The Central Austria Research Center for Post-War Justice and the Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism were also honored.
Vienna (PK) – The four contemporary witnesses Lily Ebert, Zwi Nigal, Karl Pfeifer and Liliana Segre received the Simon Wiesenthal Prize for their commitment against anti-Semitism and for education about the Holocaust. Additional awards went to the Central Austrian Research Center for Post-War Justice and the Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism.
Chairman of the National Council and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Fund Wolfgang Sobotka emphasized the importance of civil society engagement at the awards ceremony tonight at the Parliament building in Hofburg. It should be a concern of all Democrats to take a stand against anti-Semitism. The prize was awarded for the first time in memory of the architect, publicist and writer Simon Wiesenthal.
Civil society engagement against anti-Semitism based on the Wiesenthal model
In his introductory remarks on Simon Wiesenthal, historian Gerhard Botz underlined the unremitting energy with which he threw himself into the task of helping survivors and tracking down Nazi criminals after their release from the Mauthausen concentration camp. Through his search for SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Adolf Eichmann, Wiesenthal became widely known. In 1961 he revived the Association of Jews Persecuted by the Nazi Regime, which he founded in Linz in Linz in 1947, as a documentation center and thus created an institution that worked together with foreign and domestic policy agencies abroad. In Austria, however, Wiesenthal fell on deaf ears and rejection for a long time. For Gerhard Botz, Simon Wiesenthal was a “truly genuine Austrian, indeed a great Austrian cosmopolitan”.
The Simon Wiesenthal Prize is endowed with a total of €30,000 and will in future be awarded annually as a sign of Austria’s special historical responsibility. The Republic’s National Fund for Victims of National Socialism, created by the Austrian Parliament, is responsible. In an interview with moderator Rebekka Salzer, the Secretary General of the National Fund, Hannah Lessing, and the President of the Jewish Community of Vienna and the Austrian Religious Society, Oskar Deutsch, explained the background to the award. The idea came during a trip by the president of the National Council to Israel, where he met Simon Wiesenthal’s granddaughter, said Hannah Lessing. She was particularly pleased with the high number of applications. The 284 entries from over 30 countries prove the extremely high level of interest at home and abroad. The award, which Lessing carries on in the legacy of Holocaust victims, can also serve as an example of good international practice.
Selecting the winners was not easy, said Oskar Deutsch, who is also a member of the jury. For him, a person or an initiative was particularly worthy of an award if it had been committed over many years or had reached a large number of people. The number and variety of requests make it clear to Deutsch that many are struggling with anti-Semitism. In this regard, price can have a positive influence. However, the fight against anti-Semitism never ends. Each and every individual must make a contribution, was his appeal.
In his speech, National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka also stressed the importance of civil society engagement. 77 years after the Shoah, anti-Semitism appears again in a more open way, especially on the Internet. It must be a concern of all Democrats to face it. Because as long as there is no civil courage on every football field, in every cafeteria and in every conversation, as soon as anti-Semitic statements or actions are recognized, this anti-democratic attitude cannot be fought. The Simon Wiesenthal Award was created to honor people precisely for this civil society commitment. With the prize and his name, however, a clear signal is also wanted to be sent to Simon Wiesenthal, who has shown where Austria should start to accept its history.
Major Award for Four Contemporary Witnesses
The top prize went to Lily Ebert, Zwi Nigal, Karl Pfeifer and Liliana Segre and therefore to all four contemporary witnesses named together. The jury wants to honor his life’s work, explained Simon Wiesenthal Prize Jury President and European Commission Anti-Semitism Commissioner Katharina von Schnurbein. The awardees come from four different countries, von Schnurbein explained, and would have dedicated their lives to the education and memory of the Shoah in many different ways. They will be honored once this year with the top prize on behalf of all contemporary witnesses.
Lily Ebert was born in Hungary in 1923 and survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. Today, her great-grandson runs a TikTok account for her with over 1.6 million followers. Born in Vienna in 1923, Zwi Nigal fought in the British Army against Nazi Germany. Today he teaches in schools in Austria and Germany. Karl Pfeifer was born in Baden, near Vienna, in 1928 and fled the National Socialists to Hungary and Palestine. In his journalistic work, he campaigns against anti-Semitism. Liliana Segre comes from Milan and was deported to Auschwitz in 1944, aged 13. To this day she is active as a contemporary witness on television, theaters and schools, as well as in the Italian Parliament.
Karl Pfeifer accepted the award on behalf of all four contemporary witnesses. He recalled that when he returned to Austria 71 years ago, he realized that the hatred of Jews had not disappeared. The country is different today. The fact that he is here today and receiving the award shows that a lot has changed. “With patience and common sense, prejudice and hatred of Jews can be repelled. We want to continue working on this together,” said Pfeifer. The other award winners expressed their thanks in a video message. Zwi Nigal describes it with satisfaction that his generation has changed something and that Jews now have a place where they are welcomed with open arms. Liliana Segre was thrilled and proud to have won the Simon Wiesenthal Prize after so many years.
Central Austrian research center wins Holocaust enlightenment award
The Central Austria Research Center for Post-War Justice received the Simon Wiesenthal Prize for civil society’s commitment to Holocaust education. It collects dossiers from the Austrian judiciary on the treatment of Nazi crimes and aims to contribute to the safeguarding of this part of the European legal cultural heritage. At the awards ceremony, Barbara Stelzl-Marx, professor of contemporary history, emphasized that her work is fully in line with Wiesenthal’s intentions and also faces similar hostilities and difficulties.
The overwhelming number of post-war justice court documents provide information about crimes, crime scenes, perpetrators and victims, explained Claudia Kuretsidis-Haider of the Austrian Central Research Center for Post-War Justice. Her institution wants to process this hidden knowledge and make it available for research and the public. The award is a motivation and an obligation to continue the work in the spirit of Simon Wiesenthal.
With RE.FUGIUS and Zikaron BaSalon, two other initiatives dedicated to commemorating the Holocaust were nominated in this category. The RE.FUGIUS project is committed to making the death marches of Hungarian Jews visible. The Zikaron BaSalon social initiative provides a personal opportunity to commemorate and address the Holocaust at home.
Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism honored with award for commitment against anti-Semitism
The award for civil society engagement against anti-Semitism went to the Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism (JFDA). The initiative was started by Levi Salomon in 2008 and founded with the support of Lala Süsskind and the Jewish Community of Berlin. In addition to educational and public relations work, the JFDA conducts independent monitoring of anti-Semitic incidents. The JFDA contributes to the strengthening of the democratic state, promotes interreligious and intercultural exchange and helps the persecuted, emphasized the vice president of the European Jewish Congress Ariel Muzicant, who presented the award.
His initiative is mostly observed, said Levi Salomon in his acceptance speech. Many of the events they witnessed on the streets are extremely worrying. Therefore, it is important to draw attention to various phenomena and raise public awareness. The JFDA thus makes teaching material available and is aimed in particular at the target audience of youth and young adults.
Also nominated in this category were the Swedish Committee against Anti-Semitism, which creates digital information and educational material for school children and other target groups, as well as Andreas Kahrs and Daniel Lörcher for their memory work at the German football club Borussia Dortmund.
The call for entries for the Simon Wiesenthal Prize 2022 begins on May 12, 2022. Details and conditions of entry can be found at www.wiesenthalpreis.at. (next) car
NOTE: Photos from this event and a review of past events can be found on the Parliament website.
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