544 Known Locations

Synopsis

From 1938 to 1945, around 700 National Socialist camps of various kinds were located in the city of Vienna: labor camps, transit camps, detention camps, prison camps, main and subcamps and, above all, forced labor camps. The addresses of around 550 of these places can still be reconstructed. 544 Known Locations shows these former places of terror in their present form.

544 Known Locations is a feature-length experimental documentary, shot on 16mm color film with original sound. Using only steady shots and text panels, the film provides an overview of the development and function of the different types of camps in the German Reich and specific information on selected camps in Vienna.

About the Director

Johannes Boeck

Johannes Boeck (born 1974 in Vienna) lives in Vienna. His solo exhibitions include presentations at the Secession, Vienna (2013) and blackbridge off, Beijing (2015). His works have been shown at Forum Expanded at the Berlinale, Berlin (2014), the Austrian Cultural Forum, New York (2009), the Rencontres Internationales at the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2008), and the Beijing International Art Biennale (2010), among others.

Director’s Statement

I have a personal connection to the topic of the film through my family history: in 1942, my grandfather was sentenced to forced labor for political offenses. After his return from the Esterwegen concentration camp, he never spoke about his experiences, but his traumatization was part of everyday family life and was passed on to subsequent generations through his silence. My family knows little about what actually happened to him—different versions of his story and timeline circulate, leaving many gaps. In this way, the memory of an individual fate mirrors the broader remembrance of the camp system and forced labor as a whole: far too little is known today. My goal is to show that the horror of persecution, coercion and extermination was not limited to a few “hidden” places but was deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, interwoven with everyday life through a vast network of camps.