ruling that the camp's remains were "not sufficient to warrant protected monument status." The sale of the site, which generated over €15 million for real estate entrepreneur and Mayor Andreas Ramharter, has also drawn criticism. Around 400 women, predominantly Russian and Italian, were interned at Hirtenberg between September 1944 and April 1945.

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this dark chapter of our history and must not be covered over by a shopping center.

The decision to build on the former concentration camp site highlights a tension between historical preservation and commercial development in Austria. While officials and Jewish community leaders advocate for remembrance, the government's approval prioritizes economic interests, sparking outrage among those who believe historical atrocities should not be paved over for commerce.

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That profit was made here at the expense of the memory of tortured and murdered women.