Project description

If These Objects Could Speak. The Resonance of Contemporary History: The mdw* during Austrofascism, National Socialism, and Post-Nazism.

The research project deals with critical aspects of the mdw*s history in the 20th century. Intended as a history in objects, the project focuses primarily on concepts of biography and institutional history, as well as provenance research, in order to explore the question of continuities and discontinuities during the times of Austrofascism, National Socialism, and the (early) post-war period. The project is designed as a collaboration between the mdw archive and the Institute for Musicology and Interpretation Research (IMI), with both institutes advancing their long-standing engagement in this topic. In 2023, marking the 85th Anniversary of the "Anschluss", the institutions holding a joint exhibition - both physically and online - presenting selected artifacts, taken largely from the mdw archive and the Historical Collection of the IMI. The exhibition’s purpose is twofold: to showcase the breadth of research already completed while juxtaposing this knowledge with those questions yet to be answered. This, in line with the anniversary of the 'Anschluss', echoes the urgency for further research in this area.

Project Leads: Severin Matiasovits, Anita Mayer-Hirzberger, Fritz Trümpi
Extended Academic Advisory Board: Christian Glanz, Erwin Strouhal, Cornelia Szabó-Knotik
Project Collaboration: Jutta Fuchshuber, Bit Michlmayr, Eva Schörkhuber
Exhibition Design: Checo Sterneck, Karin Dreher

Timeframe: 2022–2023

Funding: mdw