A neutral reaction is rare: many people find Nazi objects repellent, for others they exert a great attraction. For a long time, people did not talk openly about the years of Nazi rule. This lack of engagement also fostered the growth of uncritical attitudes and fascination. These still resonate today and can be the motivation for collecting Nazi artefacts. Some collectors are sympathetic to far-right ideology.
The media frequently report on collections of Nazi objects which people have built up or displayed in their homes, cellars or offices. When such collections are discovered, it is often in connection with violent crime or possessions of weapons.
Owning and collecting Nazi objects is not prohibited in principle – it becomes an offence when these items are put on display. Especially if there is also an intention to spread Nazi ideology. As part of their basic training, police officers are familiarized with important symbols and objects so that they can recognize these when working on cases. While prosecuting offences (for example under the Prohibition Act), objects can be seized, in case of a conviction the court decides if the objects are to be returned, given to a research institution or destroyed.
The Vienna University Library contains books that have been stamped with the Nazi imperial eagle and swastika. Some readers were disturbed by this and demanded the removal of these stamps. Instead, the library management decided to develop materials that would help readers to contextualize the stamps as proof of historical ownership, and organized events to discuss the subject.
These bronze heads depict Adolf Hitler. They were made by the sculptor Herman Joachim Pagels, who was famous for his busts of important Nazi officials. He made them before 1938. By casting them in a mould, the artist could produce multiple identical pieces. Both sculptures are dirty; one is damaged.
The heads were probably owned by Nazi groups that were illegal in Austria before the Anschluss (annexation). In 1938 they then presented them to Nazi Party provincial authorities. These heads were found alongside a relief sculpture and four oil paintings in a locked safe in the Parliament’s waste disposal room. It is not known who stored them there, when and why. They were discovered by chance during renovation works in 2017. There was then a public discussion about whether the objects should be preserved. The bronze heads show how the Austrian Nazi movement wanted to present itself to future generations.
Photo: Füsun Kavrakoğlu and Nur Emiroğlu, Vorarlberg Museum, Bregenz, Austria, 2026.
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