After much hesitation – Salzburg: More new names for streets contaminated by Nazism

The city of Salzburg means it. After years of hesitation, the city council has decided to give the Nazi streets a new name. The city council in Parsch gives the go-ahead: the Heinrich-Damisch-Straße will be named after Helene Thimig – the ‘Krone’ reports. In yesterday’s Senate, only the ÖVP and FPÖ voted against the renaming.

The city assures that the approximately thirty residents affected by the name changes will not incur any costs. Other streets and squares, which have been examined in recent years by an advisory board of historians, will follow the first name change in the spring of 2025.

After a thorough investigation in recent years, the committee has identified a total of thirteen people with a Nazi past as suspect. Including Heinrich-Damisch, but also much more prominent people such as Herbert von Karajan, Ferdinand Porsche and Tobi Reiser (the eldest). The addresses in the city named in her honor should only be renamed after the Damisch-Straße name change has been completed and then the consequences have been evaluated. It remains to be seen whether city politicians will actually tackle Karajan Square.

During yesterday’s meeting, politicians also voted on the naming of a staircase from the Riedenburg district to the Mönchsberg. The naming after Alma Rosé had already been heatedly discussed in the committee in advance.

FPÖ wanted Rabl-Stadler instead of Alma Rosé
The FPÖ strictly rejected the Jewish musician as a namesake. Instead of Rosé, who had to lose her life in a concentration camp, she wanted a living personality. The Freedom Party brought former festival chairman Helga Rabl-Stadler into the race. The FPÖ, which had not spoken to Rabl-Stadler beforehand, did not prevail.