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TwitterParliament Commemorates Victims of National Socialism on the Anniversary of the Liberation of Mauthausen Concentration Camp
Vienna (PK) – On 5 May 1945 the Mauthausen concentration camp and its subcamps were liberated. Every year on this date, the Austrian Parliament commemorates the darkest chapter of Austria's history, signalling the importance of remembrance. This year, the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service was the focus of the ceremony to mark the Day Against Violence and Racism in Remembrance of the Victims of National Socialism, held in the Federal Assembly Hall at the Parliament. The event was jointly hosted by the Presidiums of the National Council and the Federal Council.
In his opening address, Second President of the National Council, Peter Haubner, emphasised that it was not right to simply draw a line under the past and move on. He stressed that remembrance must find new forms in order to remain vibrant. The active involvement by young people demonstrated that Austria is facing up to its responsibility for the past and keeping its memory alive. The commemorative address was delivered by Hedi Schnabl Argent, who had to flee Vienna with her family in 1939. She spoke of her experiences and emphasised that even when surrounded by evil, there have always been people willing to do good. Schnabl Argent also incorporated her experiences as a Jewish girl in 1930s Austria into her children's book, "The Day the Music Changed."
During a panel discussion, Andrzej Kacorzyk, Deputy Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, spoke with former memorial service volunteers about the significance of the memorial service and their experiences as servicemen and women. In his closing remarks, President of the Federal Council Markus Stotter praised the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service, citing it as one of the key pillars of Austria's remembrance work.
Haubner: Remembrance requires responsibility and commitment
Second President of the National Council, Peter Haubner, began his opening address with a quote from Richard von Weizsäcker: "Those who close their eyes to the past become blind to the present." In light of a new record high in antisemitic incidents, this warning is highly relevant. The antisemitism reporting center of the Jewish Community Vienna recently recorded 1,532 antisemitic incidents in just one year, more than four per day. Given these developments, there can be no drawing a line under the suffering of the victims or the horrors of National Socialism, he said.
Haubner recalled Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: "Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected." This sentence forms the very foundation of a united Europe. However, the pledge of dignity is not self-fulfilling. It requires remembrance, and remembrance requires commitment. There is no "expiry date" on dignity and no "enough" when it comes to humanity, he continued.
The Nazi era was not an abstract chapter of history. It was the result of a system, sustained by the populace, that disenfranchised, persecuted, deported, and murdered "others". The Nazi regime sought to eradicate its victims until it seemed like they had never existed. That is why we have a moral responsibility never to relativise, downplay, or forget this unprecedented rupture of civilization. For over thirty years, the National Fund of the Republic of Austria has contributed to keeping the memory of Austria's Nazi past, and that of its victims, alive. Its work demonstrates a clear stance. The remembrance work that so many people do for the National Fund cannot be valued highly enough.
However, remembrance must not be allowed to stagnate; it must evolve and find a new language, Haubner emphasised. As disinformation, distortion, and denial become increasingly widespread in the digital realm, clarity and the courage to speak the truth are essential commodities. Very soon, we will have to get by without hearing the voices of eyewitnesses firsthand. When that time comes, it will be crucial not only to communicate the facts but also to take action and show where we stand. Remembrance truly comes alive when it becomes a vested interest for the younger generation. "When schoolchildren research biographies, care for memorial stones, and develop digital projects, they fill remembrance with life" Haubner reiterated.
The National Fund has taken on the key challenge of adressing what remembrance will look like in the future. Reconciling remembrance with digitalisation, and ensuring that remembrance doesn't "get lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life," is a challenge. The National Fund conference in June will focus on a crucial and necessary step for the future of remembrance: the vision of "rethinking remembrance."
“We cannot undo the darkest chapter of our history, but we can decide how we respond to it,” said the Second President of the National Council. The words “Never again” are a clarion call. It is essential not only to preserve the dignity of the past but also to defend the humanity of the present. Haubner called for the day of remembrance to occasion a pledge to remain vigilant and to speak out and prioritise humanity over indifference when the need arises. Then, he said, remembrance can evolve into responsibility, and responsibility into conviction.
Schnabl Argent: Doing something good every day
Hedi Schnabl Argent, who had to flee from Vienna to England as a child to escape persecution by the Nazi regime, dedicated her speech to her parents, Lisa and Dr. Max Schnabl. “My mother always told me that there are no good or bad people – only ordinary people who do good things or bad things – or both,” she said. She also recalled the maxim of Nicholas Winton, who rescued countless Jewish children: "Don’t be content in your life just to do no wrong, be prepared every day to try and do some good." On the day commemorating six million murdered Jews and in light of the resurgence of antisemitism in the world, it might be "the right time to also speak of doing good."
