On the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Parliament, I had the pleasure of leading a discussion with Dr. Erika Freeman. This event was already a tradition for me, as I have been able to accompany official commemorations here on several occasions.
Exactly 80 years ago, on January 27, 1945, the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by Soviet soldiers. Dozens of heads of state from all over the world gathered at the memorial this year to commemorate the event.
At the Austrian Parliament, we also remembered the 65,000 Viennese Jews, including thousands of children, who were murdered in the concentration camps.
In Auschwitz and the other concentration camps, the victims had been stripped of their dignity, their names and their stories. The National Socialists had succeeded in permanently damaging Austrian society, science and culture. What they did not succeed in doing, however, was destroying the memory of these people. We keep the memory alive with commemorative events such as this one and thus counteract forgettin
However, commemoration must not be just lip service. More than ever, we must stand up against all forms of anti-Semitism, intolerance and discrimination. This is a task that has never ended and has been handled in an exemplary manner in Austria in recent years. It is up to us - and this was my appeal on this day - to ensure that this continues to be the case.
The discussion event with pupils took place at the invitation of the President of the National Council and the President of the Federal Council.
It was a privilege to be able to talk to Dr. Erika Freeman that day. Dr. Freeman had been forced to leave her hometown of Vienna when she was 12 years old. We were grateful to her for sharing her moving story with us.
Erika Freeman was born in Vienna on July 1, 1927 - the daughter of a doctor and a teacher. When she was 12 years old, she was able to flee to the USA. Her mother survived the persecution of Jews in Vienna as a so-called submarine, i.e. more or less in hiding, and died in the final weeks of the Second World War on March 12, 1945 during the bombing of the Philipphof on what is now Albertinaplatz. Her father, a social democratic politician, was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp. He miraculously managed to escape to Sweden. After completing her studies, Erika became a respected psychoanalyst who also treated many celebrities and politicians. She has been living in Vienna again for several years
In addition to the panel discussion with Erika Freeman, the program also included a reading. Chamber actress Maria Köstlinger read selected texts from Dirk Stermann's book “Mir geht's gut, wenn nicht heute, dann morgen”. The book by the “Willkommen Österreich” presenter is based on his weekly conversations with Erika Freeman and tells the story of her “Lebensroman”.
It was an honor to be able to moderate this interesting and important event in Parliament again. Never again is now!
Click here for the video of the event