Vienna Removes Anti-Semitic Mayor’s Name

By JTA July 6, 2012

Vienna city councillors removed the name of a notoriously anti-Semitic mayor from a section of the elegant Ring boulevard that encircles the heart of the city.

City Councilor Andreas Mailath Pokorny on Wednesday formally exchanged the street sign “Dr. Karl-Lueger-Ring” for one named Universitaetsring (University Ring) in honor of the university located there, the Associated Press reported.

Lueger was mayor from 1897 until his death in 1910.

His anti-Semitic policies and his use of economic anti-Semitism to win popular support were a big influence on Adolf Hitler, who lived in Vienna at the time.

Austrian Jewish leaders had praised the decision when it was announced in April.

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