Voluntarily authored a book on the “refugee crisis”:
Heinz Schaden with the book “The Great Escape 2015” at the station underground car park.
© City of Salzburg / Alex Killer
Heinz Schaden documents the largest wave of refugees that hit Salzburg since the end of the Second World War in a report with extensive photo material.
The then mayor of Salzburg explains the events of 2015 from the perspective of the city’s chief operations officer, accompanied by documentary press releases, administrative reports and personal notes.
Interviews with key decision-makers
For the documentation, Schaden also conducted interviews with people who were active in various functions during the “refugee crisis”. Including the then Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the ÖBB boss Christian Kern, the commander of the federal army Heinz Hufler, the city police commander Manfred Lindenthaler, Bernd Petertill, deputy state rescue commander, Doraja Eberle, retired regional councilor, and ORF Middle East correspondent Jörg Winter.
Chronology of events
The chronology ranges from the threatened overcrowding of the train station to the underground car park as a place to sleep for almost 1,000 people, the adaptation of the ASFINAG site, the “strapping” and thus the orderly departure of refugees to difficulties in dealing with asylum seekers. It is supplemented by explanations on Syria and Islam.
With “The Great Escape 2015. A Report” there is an important book that records recent events in a timely manner and can serve as a basis for further research.
Voices on the book
Heinz Schaden, author and mayor at the time: “Documenting the ‘Great Escape’ in 2015 was important to me for many reasons: First of all, it was about making the sources and documents accessible to me public and thus making a contribution to contemporary history. I do not consider the description to be the final documentation, but rather it represents my current view of things. In addition, it is important to me to show that our society is quite capable of responding appropriately to a human emergency in an emergency. The belief in it got lost in the years after 2015. Flight and migration are only perceived as a threat, politics vie for the toughest countermeasures. Austria has already proven several times in recent history that it can handle it well: in 1945 under catastrophic conditions, in 1956 in the middle of the Cold War, in 1968 and 1991 as well. So there is still room for improvement and that also and especially applies in times of a pandemic. “
Bernhard Auinger, Vice Mayor and Head of Department: “In 2015, as Mayor of the City of Salzburg, Heinz Schaden was a helper and crisis manager from the start during the great refugee movement. From a humanistic and socio-political point of view, coming to terms with this time is very important to him. This report impressively documents what great achievements our city is capable of when almost everyone pulls together. Therefore, I find it particularly important that this book looks at the experiences and the almost superhuman achievements of the helpers from different perspectives and also records them for future generations. “
Peter Kramml, Head of the City Archives: “With his comprehensive documentation of the“ great escape ”from 2015, Heinz Schaden makes another important contribution to one of the thematic focal points of the city archive, the city’s migration history. It is particularly gratifying that the city archives were able to realize a book project with committed volunteers, as was the case recently with the publications on the city’s Latin inscriptions or the great city fire of 1818. “
Sylvia Hahn, university historian and migration expert: “The views of political and / or administrative decision-makers on the events of the great escape in Salzburg in 2015 open up new perspectives and interesting insights into what happened in migration. They form an important documentation and basis for future scientific discussions about the refugee movements in Europe since the 2000s. “
Heinz Schaden, Die “Große Flucht” 2015. A report (Salzburg contributions to the history of migration 2, series of publications by the Archives of the City of Salzburg 61), Salzburg 2021, 224 pages with 143 color illustrations and 4 graphics, ISBN 978-3-900213-52-7 . Price: € 24.20; available in the city archives and in good bookshops.
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