2009 Canada Tour
Vancouver: May 5 , Winnipeg: May 10 , Saskatoon: May 11, Edmonton: May 15
/Harald Stadler
Professor of ArchaeologyLeopold Franzens University, Innsbruck, Austria
presents:
‘The Fate of the Cossacks in Lienz
During the 20th Century’.
An interdisciplinary project.
and
Anton Schleha
Author, Surviving Lienz
whose book sheds light on the human costs of
Operation Keelhaul at the end of WWII
It is almost 65 years to the day since the appalling act of deportation known as the ‘Tragedy on the Drau’ took place. Stalin told the west that he wanted to have his people back to help rebuild his country. These people, however, knew that the truth was something far different.
The code name for this act of deportation was “Operation Keelhaul.” Few survivors of this tragedy are still alive today. ‘Surviving Lienz’ tells of one such living survivor’s nightmare.
Two living descendants of these Cossacks reside in Lienz, and chair a society dedicated to the preservation of a Cossack legacy. The Society in Commemoration of the Cossack Tragedy of June 1st 1945 was founded on the 11th of January 1957,
In 2005, the society hosted an exhibition in the museum at Tammerberg Castle, Lienz. In 2007, it hosted a three day International Congress in Lienz. In addition to these two great achievements, the Society hosts the annual Memorial Commemoration Ceremony held on the last weekend in May, and funds the costs for continual caring of the cemetery.
A daring future project is the planned, a Bridge of Remembrance. This will be a platform bridge suspended over the River Drau, where documents and objects from these acts of forced deportation found at the end of the war will be exhibited using secure modern screening techniques. The bridge structure will be part of the river promenade circuit in Lienz and will be located next to the Cossack cemetery, the site at which this tragedy took place. Further details will be revealed during the presentation.
Everyone is welcome to become a member of the Society.
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
I would like to join ‘The Society in Commemoration of the Cossack Tragedy of June 1st, 1945’ as a
*( )Descendants Membership - Annual fee CAD 15.00
*( )Supporting Membership - Annual fee CAD 24.00
* Please mark where applicable. Descendant members are asked to share their historical background.
Membership data: First name:……………………. Surname:…………………………..
Date of Birth:…………………. Address:…………………………....
Tel. Nr:………...……………… ……………………………
Email:…………………………. …………………………….
Post to: Michael Rainer, 49 Stirnbach, 9991 Doelsach, East Tyrol, Austria
Society Bank details: Account Nr. 47015, IBAN: AT44 4073 0000 0004 7015, SWIFT/BIC: OVLIAT21XXX
For donation details to the Bridge of Remembrance, please contact: Harald Stadler
University of Innsbruck, Institute of Archaeology, Langer Weg 11, 6020 Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria.