Vienna — In 1930s Vienna, art fought a nightly war against prejudice at the Nestroyhof theater. With Adolf Hitler's rise in neighboring Germany and widespread pro-Nazi sentiment in Austria, life was increasingly precarious for Vienna's Jews.
But the Jewish theater troupe at the Nestroyhof aimed "through artistic endeavor ... to refute the arguments of Judaism's adversaries and show their cruelties," artistic director Jacob Goldflies wrote at the start of the 1937-38 theater season.
Hitler's annexation of Austria on March 13, 1938, brought a brutal end to such optimism and to Vienna's once-thriving Jewish theater scene. The Nestroyhof theater was forgotten, its graceful Art Nouveau moldings and wrought iron balconies hidden behind the shelves of a supermarket that had moved into the space.
Now, after more than half a century of neglect, the theater has been discovered virtually intact within the Nestroyhof building. However, it remains closed, blanketed in dust and lost to public view.
The theater is on the first floor of a privately owned apartment building, which is to be granted landmark status soon. The original building was designed at the beginning of the 20th century by Oskar Marmorek, a well-known Viennese Art Nouveau architect and Zionist Jew.
While Austria's current landmark-protection laws forbid the owners from destroying architectural details, it would not proscribe what the theater space could be used for or require the owners to foot the bill for restorations.
Warren Rosenzweig, the American founder and artistic director of Jewish Theater Austria, is fighting to reopen the theater but has struggled to gain official backing for the project.
"It's high time to do something for Jewish culture for the present," he said. "It is the only space that is fully recoverable, and the building is absolutely spectacular. But it is not possible to restore this building without government support."
Vienna's theaters have traditionally survived on generous subsidies from the city, which provides more than 50 million euros annually to the performing arts. Rosenzweig petitioned the city government to finance the Nestroyhof's restoration and reopening, but his proposal was turned down on financial grounds.
And while Rosenzweig recently received notice from the city that it would reconsider the Nestroyhof project, the government is revamping its funding system and aims to reduce -- not increase -- the number of theaters operating in Vienna.
