Stollen der Erinnerung

Stollen der Erinnerung (Tunnels of Remembrance) is a permanent display in the Upper Austrian city of Steyr concerning forced labor and concentration camps.The exhibition is situated in a former air raid shelter built beneath Lamberg Castle by forced laborers from the Steyr-Münichholz concentration camp in 1943.

Both the sponsoring organization and the exhibition’s content are overseen by the Mauthausen Committee Steyr.The scientific curation was carried out by the historian Regina Wonisch in partnership with a team of curators from the association who were involved in the artistic design of the material.Bertrand Perz, a modern historian, assisted the organization with scientific and intellectual support.Educational support is handled through the Museum Arbeitswelt Steyr.The show was designed by Bernhard Denkinger.It has appeared in several architecture magazines.

In 1943, convicts from the Steyr-Münichholz concentration camp excavated the tunnel, which served as a sanctuary for people during air raids.The attacks targeted armament manufacturers in and around Steyr.

The exhibition, based on a concept by Karl Ramsmaier, debuted on October 25, 2013, after more than 10 years of planning.In the 1990s, there was talk of building an exhibition about National Socialism, forced labor, and the concentration camp in Steyr.However, the facility planned for this use, the Steyr-Münichholz concentration camp’s surviving barracks, was unlawfully demolished in 1993, putting the project in jeopardy.

In 2003, the Mauthausen Committee launched a new idea to stage a performance about forced labor and National Socialism.Viennese architect Bernhard Denkinger was commissioned in 2010 to propose a design idea for an exhibition in the so-called Lambergstollen, which was realized between 2011 and 2013.

The 140-meter-long U-shaped tunnel system is based on a historical framework and illustrates the years 1938 through 1945. The exhibition focuses on the Steyr-Münichholz concentration camp annex and the forced laborers in Steyr.The history of the Steyr resistance and how the Nazi past has been dealt with since 1945 are also strongly covered.

The memorial of concentration camp inmates, forced laborers, and contemporaneous witnesses is taken into account through the inclusion of quotes and anecdotes from individuals. These biographical elements are supplemented with historical documents and photos that offer context. Original artifacts were not utilized in the Memory Gallery due to the wetness.