{"id":21697,"date":"2020-01-05T05:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-05T04:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=21697"},"modified":"2025-02-11T09:16:36","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T08:16:36","slug":"otto-pollak-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/otto-pollak-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"Otto Pollak exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ottopollak.jpg\" alt=\"Cafe Palmhof exhibition poster\" class=\"wp-image-22565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ottopollak.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ottopollak-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The tragedy lies in the familiarity of the story. A major contributor to Viennese life and culture, caf\u00e9 owner Otto Pollak lost his establishment under the Nazis, his freedom to the Theresienstadt ghetto, and his brother to Auschwitz. The <em>Let&#8217;s Dance<\/em> exhibition at the Jewish Museum tells his and Caf\u00e9 Palmhof&#8217;s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Features, for example, photos and documents from the Pollak estate and intriguing historical items from the old coffee house<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Just one room, so quick to get around<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Runs Jan 22 &#8211; Sept 18, 2020<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Current <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/jewish-museum\/\">Jewish Museum visitor &amp; tickets info<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Current <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/#history\">history exhibitions<\/a> in Vienna<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Let&#8217;s Dance!<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"321\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Front-of-Cafe-Palmenhof.jpg\" alt=\"Front of Caf\u00e9 Palmenhof\" class=\"wp-image-21699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Front-of-Cafe-Palmenhof.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Front-of-Cafe-Palmenhof-300x193.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Caf\u00e9 Palmhof &#8211; Press photo \u00a9 Private collection Kinsky)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The small <em>Let&#8217;s Dance<\/em> exhibition, curated by Theresa Eckstein and Janine Zettl (and sponsored by Raiffeisen), tells the tale of Otto Pollak and his Caf\u00e9 Palmhof on Mariahilfer Stra\u00dfe. Exhibits from his estate create a lovely impression of cultural life in pre-war Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A flourishing business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mariahilfer Stra\u00dfe is one of Vienna&#8217;s top <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/shopping\/best-places-to-shop\/\">shopping streets<\/a>, though most of the action takes place along the part inside the great G\u00fcrtel ring road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Commercial life is a bit tougher for those with premises beyond the G\u00fcrtel. Before WWII, Otto Pollak was one of them, as owner of Caf\u00e9 Palmhof at Mariahilfer Stra\u00dfe 135 (together with his brother, Karl). A coffee house by day, the caf\u00e9 morphed into a music club at night. And a very successful venue it was, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Various bands and musicians performed, often with live radio broadcasts of concerts (you can listen to excerpts from one at the exhibition).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pollak himself even sang occasionally. Franz Leh\u00e1r was a guest, and Miss Vienna took place there in 1933. Caf\u00e9 Palmhof became a vibrant cultural and social hotspot in early 20th-century Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tragic side of the story began with two terrorist (Nazi) bombings in 1934 and reached its conclusion with the aryanisation of the business in 1938.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Otto Pollak and his family eventually fled to his birthplace, Kyjov in southern Czechoslovakia, but were later deported to the Theresienstadt hybrid ghetto and concentration camp in 1943.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Otto and his daughter, Helga, survived the war. Karl Pollak was not so &#8220;fortunate&#8221;, having been moved on to Auschwitz to be murdered by the Nazis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the authorities eventually returned the coffee house to Pollak, he felt unable to reopen the business. Today, a discount supermarket occupies the historical address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Photos, letters, a menu, and more<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>Let&#8217;s Dance<\/em> exhibition presents small themed displays that illustrate Pollak&#8217;s life and the history of Caf\u00e9 Palmhof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you have childhood and family photos, for example, but also concert posters for the caf\u00e9, the original coffee house cutlery and crockery, letters, diaries and more. The highlights for me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A large photo of  the view down to Westbahnhof station from the caf\u00e9&#8217;s window &#8211; how things have changed in the intervening decades!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The caf\u00e9 guestbook open to a dedication from Hans Moser, one of Austria&#8217;s most renowned actors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Photos of Caf\u00e9 Palmhof&#8217;s interior, revealing the elegant and ever-changing decor<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A 1926 letter of thanks from Adele Strauss, third and final wife of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/johann-strauss\/\">Johann Strauss II<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A menu, where an espresso cost two Schillings (\u20ac0.15) or just one Schilling after the first. And a Schnitzel with salad would set you back three Schillings (\u20ac0.22).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But perhaps the most poignant exhibits are those hinting at the horrors of WWII and the Nazi regime, particularly Otto Pollak&#8217;s (long) list of those members of his family who never came back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the liberation of Theresienstadt, Otto and Helga returned to Kyjov to await the return of other members of the family. Only one cousin did so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dates, tickets &amp; tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>Let&#8217;s Dance<\/em> exhibition runs from January 22nd to September 18th, 2020. You only need a standard entrance&nbsp;ticket to the Jewish Museum to view the exhibition (or use a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/vienna-pass-review\/\">Vienna Pass<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get there<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The main <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/jewish-museum\/\">site on Dorotheergasse<\/a> hosts the exhibition. Once you&#8217;re inside the museum, go to the first floor and look for the smaller Studio Exhibition room to the right of the stairs and lift as you come up from below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Dorotheergasse 11, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1kuTU0C-76Mhn7ArHvQRPPPNUQ_y5QnDH\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The tragedy lies in the familiarity of the story. A major contributor to Viennese life and culture, caf\u00e9 owner Otto Pollak lost his establishment under the Nazis, his freedom to the Theresienstadt ghetto, and his brother to Auschwitz. The Let&#8217;s Dance exhibition at the Jewish Museum tells his and Caf\u00e9 Palmhof&#8217;s story. Let&#8217;s Dance! (Caf\u00e9 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-museums","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21697"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80243,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21697\/revisions\/80243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}