At the invitation of the Jewish Welcome Service, a group of 30 first- and second-generation Holocaust survivors visited Vienna from October 15 to October 20. The guests from the USA, Israel, Denmark and Uruguay were welcomed by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and City Councilman for Culture Andreas Mailath-Pokorny.
An essential part of the program for many of the guests was also a visit to the archives of the IKG (Jewish Community) where the guests from the Jewish Welcome Service are regularly supported by Irma Wulz with empathy and commitment.
President Van der Bellen assured the visitors, “Today’s Austria is different. We live in a democracy with social and political stability. We’re a country where there is absolutely no tolerance for antisemitism.”
During the Rathaus welcome, Mailath-Pokorny explained, “The city of Vienna has put its history on display for years. In doing so, we have included every individual who has lived it themselves. For over 30 years now, as part of the Jewish Welcome Service, the city of Vienna has therefore sought to be in active contact with anyone who was displaced from their home. Since then thousands of displaced persons have returned to Vienna with their descendants – some for the first time in decades.”