She had experienced both good and bad in her life. In 1933, at the age of four, she learned that antisemitism existed, "that there are people who don't like me because I'm Jewish." She grew up in awareness of this. At school, she was excluded by her classmates from the very first day. This only changed when a girl named Gerti asked her at the playground, "Do you want to play with me?" Gerti had learned from her mother not to do what others told her to do, but to do what she believed was right. For Gerti, it would have been easier to behave like the other children and pretend she didn't notice the terrible things happening. "Gerti and her mother were people who did good," said Schnabl Argent.
The 13 March 1938, changed the family's life forever. The very next day, she was expelled from school. Within a week, her father's law firm had been taken over by a Nazi, and before the the month was out, the family had been evicted from their apartment. Seventeen members of her family were murdered in the Holocaust. In 1938, it became a regular occurrence for her father to be woken up in the middle of the night and escorted out onto the street in his pajamas to clean sidewalks and public restrooms. Even in times like those, there had been small flickers of humanity, once even from a man in a Nazi uniform, Schnabl Argent recalled. Once, following an accident, a Christian friend of the family had treated her in a hospital where Jews were no longer admitted, risking her job and other severe reprisals.
Her father was eventually arrested for defending a man accused of possessing a forged passport. During his six weeks in custody, a guard who knew him as a respected lawyer protected him from the worst abuse and even hid him for two days in a coal cellar during the November Pogrom of 9-10 November 1938. Her father returned home, while most of his friends and colleagues disappeared. On 17 July 1939, the family finally arrived in England. "We are among the lucky few," Schnabl Argent stressed. Her cousin Bubi, who had been like a big brother to her, his parents, and her grandmother had not been so fortunate.
In recent years, she had also met people who had helped her reconcile with her former homeland. Together, they had erected a memorial stone for Bubi in the cemetery in Wels. He was liberated from Gunskirchen on 5 May 1945, and died the following day, two months shy of his 17th birthday, in the hospital in Wels. His memorial stone bears the beginning of a poem by Heinrich Heine: "My child, we were children, two children, young and blithe."
Memorial Service volunteers share their experiences
Andrzej Kacorzyk, Deputy Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, discussed the significance of the Holocaust Memorial Service with former volunteers. In the panel discussion, they shared their experiences.
Noah Elias Jakovljević, who served in 2025, completed his service in Portugal, where he curated an exhibition about Simon Wiesenthal. Gregor Ribarov spoke about encounters he had while working on a traveling exhibition about Anne Frank in Germany. Both experienced negative incidents, which, however, served to strengthen their commitment to working with young people. Jakovljević stated that to combat forgetting and reach young people, they must be confronted with facts. Ribarov added that, especially since personal encounters with eyewitnesses are becoming increasingly rare, it is important to continue telling their stories and to work with written accounts. Andrzej Kacorzyk, the museum's deputy director, also saw new tasks in this regard. At the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, the emotional and historical significance of historical objects is now being explored in more depth. He explained that the Austrian volunteers participating in the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service would be involved in restoration work, as well as in commemorative ceremonies and exhibitions, in the library, the publishing house, educational programs, and, most often, in the digital archive.
Brigitte Landesmann chose to carry out her service at a museum in Rome after retiring. She felt it was important to bring history into the present and to make young people aware that such processes can be repeated. It was crucial to highlight parallels, for example, when right-wing populist parties used problematic language, she said. She also saw a need for a Holocaust Museum in Austria.
Stotter emphasises the importance of remembrance work
The 5 May is a day for reflection and remembrance, said President of the Federal Council Markus Stotter at the end of the event. It illustrates compellingly where exclusion, hatred, and contempt for humanity can lead, and at the same time serves as a reminder that democracy and human rights can never be taken for granted. The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service is a central pillar of Austrian remembrance work, Stotter stated. Young people who are involved in this service help keep the memory of the crimes of the Nazis alive and, through their dedication, send a clear message of humanity, responsibility, and solidarity. Especially given the upsurge in antisemitic incidents in recent years, it is essential to have a clear stance, sound information, sustainable educational work, and individuals who speak out when boundaries are crossed, as well as institutions that take responsibility. Remembrance work is alive and has a future, the President of the Federal Council concluded. "In this spirit: Let us remember, but even more importantly: Let us act," he appealed.
The event was moderated by Margit Laufer. The musical accompaniment was provided by the string trio of the Alma Rosé Institute at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, in cooperation with the Exilarte Center for Persecuted Music at the mdw. They performed works by Jewish composers who perished in the Holocaust. sox/fan
