On the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht and in a clear gesture that it is finally taking public responsibility for its past, the government of Austria unveiled the Shoah Wall of Names Memorial, its first public Holocaust memorial. Located in Ostarrichi Park in the center of Vienna, it pays tribute to the 64,440 AustrianJewish children, women and men who lost their lives during the Holocaust.
The ceremony was attended by Austria’s new Chancellor, AlexanderSchallenberg; the Speaker of the Austrian Parliament Wolfgang Sobotka; ministers and senior government; and officials from the European Union and members of the Jewish community. Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai addressed the audience as the official representative of the State of Israel.
“It is all the more our task [of the Austrian government] to actively protect Jewish life in Austria and Europe, and to speak out against any form of anti-Semitism without any ifs or buts,” said Schallenberg. “With this wall, we pull their names and their history out of oblivion. We give them back their identity, their individuality and that part of their humanity. And they once again have a place in their homeland.”
In his speech, Shai pointed to rising numbers of anti-Semitism across Europe and around the world. In Austria alone, there was a 6.4 percent increase in anti-Semitic cases and 585 hate crimes recorded online and offline last year.
Na 83. obljetnicu Kristalne noći , vlada Austrije otkrila je Memorijalni spomenok- Zid sa imenima žrtava Holokausta ( svoj prvi javni spomenik Holokaustu) što je jasna gesta
da konačno preuzima javnu odgovornost za svoju
prošlost.
Spomenik je smješten u parku Ostarrichi u središtu Beča i odaje počast za 64.440 austrijske židovske žrtve - djece, žena i muškaraca koji su izgubili živote tijekom holokausta.
Na svečanosti je bio novi austrijski kancelar Alexander Schallenberg; predsjednik austrijskog parlamenta Wolfgang Sobotka; ministri ,vlada; te dužnosnici iz Europske unije i članovi židovske zajednice. Izraelski ministar za dijasporu Nachman Shai obratio se prisutnima kao službeni predstavnik Države Izrael.
“Naša je zadaća aktivno štititi židovski život u Austriji i Europi i govoriti protiv svakog oblika antisemitizma rekao je Schallenberg. “Ovim zidom izvlačimo iz zaborava imena i povijest žrtava. Vraćamo im identitet, njihovu individualnost i dio njihove ljudskosti. I njihovo je mjesto opet u domovini.”
U svom govoru, Shai je ukazao na sve veći broj antisemitizma diljem Europe i svijeta. Samo u Austriji zabilježen je porast antisemitskih slučajeva za 6,4 posto i prošle godine je bilo 585 zločina iz mržnje zabilježenih online i offline....