Bertrand Perz missed an opportunity to give his book a more lively title than the straightforward one he chose, for along the way we learn much more than what happened at Mauthausen after the war. Because the camp was “home” to prisoners of many nationalities and because the administration of the camp—and, after the war, the memorial—involved the Americans, Soviets, Austrians, and many survivor organizations, many people had an important stake in this single site in Upper Austria. Thus, Mauthausen as a site of memory not only reveals a wide variety of themes on Vergangenheitsbewältigung and the politics thereof, but it also tells us much about the complex workings of postwar and Cold War politics. We learn of American pragmatism (the SS sports field becomes a cemetery because the location was flat) and Soviet pragmatism (the equipment for the camp's infamous quarry is declared German property and confiscated as reparations). In the summer of 1947, the Soviets handed over control of what was by then the systematically looted and shamefully neglected Mauthausen to the Austrian government.

Under Austrian control, the administration of the memorial became entwined with local and national politics. Survivor organizations, such as the mostly Austro-French International Mauthausen Committee, also weighed in on how the site should be administered. Other main themes covered in the book include the links between Mauthausen and other nearby camps and memorials (for example, Gusen) and the building of the museum at Mauthausen. Perz concludes with an analysis of how in the period from 1970 to 2000 Mauthausen became a central site of Austrian memory of Nazi crimes. In this analysis he includes a discussion of how Mauthausen became linked with the victim thesis through the (over-) emphasis on Austrian victims of political persecution while paying less attention to “racial” victims and underemphasizing Austrian perpetrators.

Perz's choices of photographs are excellent, and Studienverlag should be commended on their generosity with the illustrations. Ranging from Signal Corps photos from the U.S. National Archives to a valuable personal collection from France, the photos add much to the book. Perz finely places the photos in context and explains how images were always understood to be powerful tools of remembrance and commemoration. An example of particular interest is the famous photo of liberated camp victims cheering U.S. forces as they roll through the gates of Mauthausen in a Sherman tank. Perz explains that because there were few photos of the actual liberation in April, this famous scene was recreated in May.

Overall Perz has placed the postwar history of Mauthausen in multiple contexts, ranging from local politics to Cold War politics to historical memory. At times this makes for choppy reading, especially toward the end of the work, where the text is divided into several subtopics. But this is a minor criticism, as the overall organization is very effective and Perz's prose is clear and straightforward. The bibliography leaves the impression that Perz neglected important English-language works on Mauthausen and other relevant historiography, but the notes reveal that this is not at all the case. Perz clearly is very conversant with the historiography related to his work, whether it is historical memory, monuments, or the Cold War. Perz's work is a well-written, thoroughly researched, and important contribution to the study of postwar Austrian history and historical memory.