Main prize for “Remembrance in the living room”, contemporary witnesses honored
Vienna (PK) – For the second time, civil society commitment against anti-Semitism and for education about the Holocaust was awarded the Simon Wiesenthal Prize in Parliament on Monday. This year, too, it met with great international interest with over 260 applications from more than 30 countries. Projects were submitted from countries including Israel, the USA, Argentina, Peru and South Africa. National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka thanked the participants and contemporary witnesses for their “invaluable service” in the fight against anti-Semitism.
The main prize went to the Israeli initiative Zikaron BaSalon (“Remembrance in the living room”), which invites private individuals into their living rooms and offers Holocaust survivors the opportunity to share their memories. In the category “Holocaust Education”, Waltraud Barton was honored with her association IM-MER, which preserves the memory of over 10,000 murdered Austrians who were deported to Minsk and Maly Trostinec. For his fight against anti-Semitism, the jury and commission paid tribute to Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi, who informed Jewish-Israeli university students about the Nakba (expulsion and flight of the Palestinians in 1948) and Palestinian students about the Holocaust, which led to the loss of his academic position and a threat to his life personal security led. The Simon Wiesenthal Prize is endowed with a total of €30,000, with €15,000 going to the main prize and €7,500 each to the two other categories.
The contemporary witnesses Wanda Albińska (Poland), Lucia Heilman (Austria), Tswi Herschel (Israel) and Jackie Young (Great Britain) were also honored. Heilmann also spoke with the jury chair and anti-Semitism officer of the EU Commission, Katharina von Schnurbein, and Wiesenthal’s granddaughter Racheli Kreisberg about the nature and future of contemporary witnessing. In honor of the deceased journalist and Simon Wiesenthal Prize winner Karl Pfeifer, actress Martina Ebm read from his notes, which he himself wanted to present in book form in Parliament. The musical accompaniment to the award ceremony was provided by Jasmin Meiri-Brauer and Jannis Raptis. Presenter Lisa Gadenstätter from ORF led through the evening.
National Council President Sobotka on the fight against the “primal evil” anti-Semitism
In his opening words, the President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, recalled the architect, publicist and writer Simon Wiesenthal (1908-2005), who, after his liberation from the Mauthausen concentration camp, made it his life’s work to bring about justice for the victims of the Nazi regime and the perpetrators to be held accountable. It is an honor for Parliament that the prize can bear its name. Wiesenthal was not always treated as he should have been in Austria, but Austria now knows what it owes him, said Sobotka. As a “light figure of the Second Republic”, he did an enormous amount for the processing of the crimes of National Socialism and brought many perpetrators to justice – not out of revenge, but as a clear commitment to the rule of law.
Sobotka explained that it took a long time for Austria to acknowledge its history. Now one must do everything in the spirit of Wiesenthal so that it never comes to that again. “Never again” must not degenerate into an empty phrase, but must be filled with life. He described anti-Semitism as a “primal evil” that had shaped Europe for centuries. It is not a pure phenomenon of the right or left fringe, but comes from the middle of society and must be fought decisively, especially in times of its growth. Wiesenthal and other contemporary witnesses would provide guidelines for this, Sobotka thanked for their “invaluable service” and was pleased that Parliament was offering a platform for this.
“Remembrance in the living room” receives the main prize
1.5 million hosts and participants from over 65 countries have taken part in the Israeli initiative Zikaron BaSalon since it was founded in 2011. At “Remembrance in the living room” – as the German title calls it – private individuals invite people to the same place to give Shoah survivors the opportunity to share their experiences. It is often this environment that enables them to talk about their experiences. Their testimonials are one of the “most effective vaccines against anti-Semitism,” explained jury chairwoman and anti-Semitism commissioner of the EU Commission, Katharina von Schnurbein, in her laudatory speech. This effect must be used while it is still possible.
Sharon Buenos from Zikaron BaSalon also spoke of the obligation to give contemporary witnesses who are still alive a chance to testify to what happened during the Nazi era. Her project is about building bridges both between countries and between generations.
Also nominated were the dialogue project LIKRAT, which brings together Jewish and non-Jewish youth, the Swedish Committee against Anti-Semitism and the cultural association Mota de Judios – the latter for its efforts to revitalize the historical Jewish heritage of a Spanish village and the village’s offensive name to Jews to change.
Holocaust Education Award went to Waltraud Barton
Waltraud Barton, founder of the association IM-MER, received the award in the category “Education about the Holocaust”. He has set himself the task of preserving the memory of more than 10,000 Austrians who were deported to Minsk and Maly Trostinec and murdered in the Greater Minsk area during World War II. It is thanks to Barton’s “tireless commitment” to remembering the deportees that there is now a corresponding memorial, said historian and jury member Brigitte Bailer at the award ceremony. Maly Trostinec was unknown to many Austrians, although nowhere else had so many Viennese been deported and murdered, Barton reported. A memorial now reminds us of this “unimaginably monstrous thing”, making it impossible to overlook and anchoring the place in the collective memory.
The nominees also included the association for active commemoration and remembrance culture, which commemorates the long-forgotten flight of Jews across the Austrian Alps in 1947 with an annual dialogue forum and commemorative hike, and the Zweitzeugen association, which encourages young people in particular to To pass on life stories of contemporary witnesses as “second witnesses”.
Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi honored for his work against anti-Semitism
In the spring of 2014, Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi became known beyond the borders of Israel when he organized a trip to Auschwitz for a group of 27 Palestinian students. His goal was to enlighten them about the Holocaust and Jewish-Israeli students about the Nakba – the escape and expulsion of the Palestinians in 1948. This led to the loss of Dajani’s academic position at Al-Quds University and threats to his personal security. Laudator Oskar Deutsch, President of the Jewish Religious Society Austria, spoke of the relevance of historical awareness for successful coexistence. The award not only recognizes the winner’s courage, but above all his “very personal contribution” to the fight against anti-Semitism. In his acceptance speech, Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi expressed his hope that one day knowledge will triumph over ignorance.
The jury also proposed the European Janusz Korczak Academy, which works to strengthen the Jewish community and identity as well as interreligious dialogue, and the DEIN eV association for democracy and information, which works against anti-Semitism, historical distortion and hate propaganda.
Discussion about the nature and future of witnessing
In the conversation that followed, eyewitness Lucia Heilman talked about the fear she experienced under the Nazi regime and which also shaped her life after the Second World War. She couldn’t talk about it for a long time. For her, however, it makes a big difference whether people learn about the events of that time from books or whether they learn about them from survivors. Heilman shared the reactions of students to whom she shared her story and was impressed by the questions they asked.
Wiesenthal’s granddaughter Racheli Kreisberg reported on experiences with her grandfather and how the relationship between his home country of Austria and him had changed over the years. If the relationship used to be characterized by fear, it has improved more and more – up to the present, in which a prize is awarded in his name in parliament.
The EU Commission’s Anti-Semitism Commissioner, Katharina von Schnurbein, discussed the importance of contemporary witnesses. This is often associated with pain for the survivors, since they have to keep recalling what they have experienced. As long as this possibility exists, it must be used. In the future it will be necessary to enable young people to continue telling these stories. (close) wit
A NOTICE: Photos from this event can be found in Parliament web portal.
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