Warning against FPÖ

Volkstheater on shock video: “We are taking a stand”

Following the release of the "Euer Wille geschehe" music video, the Volkstheater has also come in for a lot of criticism.(Bild: Screenshot/YouTube.com/Volkstheater Wien)

The Volkstheater in Vienna has caused quite a stir with its artistic actions against the FPÖ - and some viewers have been up in arms. The "Krone" asked theater director Kay Voges whether he really hopes to change voters' minds and how he deals with the criticism.

As we all know, art is in the eye of the beholder - the Volkstheater has divided opinion with a video on its YouTube channel. The song called "Euer Wille geschehe (Heim ins Reich)", in which Hitler clones rock out in front of FPÖ posters and dildos, faeces and swastikas are used as utensils, is not to everyone's taste, as the comments column also shows. 

In response to an inquiry from the "Krone" newspaper, Voges explained that he is very concerned about what is currently happening "in Austria, Germany, Europe and beyond". "As a cultural institution, we have two options here: We do nothing, or we try to use our art to draw attention as loudly as we can to the fact that something is going in the wrong direction," said the theater director. 

A screenshot from the video that caused a stir(Bild: Screenshot/YouTube.com/Volkstheater Wien)

Volkstheater wanted to show "what if"
The cultural venue intended to take a stand and make it public. "This is the only way we can get people to think again before the election about where they will vote on Sunday," Voges is convinced. "I believe that with this campaign, which can be seen as a kind of intervention, we have shown in a particularly painful way what 'what if' would mean."

This began with the provocative announcement that the institution would be renamed the "Deutsches Volkstheater". The song by the band "Die Hitlers" is now the finale. In between, there were "German courses" on the theater's social channels, jokingly suggesting "Schorle" instead of "Gspritzter" or "Tüte" instead of "Sackerl".

A Volkstheater "German course" on Instagram:

Voges can handle amivalence
It generated a lot of attention for the right cause. "Sure, there was a lot of outrage, not everyone thought this campaign was incredibly successful. At the same time, there was also a lot of support for our stance against the right. We want to endure this ambivalence," says Voges.

"Austria's biggest election party" at the Volkstheater
Now they want to concentrate on the big event that will take place from Wednesday. The event "Three days for Austria - Ultimate celebration of democracy (before it's too late!)" will take place on September 25 and 26 as well as on election Sunday. "On this day, we will be celebrating Austria's biggest election party in the large hall and are excited to see whether we have perhaps also given one or two voters a nudge in what we think is the right direction," says Voges.