Over the past few weeks, a public debate has flared up surrounding a museum focusing on former Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß, the man who gradually dismantled Austrian democracy in 1933/1934 and was ultimately murdered at the hands of Nazi coup plotters. A task group has drafted a new concept for museum in Texingtal (Lower Austria) and is also proposing the "constructive dissolution" of Dollfuß's birthplace, which had served as a memorial.

This did not happen, however, as the local government and the state of Lower Austria decided to clear the museum out at the request of the lending parties. The decision was also defended in an open letter, opens a file in a new window published in "Die Presse". The museum project's scientific advisory board, which includes Ernst Langthaler (JKU Linz), wrote an open letter objecting to the action. In a guest commentary, opens a file in a new window in "Die Presse", the JKU historian expresses his opinion on the matter and argues in favor of a more objective debate.