Via donau Via donau via donau is a subsidiary of the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (bmvit) tasked with the preservation and development of the Danube waterway. It was established in 2005. via donau was established on 1 January 2005 by the Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology formed by a merger of the Austrian Donau-Betriebs AG, the Austrian Danube-Technik GmbH, the via donau Development Company for Telematics and Navigation on the Danube and the privatized waterways organization. via donau executes federal tasks in waterway and shipping. The company is not only an infrastructure operator, but also a partner in
SS Donau (1929) SS Donau (1929) SS "Donau" was a Norddeutscher Lloyd refrigerated cargo ship. In the Second World War the Kriegsmarine used it as a transport ship between Germany and Norway. She became known as the "slave ship" after the SS and Gestapo transported 540 Jews from Norway to Stettin, from where they were taken by train to Auschwitz. Only nine of those deported on the "Donau" survived. "Donau" was built in Hamburg for Norddeutscher Lloyd of Bremen and completed in 1929. At gross she was large for her time, and she was unusual amongst cargo ships for being powered by both