Austria Commemorates Victims of Nazi Euthanasia Program, Mauthausen Liberation

VIENNA – Austria held several memorial ⁤events Monday to commemorate the victims of National Socialism,‍ including a focus on the Nazi euthanasia⁣ program⁤ carried out at Hartheim Castle ⁣in Upper Austria. Politicians and guests gathered in parliament to remember the tens of thousands murdered there between 1940 and 1944.

Hartheim Castle: A Site of Systematic Murder

Hartheim castle was the site where an estimated 30,000 people with disabilities ‍and mental illnesses were systematically murdered by the Nazi ⁣regime. Victims included residents of psychiatric facilities and nursing homes,⁢ as well as prisoners deemed unfit for work from concentration camps such as Mauthausen, Gusen, Ravensbrück, and Dachau.

In her opening remarks, National Council Second President Doris Bures, representing National Council President Walter⁢ Rosenkranz, who was absent due‍ to a boycott, emphasized the plight of the⁣ victims. “Tens of⁣ thousands of victims in Hartheim – women, men, children – people who‍ were declared failures as of disability or illness,” she said. “They needed protection, but what they received was neglect, dehumanization, and death.” Bures described their deaths as a “systematic and perfidious crime, meticulously planned ⁢and managed without emotion.”

Memorial Events Overshadowed by Boycott

The commemoration was marked⁤ by⁢ a boycott from the Israelite Cultural Community (IKG) and the Mauthausen Committee ‍(MKÖ) in ⁤protest of FPÖ National Council President Walter Rosenkranz’s presence. Rosenkranz was represented by Bures.

Rising ⁤anti-Semitism Condemned

Bures addressed the rise of anti-Semitism,stating it ⁣was the root cause of the‍ hatred that expanded to include “all people who were considered ‘different.'” She stressed the importance of confronting anti-Semitism in all its forms.According to reports,‍ over 1,500 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in Austria in 2024, marking‍ an increase of ‍more than 30 percent.

“If anti-Semitism is understood in Europe and worldwide – ‍whether from the right, left, or from the migrant environment – then it is indeed vital to help⁢ Jews,” Bures said.The event included a panel discussion featuring victims and a‍ resistance fighter, and actress Kristina Sprenger read⁢ from victim biographies.

Calls for a Living Culture of Remembrance

Federal Council President Andrea Eder-Gitschthaler ⁢emphasized the need to preserve the memory of the victims. “these memories must not fall silent; they are a precious legacy that we have to preserve and pass on,” she ⁣said, urging the transmission of knowledge to younger generations “not as a burden, but as an ‍order.”⁤ She called for a vibrant culture of remembrance⁣ and open dialog between ⁢generations.

Federal president Alexander Van der Bellen stated ⁣that the day served as “memory and⁢ order to stay loud, to look⁣ and consciously appreciate and⁤ strengthen basic‍ values⁣ such as human ‍dignity and solidarity.” SPÖ leader and Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler echoed this sentiment, ⁣emphasizing that remembrance is a‍ “mission for the future” to combat “hatred and agitation, exclusion and violence, ⁢anti-semitism and racism with all strength.” Greens leader Werner⁢ Kogler‍ stressed that “Never again” is not an empty⁢ phrase but “a promise⁢ – against forgetting, against trivializing, against repeating.”

IKG and MKÖ Boycott Over Rosenkranz’s Presence

IKG President Oskar Deutsch and MKÖ Chairman Willi Mernyi boycotted the parliamentary commemoration due‍ to Rosenkranz’s presence. Rosenkranz had stated he was “represented overall”⁣ as chairman of the national Fund for Nazi Victims, ⁤but this did not satisfy the IKG and MKÖ leaders.

Deutsch told ORF that an “invitation ‍from someone… who then goes into the basement in the evening and celebrates”⁣ with right-wing extremists was unacceptable. mernyi stated it was “not conclusive” for a speaker to condemn right-wing extremism while being affiliated with ⁣a party that “lives from right-wing extremism.”

IKG ⁢and MKÖ Commemorate at Heldenplatz

Deutsch and Mernyi rather attended the opening of‍ the MKÖ’s “80‍ Years of ⁣Liberation from National Socialism” memorial exhibition at vienna’s Heldenplatz. Deutsch condemned the resurgence of anti-Semitism, stating that “the unexpected thing of the National ‍Socialists… anti-Semitism, the hostility towards everything that is supposed to be different was ⁤not defeated.”

Deutsch warned of “uninhibited anti-Semitism that puts people at risk” in Austria and worldwide. He asserted that this hatred is a continuation of Nazi anti-Semitism, perpetuated by the Iranian regime, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.

MKÖ Highlights Domestic Right-Wing Extremism

Mernyi focused on the domestic right-wing extremist scene, displaying a police photograph⁤ of an arms cache discovered in Lower Austria. He appealed to law enforcement to continue acting against such cells, emphasizing that “the ‘Never Again’ begins with⁣ the consistent‍ approach to right-wing extremists.”

The MKÖ’s campaign at Heldenplatz features banners with photos of concentration camps ‍and statements from survivors,including Mark Olky,who attended ⁤the opening.