The premiere of 'Heldenplatz' at the Burgtheater in Vienna shocked Austrian society in 1988. A local tabloid launched a campaign against the work that unleashed the biggest cultural scandal since World War II.

The country's president, Kurt Waldheim, called for the play to be canceled because it was “a gross insult to the Austrian people” Today the scandal, not just the subject of its own scandal, is also subject of a study at Vienna University of University of Vienna.