From September 1, 2020, it is becoming easier for victims of the Nazis and their descendants to acquire Austrian citizenship. They will only be required to notify the authorities of their claim rather than having to submit an application and they will not be required to give up their existing nationality.
Read more
Shoah Wall of Names Memorial in Vienna
In June, work began on the construction of the Shoah Wall of Names Memorial in Ostarrichi Park in front of the Austrian National Bank. The project was initiated by Kurt Yakov Tutter and the Association for the Construction of a Shoah Wall of Names Memorial.
Read more
Park named after Elisabeth Ben David-Hindler
The park at Elderschplatz in Vienna’s 2nd district is now called “Elisabeth-Ben David-Hindler-Park”. This is in memory of the founder of the association “Steine der Erinnerung”, (“Stones of Remembrance”), whose activities commemorate Viennese Jews who were murdered in the Shoah.
Read more
Letter from the Mayor of Vienna and the City Councilor for Cultural Affairs
The president of the Jewish Welcome Service, Vienna’s mayor, Dr. Michael Ludwig, and the vice-president, Vienna’s City Councilor for Cultural Affairs, Veronica Kaup-Hasler, have written a letter to the guests of the JWS at this difficult time. Many of you have already spent many months preparing for an emotionally taxing visit to Vienna. Unfortunately, this will only be possible at some point in the near future.
Read more
Book tip: Ruth Rotkowitz “Escaping the Whale”
Ruth Rotkowitz was in Vienna with her sister and cousins in the fall of 2019. She has now described the feelings and problems of the second generation in a novel. “Escaping the Whale: The Holocaust is over. But is it ever over for the next generation?”Read more
Leon Zelman Prize for Dialog and Understanding 2020 goes to the journalist Olga Kronsteiner
The Leon Zelman Prize has been awarded since 2013 to people or initiatives that are actively committed to the memory of the Shoah and the dialog between today’s Austria and the victims of National Socialist persecution and their descendants.
Read more