In December 2021, a commemorative publication was produced to mark the 40th anniversary of the Jewish Welcome Service. The lavishly illustrated 80-page publication in German and English has now been reissued in an updated edition.
Forty short life stories of Holocaust survivors and their descendants form the core of the wide-ranging presentation. They all visited Vienna under the visitor program of the JWS. Their stories give an impression of the Nazi terror of the time, of the travails of fleeing, the difficulties of survival, as well as of the many ways in which they encounter the city of Vienna again as visitors, decades after escaping.
In addition, the brochure traces the works of Leon Zelman, the founder and long-standing director of the JWS; remembers Zelman’s companion Ari Rath; describes the early years of the institution; explains the importance of the Leon Zelman Prize, and gives insight into the activities of the previous prizewinners.
The updated edition of the brochure will also be distributed worldwide via Austrian representations, can be requested free of charge from the Jewish Welcome Service, and is also available online.
