Increased discourse on the Nazi past 1986 – 2005

The City of Linz was able to establish itself as a city for culture in this time. The emphatic international orientation of cultural policy and development can be seen as the antithesis to the previous German nationalist and National Socialist identities of Linz.

Critical discourse about the Nazi legacy occurred in two main regards: making explicit warnings, remembering victims of Nazism and resistance fighters by memorial plaques and memorials, naming and renaming streets, as well as conferring awards on behalf of the city. Altogether, 40 such public statements have been made since 1988. The other route was to create lasting intellectual and spiritual works. In 1996, for example, the City Council initiated a project inviting 44 academics to reappraise the National Socialist period.