Partners

Thanks for the support

The Austrian Mauthausen Committee as the organiser had the invaluable support of a number of organisations, including the Verein GEDENKDIENST, the Austrian Jewish Community and the Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance and many more.

The Verein GEDENKDIENST is an independent NGO, not linked to any religion or political party and run in the main by volunteers. As historically and politically engaged people, the members of the organisation are convinced that there is an individual and societal responsibility to critically examine history and the current political and societal developments. The aim of the Verein GEDENKDIENST is therefore to offer socio-political educational work, to commemorate the victims of the National Socialist politics of persecution and annihilation, and present the Nazi past and its context and continuities in Austrian society and politics critically and – when necessary – to challenge them. As a nationally accredited sending organisation, the Verein has sent young people to memorial sites, research centres and educational organisations that address topics relating to the Holocaust and National Socialism, as well as support and care centres for victims of National Socialist persecution.

The Austrian Jewish Community is the official representative body of the Jewish community, formally founded in 1852 after the revolution in 1848. Before the Shoah the community reached its highest number of members with 185,000. Around 66,000 were murdered by the National Socialists and the rest were forced to emigrate. Very few Jews were able to survive in mixed marriages or hidden. Today the IKG has around 8,000 members. The organisation not only acts in the religious interests of the community, but also sees itself as a political representative of all members, irrespective of religious observance or social background. A particular emphasis is the fight against all forms of anti-Semitism together with civic society and political organisations. The infrastructure of the IKG is further rounded by educational facilities such as the Zwi-Perez-Chajes school and the Jewish vocational training centre, the Jewish old person’s home (Maimonides Centre) and Esra, the psychosocial service. The community’s members directly elect the 24-person board that selects the Presidium.

The Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance (DÖW) was founded in 1963 by former resistance fighters and engaged academics. Since 1983, the DÖW has been a foundation that is supported by the Republic of Austria, the City of Vienna and the Verein Dokumentationsarchiv.