On 23 January 1993 around 300,000 people gathered to take a stand against xenophobia. The “Sea of Light” was the largest mass protest rally in the Second Republic. It was organized by “SOS Mitmensch”, an organization that had recently been founded at the time.

“I would like to thank the many volunteers at SOS Mitmensch. And I invite you, from this day on, to actively join this movement. The work is not done with just this night. Although this event is now coming to a close, in our hearts and in our minds it must go on and it will go on. Let’s get to work and create a climate of togetherness, a new kind of politics where ‘foreigners’ and ‘natives’ live and work together in this country.”

Those words are of the artist André Heller, a prominent supporter of the initiative. The organizers declared that the action also sought to reclaim and give new meaning to Heldenplatz. Occupying Heldenplatz in the name of solidarity and against racism was meant to create a new image to contrast that of the masses cheering there in March 1938.

What was the reason so many people took to the streets?
A referendum entitled “Austria First” initiated by the Austrian Freedom Party under Jörg Haider. A list of the referendum’s demands is located on a panel in the middle row, the second one from the right.The demands included a “zero immigration policy” and restrictions aimed at so-called “foreigners”. In the end, with a mere 7% of signatures of those eligible to vote, the referendum was far less successful than expected.

In principle, a referendum is a democratic instrument. But can the goals of a democratic tool be anti-democratic?

In this specific case, the demands discriminate a portion of the population that is already in a minority position. People seeking asylum are in need of protection and have access to less rights and opportunities. “Asylum” is a status that is supposed to provide protection for those forced to flee due to persecution or life-threatening circumstances. The Geneva Refugee Convention formulated in 1951 was a direct response to the experiences of refugees during the Nazi era, when no country would allow Jewish refugees to enter—subjecting millions to the horrors of the Holocaust. The Geneva Refugee Convention still serves as the foundation for international law today. Yet, the absolute necessity of providing protection for those seeking asylum had already been inscribed in the 1948 General Declaration of Human Rights.

In March 2019, the Minister of the Interior and member of the Freedom Party, mounted new signs on two reception centres for asylum seekers, re-designating them as “Ausreisezentrum”, “Departure Centre”. When a new government came into office, activists removed the signs. One of these signs and the story connected to it is presented here, in the part of the exhibition entitled “Borders Change?”, located close by the moped.


With an excerpt from:
Das "Lichtermeer" am Heldenplatz - Version 1, Österreichische Mediathek.