Hans Haacke “And You Were Victorious After All” / firebomb

(In 1988, this work was included in “Bezugspunkte 38/88 (Points of Reference),” a city-wide exhibition which highlighted sixteen loci of Nazi activity in the city of Graz, Austria.

Haacke’s temporary installation recreated a Nazi victory column that had been erected over a public statue in 1938, when Hitler honoured Graz as an early Nazi stronghold, calling it the ‘City of the People’s Insurrection.’ Haacke’s memorial, produced on the original site, included an additional text which commemorated those killed locally by the Nazis. Nearby, 16 posters inscribed with ‘Graz - City of the People’s Insurrection’ featured facsimiles of pro-Aryan and anti-Semitic documents Haacke culled from local newspaper reports, want ads, and university course listings printed in 1938.

The column was firebombed by neo-Nazis a week before it was to come down. The work was destroyed beyond repair.)