Rubble Cleared from the former Roll Call Square in Gusen

For many years, parts of the former roll call square of the Gusen concentration camp were covered by rubble. Historical aerial photographs show that starting in the late 1950s, rubble was dumped here when the site was in use as part of a commercial operation. A short time ago, the rubble was reevaluated by archaeologists. Since no materials were found that related to the time of the camp’s operation, the Burghauptmannschaft Österreich ordered the removal of the majority of the rubble. In consultation with the Federal Monuments Office of the Republic of Austria, a layer of rubble several centimetres thick was left to protect any remains of the roll call square still preserved in the ground.

Alongside the structural safety measures, the removal of the rubble marks a further step towards the creation of a dignified place of remembrance. The framework for the overall redesign of the site is being developed in parallel through the participation process.