Linz mayor Dietmar Prammer moves to rename Dinghoferstraße after Bishop Maximilian Aichern

The mayor of Linz, Dietmar Prammer, received an open letter from the Mauthausen Committee Austria, the Catholic Action Upper Austria and the Upper‑Austrian Network against Racism and Right‑Wing Extremism. The letter urges him to remove the name of Franz Dinghofer – a former mayor, national politician and self‑described "radical anti‑Semite" who participated in the Aryanization of Jewish property – from a central Linz street. It proposes renaming the thoroughfare after the late Bishop Maximilian Aichern (1982‑2005), celebrated for his opposition to fascism and his role in the cause for the beatification of Franz Jägerstätter. The proposal highlights Aichern’s personal experience of Nazi persecution and his lifelong commitment to human rights. The mayor is expected to consider the request as part of an ongoing effort to confront Austria’s Nazi past and to ensure public spaces reflect democratic values.