European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 13, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                X v5&Quot to -4 \ x Tow a. A a a a. A a a a a a a a.  �-.���. A a. A a a  Vienna tourist Board the Jude Platz shown in a 1931 photo is believed to cover the foundations of a medieval synagogue demolished in 1421. A plaque on the building in the Middle recalls the execution of More than 200 jews during the same  May dig up part of its unpleasant pastry Michael z. Wise the Washington Post in an Effort that will Lay Bare the depth of jewish roots in Austria As Well As recall a brutal episode of anti.  plan to excavate the remains of Central Europe largest medieval synagogue believed to lie buried beneath a Square in downtown Vienna Austria. 1 the synagogue was razed in 1421 during a state sanctioned pogrom that culminated when More than 200 jews were burned at the stake along the Banks of to. Danube on March 12, 1421 the pogrom began at easter 1420 with unfounded rumours that jews had desecrated eucharist wafers. A. A City archaeologist Ortolf had and Klaus Lohrmann. Director of the. Institute for the history of austrian jews. Are seeking authorization to begin work next year to find the foundations of the synagogue which was one of. Many destroyed m periodic rampages against jews during the Middle Ages a centuries old plaque extolling the executions is. Affixed to a House on the Square still called Jude Platz or jews Square. The latin text serves As a reminder that the nazi holocaust was not the sole attempt to destroy viennese jewry and bears witness to the popular  leading to these persecutions. Quot As the Waters of  Jordan cleansed the souls of the baptized  did the flames which Rose up in the year 1421 rid the  Alt injustice a it proclaims adding that the Quot crimes of the jews were thereby expiated. A a a a a. A ,. Harl and Lohrmann believe that the synagogue. Foundations Are located under the Square Asphalt. Surface along with the new ish c Community ritual Bath Hospital and Slaughter in ruse. 1 hey View the project As a natural Extension of other recent excavations . In the City Center uncovering roman and Renaissance a. Remains. A jewish settlement in Vienna can be traced As far Back As the 1jh Century. A. A a. A a Quot the role of the jews in austrian and viennese history. Is still something which is shoved off to the margins regarded As something specialized that has Little to do with general history a  in an  Are As essential to an understanding of 14lh and 15th-Century. Austrian history As they Are to the history of the 19th and 20th  this integration is a decisive element of this project.�?�. Austrian government support and private sponsors Are being sought for the excavation which the investigators Hope to Complete in time for the. 1996 1,000-year Jubilee celebrations of Austria founding. If valuable remains Are located As anticipated they could be exhibited at the City planned jewish museum both the historical Institute director and the municipal archaeologist agree that the project also would illuminate the ingrained tradition of viennese anti semitism and its., a cruel ramifications As Well As the Long tenacious history of jewish presence in the austrian capital. A after learning of his father service in the nazi Waffen 55/ Lohrmann devoted himself to  of  vowed that in this family things must be. Changed he said the focal Point of archaeological research should be daily life in the jewish ghetto rather than the medieval expulsion. We must move away irom the expulsion and the old traumas a said Marl adding lie wanted to illustrate clearly  jews Are a part of our history of our past  >resent.&Quot. For years after the medieval pogrom those jews who managed to escape and resettle in other areas of Central Europe Sang a lamentation recounting the  a once proud jewish Center this elegy referred to Vienna As the Quot City of blood a it was t until the Early 1600s that lews were allowed to return there in. Significant numbers Only  another expulsion in. 1669, Kurt Schulz. An aide to Vienna mayor i Helmut Zilk said City authorities planned extensive consultations with jewish leaders before giving a final  a a a. A a. Unearthing the former ghetto area. Leaders of the jewish Community  they would favor the project. Some 6,000 jews now live in the City the remnant of a 200,000-Strong Community that existed before the. Anschluss nazi Germany s  Austria in 988. In the ensuing seven years 60,000 austrian jews died in or in route to death Campis and. 12 of Vienna s., synagogues were destroyed  he monumental medieval Stone synagogue probably built for a Community of nearly 1,000 jews was a double Naved Structure with i it Thio architect . A to nearby churches of the same Jeriod according to. I Ohrmann. When it was re Stroyer. The stones were. Dragged across town for use in building the University of Vienna Quot in a miraculous manner the synagogue of the old Laws was transformed into a virtuous place of learning devoted to the new Laws Quot sales a University document. From that Jeriod. A a a a a. A a the Las Tor 1420 pogrom during Winch jews bum throughout Austria were rounded  imprisoned. Was sanctioned by Duke Albrecht a a member of the. A i to Josburg dynasty and then Isider of Ausna who was  indebted to  lenders. Many jews. A  while in Yaji Ivity and to lung children a a a were Lori blvd converted to Catholic ism. I be remainder were burned alongside live River outside Vienna. -. Sttne. 1.1, 1991 or Pes Maga to 7 7