“Remembrance has no end – people can be expected to know the truth about the Holocaust in Graz!”
The killing of around six million of Jewish, Roma, Sinti, homosexual, handicapped people must not be forgotten. The least what the following generations can do is taking responsibility and ensure restoration of historical memory and dignity for the victims.
More food for thought:
Never before has the Austrian Freedom Party FPÖ been infiltrated by student fraternities (Burschenschaften) as strongly as today. Out of 51 delegates to the National Assembly of Austria, 17 are members of German-national associations (33 per cent), among them five out of nine governors of Austrian provinces. They hold an absolute majority in the party executive of the FPÖ.
Austria is said to be home to 4,000 German-national frat members (26 January 2018), experts count 150 corporations and other groupings. Traditional strongholds of these fraternities are the two university cities Vienna and Graz. The importance of linking history with the present day is evident when considering the hatred, agitation and extremism that is no longer only found in the right-wing margins but meanwhile at the very heart of our society.
Extreme-right printed media, such as the “Aula” magazine, right-wing frat members and, increasingly, politicians at the national and regional level have lately contributed to making anti-democratic, xenophobic and antisemitic thoughts socially acceptable and are slowly beginning to undermine democratic core principles.
Therefore, events of remembrance are here to enable people – and especially young people – to discuss the past, urging us to stand up against antisemitism and extremism in any form.