This memorial stone commemorates the Jewish educator Aron Menczer, who grew up in the second district of Vienna.
On the top of the memorial stone you can read: "Here, children were still allowed to be children". For them, the JUAL was a place of refuge in a hostile environment. Marc-Aurel-Strasse 5 provided distraction, support and exchange with young people who were going through a similar experience. The motto "Af al pi aachen" – Hebrew for "In spite of everything" – gave courage and stood for the will to do something to counteract the gray everyday life.
Aron not only led the "Youth Aliyah". As an educator he understood the worries and needs of the young people and gave them hope. Besides that he was instrumental in helping Jewish children and young people to emigrate. He went along with them to Palestine and would have had the chance to stay in order to save his own life, but he refused. In the end his sense of responsibility was so strong that sacrificed himself and perished in Auschwitz along with the children he cared for.
The owner of the house – a real estate company – refused to have a memorial plaque affixed to the facade of the house but at the instigation of the survivors, the memorial stone was set up in 2012.
- What did you find out about Aron Menczer after reading the plaque? Mark two passages that you think are important.