Das Werk

Recording from the Akademietheater, 2003

Construction of the Kaprun hydroelectric power plant began as early as the 1920s; during the Nazi era (groundbreaking ceremony: Hermann Göring), construction continued intensively, first with volunteers, then with forced laborers, and finally with prisoners of war as well. They worked under the extreme conditions typical of mountainous terrain, with inadequate food and equipment. The official death toll from the construction of this power plant is 160. However, that figure includes only those who died in the postwar period, and by then the workers—among whom were many former Nazis who would not have found work anywhere else—were already better equipped. The total number of deaths is much higher.