This year, 2020, marks a significant anniversary in the history of Hainburg, in fact for the whole country of Austria. In the year 1420, an expulsion of the Jewish people began in some communities such as Hainburg; the expulsion ended very tragically on March 12, 1421, with the remaining Jews who had refused baptism were burned at the stake in the present day third district of Vienna. The rich were put into prison, many were forcefully baptized, and those who refused were put onto small rafts and sent down the Danube river towards present day Bratislava. These were very dark days.
To remember this anniversary two small events took place. In July a small group from the TJCII Come and See Course gathered in Hainburg to pray and remember the events of 1420. We prayed that this history would not be forgotten. We realized that the old synagogue next to the Mysterium Christi house (that is about 700 years old) was probably last used as a synagogue 600 years ago. Yet, the building still stands and has surely seen much history. We want to hold it in remembrance. May it be as the stump from Isaiah 11:1!
The second event took place on the afternoon of September 27, right before the eve of Yom Kippur. A small group gathered in the Hainburg parish of Sts. Phillip and James to remember the events, pray together, and ask forgiveness for these events of the past.
Source: Sr. Mary Paul Friemel - Hainburg Report, December 2020 No. 18