Abschied ein Leben lang – Käthe Kratz

A glimpse into Vienna’s Josefstadt district and a neighbourhood irrevocably transformed by persecution and displacement. In 1998, 60 years after the destruction of the synagogue in Neudeggergasse, a replica of its façade was erected as part of the Verlorene Nachbarschaft (Lost Neighbourhood) memorial project. It stands as a visible reminder of the once thriving and diverse Jewish community that shaped the area.

Filmmaker and co-initiator Käthe Kratz accompanies three former residents on a visit to Vienna in 1998. The survivors share memories of their childhood and youth, their neighbours, religion and everyday life, but also recount the 1938 annexation of Austria, acts of violence, persecution, flight and exile. Walking through familiar streets and visiting their former homes, they encounter a city that was once their home and to which they remain connected in very different ways to this day. Their stories reveal how it was not only individuals who lost their homes, but how Vienna itself lost a part of its history and identity.