Conceptual artist Yoshinori Niwa: Getting rid of Hitler

Many households still have traces of National Socialism. For example, an old postcard or a yellowed photograph, perhaps a garment or an original edition of "Mein Kampf" - relics from a dark period, heirlooms that push their owners into the farthest corner of the attic, but do not dispose of it.

For two months now, the Japanese artist Yoshinori Niwa has been offering an emergency relief for owners of leftover Nazi relics. Anyone who logs in can either visit Niwa at home or drop the memorabilia into a container on the main square in Graz. "Withdrawing Hitler from a private space" is the name of this action, which is part of the art festival "Steirischer Herbst".

Ironically, at the former "Adolf Hitler Platz" in Graz is a black old clothes container that irritate passers-by and should bring to thinking. For Niwa this is an important task. "Since it's illegal to show Nazi remnants in public, you do not see them on the streets anymore, but I've found out that it looks quite different in private life."

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Since 2016 Yoshinori Niwa lives in Vienna. Precisely because, as a Japanese artist, he looks at Austria from the outside, he can approach such a project. "Nobody knows the reality of this time, soon all eyewitnesses are dead. People of my generation do not know this reality, it is time for the younger generation to deal with the older one again."

Dealing with the past with containers

Niwas black container should symbolize the unwillingness of people to talk about the past of their families. "Nobody knows the inside of the container, it's like a black box." The donated memorabilia remain invisible to the public. Every day the container is emptied and the contents are collected to be destroyed at the end of the festival on the 14th of October. "The state police urged me, almost forcing me to end the project like this, and I originally planned to let people decide for themselves whether or not to get rid of them forever."

Therefore, the second part of his project for Niwa is also the more important: Parallel to the collection campaign, he leads together with his partner Yelena Maksutay a video diary. But he meets with people and talks to them about "Withdrawing Hitler". The relatives are often in conflict, Niwa explains: "The objects are Nazi relics, yes - but also family memories that they do not just want to throw away." Niwa then asks them the unpleasant question of why they want to stick to something that is connected with the Nazi era. Do you want to pass on these relics to your children?

The material things are hardly relevant, it is about personal stories and the dispute about it. These encounters are Niwa's main concerns, about which he speaks lovingly, it acts as a therapy offer.

Not all reactions to "Withdrawing Hitler" are positive. "Many people know nothing about the project and the background, they just read the words 'Nazi', 'Swastika', and 'destroy' and go to the barricades." The artist and also the director of the festival, Ekaterina Degot, were harshly attacked for "Withdrawing Hitler". For Degot, this is a sign that the program of this year's edition meets the ravages of time. In the opening speech, she emphasizes that this year's theme "Volksfronten" should disturb people's habits and deliberately provoke them. That is why a large part of this year's edition of "Styrian Autumn" takes place in public space.

Yoshinori Niwa is open to the further development of his project. "Everything and nothing can happen here - if someone destroys the container today, it's also a reaction, then I have to deal with it." He wants to continue conducting interviews by the end of the festival.

In the video: Hitler's time in Vienna

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MIRROR TV

Festival: Styrian Autumn, Graz, until October 14th

Editor's note: In an earlier version, Yoshinori Niwa was quoted as saying the city government had urged him to end the project. In fact, he meant the state police. We corrected the mistake.