| Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service | |
| Purpose | Holocaust Memorial |
|---|---|
| Founder and Chairman | Andreas Maislinger |
| Andreas Maislinger (left) with Branko Lustig (right) | |
| Office | Innsbruck, Tirol, Austria |
| Foundation | 1992, Innsbruck |
The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service (AHMS) is an alternative to Austria's compulsory national military service / alternative service founded in 1992. Since 1998 it is part of the Austrian Service Abroad. AHMS representatives[1] serve at major Holocaust memorial institutions in 23 countries worldwide.
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The Political Scientist from Innsbruck and scientological leader of the Braunauer Zeitgeschichte - Tage Andreas Maislinger On the 10th of October 1980 he received on the invitation from Anton Pelinka the possibility to present his “civilian service in Auschwitz” in the of Dolores Bauer’s ORF-broadcast “Kreuzverhör”. Federal President Rudolf Kirchsläger declined his concept with the statement “An Austrian has nothing to atone in Auschwitz”. Later Kirschläger accredited the “positive achievement” of the “accomplished holocaust memorial service” of Andreas Maislinger. 1980/81 Maislinger was with Joachim Schlör volunteer in the Poland seminar paper of the German Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienst, which is led by Volker von Törne and Christoph Heubner. In the Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau he supervised the German juvenile group. After his return he was even more convinced to realize a similar programme in Austria. He was mainly supported by Simon Wiesenthal, Teddy Kollek, Ari Raht, Herbert Rosenkranz, Gerhard Röthler and Karl Pfeifer. One of the sons Röthlers had accomplished Holocaust Memorial Service and Karl Pfeifer puplished an interview in the IKG-Newspaper “Die GEMEINDE”.
In May 1991 Andreas Maislinger received a letter of the Minister of Interior Franz Löschnak. He was informed that the Holocaust Memorial Service was permitted by the Austrian Government to be an alterative to the civilian service. The needed funds were supported by the Federal Ministry of Interior until a defined frame.
2001 under Minister of Interior Ernst Strasser a Service Abroad development association was established, which left the funds to independent sponsoring organizations, fore example the Austrian Service Abroad.
"As a former polish political prisoner of a fascistic Concentration Camp and historian of World War II, I want to take the honoring opportunity to speak in front of the high house. I want to thank all the young Austrians, which work so hard for the remembrance of the past. Here I specially think of the people lf the documentation archive of the Austrian resistance under the leadership of Prof. Wolfgang Neugebauer, the Austrian Camp Community Mauthausen, the Holocaust Memorial Service, und also the local initiatives of the communities Gusen, Langenstein und St. Georgen in Oberösterreich, the working circle for homeland-, memorial and history care."
"I thank you for the information about the positive result of the from you accomplished holocaust memorial service."
"The holocaust memorial service is very impressive initiative."
"I feel very close to this organization and I have great respect for the servants, because what they achieve is the right way for Austria – to look the past directly into the eyes and to do something against it. Not to say, we were the first victims."
"I often claimed there is no Austrian association which sends young people to Israel, like the German organization “Aktion Sühnezeichen”. It touched me to read there is now, thanks to your afford the possibility to perform the Austrian civilian service within the framework of the Holocaust Memorial Service."
"I like to support and recommend the initiative Austrian Holocaust Service. It is a real service which can be and should be provided by young people."
"Many people have no idea what those young Austrians achieve for them, that they straight up their backbones, so they can walk straight again, also myself, who belongs to this generation."
"I consider the project Holocaust Memorial Service as a n important and valuable initative in the service of peace and the peoples communication."
"Holocaust Memorial Service is remembrance work, which is also a bridge between “Yesterdays World” and the modern and democratic Austria. It also is a reminder that also nowadays values like sense of responsibility and moral courage did not lose their importance."
"Each Generation has to be aware of the horror of the past, to be able to build a new world of peace and respect for the human rights. The project Holocaust Memorial Service serves this important challenge of sensitization in sense of the words “Never forget."
"I follow the works of the Holocaust Memorial Service in great interest and the organization has my full support."
Walter Gruggenberger (SPÖ), Andreas Hörtnagl (ÖVP) and Andreas Maislinger (independent) founded the association of the Holocaust Memorial Service in 1992. The association wanted to enhance Holocaust awareness, including its causes and consequences. The association is responsible for the assortment and care of social service volunteers before, during and after their service. The volunteers have the possibility to apply for one of the 20 partner organizations. In addition to that the role of the Austrians as offenders, victims and bystanders is very important. Also women have the possibility to provide a one year long holocaust memorial service as part of the European Voluntary Service (EVS). Female volunteers were sponsored for the first time in the year 2008 by the “Geschwister-Mezei-Fond”, which was created with the goal to give women the possibility to accomplish the holocaust memorial service under the same conditions as civilian servants.
The association provides positions on all in all 19 memorial sites in Germany and Poland. It distinguishes itself from other organizations because of the relatively uncomplicated process of the assignment and because it generally isn’t as run over as other associations. The association “Never Forget” takes an active part in youth work against forgetting and is involved in the organization of the Hermann Langbein Symposium – Ideologie und Wirklichkeit des Nationalsozialismus (Hermann Langbein Symposium – ideology and reality of National Socialism), which is taking place since more than ten years for further training of teachers.
Andreas Maislinger and Andreas Hörtnagl were deselected as presidents of the Holcoaust Memorial Service. In 1998, after long debates with the board of directors of the organization, they founded the organization “Austrian Service Abroad”.
The Austrian Service Abroad is characterized due to its employees’ personal initiatives. It also holds the possibility for the volunteers to establish their own partner organization, which means a much bigger effort, but also more autonomy before their assignment. Therefore a big network over four continents and all in all 37 countries has been established since 1998. Since 2009 this network is supported by an International Board under the presidency of Ernst Florian Winter.
The Austrian Service Abroad offers in addition to the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service, the Austrian Social Service and the Austrian Peace Service.
Andreas Maislinger also initiated the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award (AHMA), rewarding people who actively contribute to the remembrance of the Holocaust. On October 17, 2006 the Chinese historian Pan Guang was awarded the first AHMA prize.[2] Further recipients were the Brazilian journalist Alberto Dines, French Robert Hébras, who was one of only six people, who survived the Massacre of Oradour and Lithuanian-American Holocaust survivor and co-founder of the Virginia Holocaust Museum Jay M. Ipson. In October 2010 Eva Marks was honored with the AHMA by Austrian Ambassador Hannes Porias in Melbourne.
In 2005 the founder of the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service Andreas Maislinger received the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria in Silver from the president of Austria, Heinz Fischer, and the Medal of Merit of the state of Tirol from Herwig van Staa and Luis Durnwalder.
On November 8, 2009 Maislinger was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award for "his 10 year fight to obtain official recognition of alternative, philanthropic service" at the Annual Dinner[3] of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust together with Holocaust survivor and producer of Schindlers List Branko Lustig.[4]