January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Representatives from politics and the church took the opportunity to commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime. Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) invited to a memorial meeting.
Austrians were not only victims of the Holocaust, but also perpetrators. This “historical responsibility towards our history” calls not only for commemoration, but also for “concrete actions in the here and now to resolutely combat anti-Semitism and extremism of all kinds,” said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP).
The Ministry of the Interior joins the initiative of the World Jewish Congress and will place candles in the windows of the building on Herrengasse to commemorate the victims of the Shoah, according to a press release. In the afternoon, officials of the ministry commemorate the Viennese Jews who were deported from there to Auschwitz in a ceremony at the former train station of Aspang. International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the liberation of survivors in Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp on January 27, 1945.
Contemporary witness told young people
Justice Minister Edtstadler invited Zikaron BaSalon (Hebrew: “Memories in the living room”) to the memorial gathering. This is a social initiative that has been taking place worldwide since 2011. This time, eyewitness Elisabeth Scheiderbauer told her life story to about 20 young people from Austria.
In Austria there are several projects dealing with the Holocaust. Another example is “Polizei 1938-1945”, in which the Ministry of the Interior examines its own history during the Nazi era and its continuity after 1945. The results are intended, among other things, to sensitize the next generation of police officers in this area.
Cardinal Schönborn tweeted
The chairman of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP), pointed to the #WeRemember initiative. Members of parliament tell the life stories of Holocaust victims and commemorate them in a personal way. An oversized banner on the facade of parliament draws attention to the campaign.
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn also commemorated the victims of National Socialism. “78 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, we remember everyone, especially the Jewish victims of National Socialism,” the Archbishop of Vienna wrote on Twitter. “But remembering alone is not enough: each of us bears the responsibility for a humane and good coexistence.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
