July 6, 2012
Vienna street named for anti-Semitic mayor renamed
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Photo by Adam Carr
Vienna city councilors 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.
