Anti-Semitic Mayor's Name Removed From Street In Vienna

Karl Lueger

Karl Lueger, the mayor of Vienna from 1897-1910, holds a special place in the Austrian capital's history. He improved the city's public works and social welfare programs. For many Austrians, those accomplishments have accorded him honored places in Vienna's civic fabric. Lueger's name graces some of Vienna's most prominent public areas.

Many have objected to these honors, on the basis that Lueger was virulently anti-Semitic. Some attribute Adolf Hitler's perspectives to Lueger's public excoriation of Jews. It's a dark subject, one which Austria has never handled well. Some still consider Austria to be Europe's flagship for visceral anti-Semitic sentiment, both latent and expressed.

Viennese authorities have recently taken a step toward addressing this issue. According to a BBC report, they have changed the name of one of the city's prominent thoroughfares and no longer associate it with Lueger.

Predictably, an extreme right-wing political party, currently second in opinion polls, has protested the action.