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![Vienna, Austria, The Schoenbrunn castle with an antisemitic sign reading: "Jews are prohibited to enter the castle garden", 1938.](https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/1418_4M.jpg "Vienna, Austria, The Schoenbrunn castle with an antisemitic sign reading: "Jews are prohibited to enter the castle garden", 1938.")
Despite progression in the field, the Holocaust studies in Austria is an under-researched topic, awaiting research and discussion, especially from a Jewish viewpoint. Existing studies that do address the fate of Austrian Jewry often do so merely within the context of the Holocaust in the Nazi Reich, which means that focused discussion of Austria is still largely lacking. This also applies to research on Jews who were deported to the territory of current day Austria as forced laborers to different camps including Mauthausen concentration camp, and its subcamps.
The project utilizes, among many other resources, the Yad Vashem Archives including ego documents from the war period and oral testimonies. Various activities such as workshops, lectures, and publications are being conducted under the auspices of this project. In addition, two fellowships awards were established to conduct research the Holocaust in Austria. Recipients are: Dr. Naama Shik and Dr. Olga Ungar.
In 2024, Dr. Ungar published an article in Yad Vashem’s Search and Research Lectures and Papers series, “Why Did You Not Try to Escape?” Bačka Jews in Forced Labor Camps in Austria, 1944-1945, in which she analyzed various aspects of the life in these camps and the ways in which the detainees coped with the everyday hardships and dangers.
Dr. Shik has recently completed a case study of forced labor camps in Austria, concentrating on the Lenzig Camp, during the last year of the war. Her research focused on the daily life of the Jewish female prisoners; the SS guards, the response of the local population, etc. The publication of her research is forthcoming.