Before organising a clean-up day, we decided to find out where one was really needed. Our volunteers checked more than 18 Soviet war graves across Austria — in Bruck an der Leitha, Kaprun, Dürnstein, Purkersdorf, Sankt Pölten, Mödling, Kaisersteinbruch, Weiz, Leoben, Bruck an der Mur, Altlengbach and in Vienna itself: in Kalksburg, Rodaun, Aspern, Jedlesee and Stammersdorf.
The news was good: most of the graves are in good or satisfactory condition, and the local communities look after them. The exception was Hinterbrühl, a village just outside Vienna.
Moss, rust and a mown lawn
The fence and the memorial had been neglected: ten years' worth of moss, rust, and damaged parts here and there. Judging by their condition, the only upkeep here had been mowing the lawn.
On 11 April 2026, for the Day of the Liberation of Vienna and the International Day of the Liberation of Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps, we came here with our tools. We cleaned the fence and the memorial, repaired the damaged sections, and laid a wreath and flowers.
An underground factory and 600 prisoners
After the clean-up we went to the monument on the site of the concentration camp in Hinterbrühl. In 1943–1945 the Nazis set up an underground aircraft production facility here, including for Heinkel He 162 jet fighters. We honoured the memory of up to 600 prisoners.
The monument had not a single inscription or tribute in Russian. We filled that gap by laying a wreath from the Immortal Regiment.
Clean-up day participants, Hinterbrühl, 11 April 2026Memory does not live on by itself — it has to be cared for. May the memory live on!
