Attentat Oberwart: Commemorating the 1995 Assassination at the House of Austrian History

This page details the 'Attentat Oberwart,' the most severe politically motivated assassination in Austria's Second Republic, which occurred on February 4-5, 1995. The content commemorates the 30th anniversary of the bombing that killed four Roma men, highlighting the racist motivations behind the attack and its perpetrators.

This content delves into the 'Attentat Oberwart,' a pivotal and tragic event in Austrian history that occurred on the night of February 4-5, 1995. It marks the 30th anniversary of this assassination, which remains the most severe politically motivated attack in the Second Republic. The article details how four young Roma men—Erwin Horvath, Karl Horvath, Peter Sarközi, and Josef Simon—were killed by a pipe bomb connected to a sign with the racist inscription "Roma zurück nach Indien" (Roma back to India). The bomb was designed to detonate when someone attempted to remove the hate message. The page includes references to contemporary ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation) reports, featuring interviews with survivors and community members, drawing parallels between the attack and the traumatic experiences of the Roma during the NS-era persecution. It also discusses the initial slow pace of official investigations and the problematic public discourse, including remarks by right-wing politician Jörg Haider, before the perpetrator, the Austrian right-wing extremist Franz Fuchs, was identified two and a half years later. The content also links to related archival materials, historical lexicon entries on Roma persecution during 1938-1945, Franz Fuchs's letter bomb terror, and the specific lexicon entry for the February 4, 1995 attack.