Dear friends and supporters of the National Fund,

Welcome to our newsletter, which brings you with the latest news about the tasks and activities of the National Fund and the Cemeteries Fund.

The National Fund

Simon Wiesenthal Prize 2024 – deadline for entries until 31 July

Entries for the Simon Wiesenthal Prize 2024 can be submitted until 31 July
Image: Parlamentsdirektion

The National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism is awarding the Simon Wiesenthal Prize, endowed with 30,000 euros, for the fourth time this year. The deadline for entries is 31 July 2024.

Individuals and groups from civil society who are committed to combating antisemitism and raising awareness about the Holocaust are invited to enter. You can submit an entry in your own right or nominate others for the Prize. Further details and the conditions for taking part can be found in the guidelines. Entries can be submitted using the online application form.

The entries received will be evaluated by the jury, which then submits a shortlist to the Board of Trustees of the National Fund. The nominees will be announced in autumn 2024. The prize winners will be revealed at a ceremony in Parliament in March 2025.

One particularly important aspect of the Simon Wiesenthal Prize is to pay tribute to contemporary eyewitnesses. They are honoured in the form of a special commendation, as a sign of recognition and appreciation for their courageous work. Although they have endured untold suffering, they still find the strength to share their stories, making a vital contribution to learning from history while also fostering humanity and democracy. Contemporary eyewitnesses can also be nominated for the award until 31 July 2024 via the online application form.

The extraordinary “gesture payment” for over 3,200 victims of National Socialism from Austria

Decision of the Council of Ministers MRV 70/15
Photo: Nationalfonds

Over 3,200 victims of National Socialism from Austria have received an extraordinary “gesture payment” from the National Fund. These beneficiaries are living in 40 different countries worldwide, most of them – over 1,100 – in Austria, followed by the USA, Israel, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and France. The oldest person to receive an extraordinary gesture payment is 110 years old!

In September 2023, the Austrian Federal Government decided to provide further support to all living victims of National Socialism from Austria. Its resolution provided for a one-off extraordinary gesture payment of 5,087.10 euros to be made by the National Fund to all victims of National Socialism from Austria under National Fund criteria. The National Fund has contacted all eligible persons in writing and has received around 3,360 completed forms requesting an extraordinary gesture payment. The processing of these forms was largely completed by the end of May 2024 and around 3,200 payments have been made totalling around 16.5 million euros.

The Federal Government’s resolution also makes provision for the payments to be stepped up in cases of special need. The National Fund can make additional payments to people who have already received a gesture payment if they are in particular need of assistance or if extra support appears warranted due to their general circumstances.

Study trip for teachers to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial

Entrance area to the new Austria exhibition in Auschwitz
Photo: Rupert Steiner

In October 2024, another study trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial will take place for teachers, organised by the National Fund in cooperation with the Austrian Service Abroad programme ERINNERN:AT and the Vienna University of Teacher Education. During the four-day study trip, teachers will get to know the memorial site and the new Austrian national exhibition and address the challenges of visiting with pupils as well as becoming acquainted with concepts and learning materials for preparatory and follow-up work surrounding a visit to a memorial site and exhibition. The study trip from 3 to 6 October 2024 will be accompanied by two online seminars on 17 September 2024 and 5 November 2024. The costs for the study trip will be covered by ERINNERN:AT and the National Fund.

Grants for memorial service members

The amendment to the National Fund Law, which came into force at the beginning of 2024, brought new tasks for the National Fund, including providing financial support for people on memorial service. Around 100 young memorial servants who will be doing their alternative civilian service at memorial sites and research institutions in 2023/24 have applied for and already received a grant via the new online portal for memorial service volunteers. The National Fund has already received the first applications for the upcoming 2024/25 intake, which starts in autumn. Memorial Service is currently possible at over 95 places of service worldwide. The National Fund would like to express its thanks for the excellent and constructive cooperation with the Austrian Service Abroad Association and the Memorial Service Association as well as the more than 100 participants in the Memorial Service.

Shoah Wall of Names Memorial

The Shoah Wall of Names Memorial in Vienna is a memorial to the Jewish children, women and men from Austria who were murdered in the Shoah. Together with the Austrian Service Abroad programme ERINNERN:AT, the National Fund has developed educational materials to accompany visits to the memorial. The material consists of 14 biographical cards, a glossary and a handout and is also available in English.

In co-operation with the House of Austrian History and the Vienna Provincial Court, the National Fund is offering a historical guided tour. The tour includes the Vienna Provincial Court with its memorial room (in the former execution room) and the Shoah Wall of Names Memorial. The guided tours take place every first Tuesday of the month, bookings can be made via the House of Austrian History website.

Project funding

The current submission deadline for project funding applications is 1 September 2024.

