Memorial Column for Forced Workers and Workers am Kapruner Cemetery

The memorial column at the cemetery of the parish church of Kaprun remembers those forced workers and workers who were exploited and murdered during the NS period, or who died as a result of the inhumane treatment during the construction of the Kaprun power plant group. Between 1939 and 1944, 33 civilian workers and workers, forced workers and workers, and prisoners of war were buried here. Initial plans for building a power plant in the High Tauern existed already during the interwar period, however, these were never realized. After the “Anschluss” in March 1938, the National Socialists took up these plans; the existing energy reserves were to be used for the war and armaments economy. The foundation stone – laid by Hermann Göring – was already set in May 1938; the planned construction period was ten years. Death cases occurred repeatedly, caused by avalanches or rockfalls; accidents due to inadequate equipment and the poor physical condition of the workers and workers were also not uncommon. The Kaprun power plant group was completed in 1955 and is today regarded as a symbol of the reconstruction of the Republic after the Second World War. However, the inhumane NS forced labor and the resulting deaths and murders are often overlooked and forgotten.