Memorial Stone for the Victims of National Socialist Eugenics in the Hiessgasse in Klagenfurt/Celovec

The Hießgasse was named in 1984 after the then chairman of the department for midwifery and gynaecology at the state hospital Klagenfurt, formerly “Gaukrankenhaus Klagenfurt”. Primarius Dr. Viktor Hieß, who also ran a private practice until two years before his death in 1960, was responsible for the implementation of the national socialist eugenics programme during the NS period as an advocate of German heredity and race theory. Countless people became victims of forced sterilizations and forced abortions after they had previously been classified as “erbrkank” or “racially inferior”.
After long discussions about renaming the street or installing an additional plaque with information on Dr. Viktor Hieß’s role during National Socialism, the city of Klagenfurt decided in 2022 to erect a memorial stone at the end of the street, directly opposite the clinic. It draws attention to the questionable street name and sends a signal of apology from the city.