In May 2024, the Board of Trustees of the National Fund approved funding for around 100 project funding applications with a total amount of around 716,000 euros, including 500,000 euros for nine social and medical programmes.

The funded projects were distributed among the following categories:

• Education / Research / Science / Archive / Research: 20 projects
• Events - Theatre / Exhibitions / Symposia / Concerts: 29 projects
• Memorial / Memorial plaque / Commemorative events / Commemorative trips: 30 projects
• Media - Books / DVD / CD / Documentary films / Audio books: 25 projects

You can find an overview of all projects and programmes funded by the National Fund in our project database.

New guidelines for project funding

At its meeting in May, the Board of Trustees also adopted new guidelines for awarding project funding. In principle, the project content that is eligible for funding has been broadened and the way in which project funding is handled has been set out in more precise detail. In future, projects that benefit the descendants of victims of National Socialism will also be eligible for funding, as will projects that contribute to academic research into the role of perpetrators and followers under the Nazi regime. The Board of Trustees can also set areas of thematic focus for project funding over one or more years. Not only legal entities but also private individuals are eligible for funding. It is no longer mandatory for projects to have co-funding. The thematic priorities and an increase in the submission deadlines from twice a year to four times a year will apply from 2025. All changes can be found in detail in the guidelines for awarding project funding.

New Committee members and a new Managing Board at the National Fund

The Committee of the National Fund gained four new members under the amendment to the National Fund Law. The Austrian Academy of Sciences appointed Ljiljana Radonić, the Austrian University Conference appointed Brigitte Bailer and Gerald Lamprecht and the Austrian National Committee of the International Council of Museums Otto Hochreiter as new members of the National Fund Committee. The Committee decides on awarding payments from the Fund and held its first meeting in its new constellation on 20 March 2024.

The management of the Funds has also grown. Judith Pfeffer has been on the Managing Board of the National Fund since 1 April 2024. Together with Hannah Lessing, who was Secretary General since 1995 and on the Managing Board since 1 January 2024, they form the Managing Board of the National Fund and the Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria.

Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria

St. Pölten Jewish cemetery handed over following renovation

The renovated Jewish cemetery in St. Pölten with the ceremonial hall on 28 June 2024
Photo: Parlamentsdirektion/Johannes Zinner

In a ceremony attended by representatives from the fields of politics, the media and culture, the newly-restored New Jewish Cemetery in St. Pölten was ceremoniously released to the City of St. Pölten for long-term upkeep on 28 June 2024.

The cemetery’s owner, the Jewish Community Vienna, had the New Jewish Cemetery in St. Pölten renovated between 2022 and 2024 once a maintenance agreement had been reached with the City of St. Pölten. The Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria provided government funding of around 880,000 euros for the renovation. The Province of Lower Austria also subsidised the renovation in the amount of around 280,000 euros. Further information and photos of the handover can be found in our press release.

Ongoing and completed cemetery restorations

At its meeting in May 2024, the Board of Trustees for the Cemeteries Fund approved a new restoration project recommended by the Advisory Board: funding totalling around 682,000 euros was granted for master builder work as well as tree maintenance, clearing and replacement planting at the Jewish cemetery in Mattersburg.

Since the Fund was established in 2010, around 14 million euros in federal funding has been granted to support 65 restoration projects at 18 Jewish cemeteries. 13 Jewish cemeteries have been fully restored and released to the local authorities for ongoing maintenance. Renovation projects are currently being realised at the Jewish cemeteries in the Vienna Central Cemetery Gate 1 and Gate 4, Währing, Mistelbach and Mattersburg.

Anna Artaker, design for the old Jewish cemetery in St. Pölten
Rendering: kubakub

The abandoned Old Jewish Cemetery in St. Pölten is also being recontextualised. The artistic design by Anna Artaker, co-financed by the National Fund, replaces the approximately eighty-metre-long perimeter fence running between the cemetery and public space with 116 glass panes printed with information from the death records about those buried there and the history of the site. The opening is planned for autumn 2024.

New publications on the Jewish cemeteries

The publications "Houses of Eternity" and "Jewish Cemeteries in Austria
Graphic: Stefan Lengsteiner

The anthology “Houses of Eternity”, published by the National Fund at the beginning of the year, sheds light on the restoration of these historically significant cultural sites by the Cemeteries Fund and their maintenance. The authors provide insights into the history of the cemeteries, share personal experiences of the restoration process and emphasise the social relevance of this work. The “Visitors’ Guide to the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria” has also been published in a revised and expanded 2024 edition.

These two bilingual publications were presented to the public at a book presentation held at the Parliament in February 2024. The publication “Houses of Eternity” and the “Visitors’ Guide” are available from the National Fund.

We hope that you have enjoyed this newsletter and found the overview of the Funds’ recent activities interesting and informative.

We would like to wish you a pleasant and relaxing summer!

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Your Team at the National Fund