Vienna (PK) – The nominations for the 2023 Simon Wiesenthal Prize have been announced. The jury, which also had to make a selection from a series of projects and initiatives presented in its third year of existence, has now announced the nominations for 2023. The ceremony to award the Simon Wiesenthal Prize, established in 2021, will take place in Parliament on March 12, 2024.
As part of the awards ceremony, several contemporary witnesses will also be honored. This corresponds to the intention of the amended National Fund Law. Special recognition goes to Helga Feldner-Busztin, Jeno Friedman (USA), Octavian Fülöp (Romania), Naftali Fürst (Israel), Maria Gabrielsen (Norway), Viktor Klein (Austria), Otto Nagler (Israel), Katharina Sasso (Austria) , Liese Scheiderbauer (Austria) and Marian Turski (Poland).
The award is dedicated to the memory of architect, journalist and writer Simon Wiesenthal (1908–2005). Wiesenthal shaped the way the crimes of National Socialism are treated around the world. From the day he was released from the Mauthausen concentration camp, he made it his life's mission to remember the victims of Nazi terror.
A total of 197 applications from 30 countries around the world were submitted to the National Fund this year, 107 of which are new submissions. The focus of the applications was on Austria and Germany, but there were also a significant number of applications from the United States, Spain, Israel, the United Kingdom, Poland and Argentina.
Sobotka: Award shows that commitment to anti-Semitism is uninterrupted
“The terrible events of recent months in Israel highlight the importance of the Simon Wiesenthal Prize,” said the President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, on the occasion of the announcement of the nominations for the 2023 Simon Wiesenthal Prize. “The large number of applications from all over world in the third year of the award proves the uninterrupted commitment of civil society in the decisive fight against anti-Semitism. This commitment is also demonstrated above all by contemporary witnesses, whose special recognition was therefore expressly anchored in the National Fund Law during the amendment. They remind us that we must counteract the suppression and trivialization of historical truth. Because 'Never Again' is now.”
Schnurbein: Addressing anti-Semitism is more important than ever
Jury President Katharina von Schnurbein noted with concern that since the Hamas terrorist attack against Israeli civilians, there has been an explosive increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Europe and around the world. “Now more than ever, we need decisive action and moral courage to stand up against anti-Semitism. All of the nominations for the 2023 Simon Wiesenthal Prize are examples of outstanding civil society initiatives. They are characterized by a clear moral compass, perseverance and a lot of determination. voluntary commitment.”, explains the president of the jury about the nominations that have now been announced.
Candidates for the main prize
The jury shortlist for the main prize for civil society's commitment to anti-Semitism and Holocaust education included the organization AMCHA (Israel), Casa Stefan Zweig (Brazil), Holocaust researcher Jan Grabowski (Canada) and the LIKRAT initiative – Let's talk ! (Austria and Switzerland).
AMCHA is an organization founded in 1988 to provide psychosocial support to Holocaust survivors and their descendants in Israel, which cares for a total of around 15,000 people in 15 AMCHA centers. AMCHA Israel's services include individual discussions with professional therapists, so-called social clubs with group offerings, and volunteer visiting services. In addition to caring for survivors, educational and mediation work is another important component of AMCHA.
Casa Stefan Zweig is a private non-profit association based in Petrópolis in Rio de Janeiro, which was founded in 2006 with the aim of building a museum in the last home of the writer and his wife, in order to cultivate the memory of Stefan Zweig . This is also an exile memorial for other persecuted artists, intellectuals, scientists and others who took refuge in Brazil during National Socialism and here made their contribution to culture, art and science, and in the meantime carried out extensive educational and educational work .
Jan Grabowski is a Polish historian and professor of history at the University of Ottawa and one of the most vocal advocates of Holocaust education in Poland. Grabowski's research includes, among other things, questions about the extermination of Polish Jews and the history of Polish-Jewish relations in the period 1939 to 1945.
“LIKRAT” is a Hebrew poetic expression for “find oneself” and the name of a dialogue project that brings together young Jews and non-Jews. The project was started in Switzerland in 2002 and has existed in Austria since 2015, in Germany since 2017 and in Moldova since 2018. The aim of the dialogue project is to dismantle anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish stereotypes and generate pluralistic awareness.
Nominations for the award for civil society's commitment to anti-Semitism
The jury selected Asociacón Cultural Mota de Judíos in Spain, among others, for the additional prize for civil society's commitment against anti-Semitism. The Spanish village of Castrillo Matajudios – which roughly translates to “fortress that kills Jews” – officially changed its name back to its pre-1632 name, Castrillo Mota de Judíos (Hill Fortress of the Jews), in 2015, following a referendum and regional government approval) has changed. Despite various hostilities, the village of around 50 residents maintains its decision to abandon its offensive name and honor its Jewish origins.
The European Leadership Network (ELNET) in Germany acts as a think tank and network organization in the context of European-Israeli relations. The focus is on the areas of foreign and security policy, anti-Semitism and innovation. From the jury's point of view, she qualified for the nomination with the educational campaign “Question Wall – 2,641 questions about Judaism and Jewish life in Germany”.
“SOS Mitmensch” (Austria) was also nominated. The jury highlights that SOS Mitmensch played a significant role in the closure of “Aula” and in the judiciary's plan to file charges against the former editor-in-chief of “Aula” on suspicion of Nazi reactivation with extensive research, precise criticism and incisive work public relations increased, yes. This makes it an example of the successful pressure that a committed civil society can mount against anti-Semitic activities.
Award for civil society's commitment to Holocaust education
The Simon Wiesenthal Prize jury selected three projects from the nominations for civil society's commitment to Holocaust education.
On a private initiative, Alois and Erna Will (Austria) erected a memorial to three unknown Jewish-Hungarian concentration camp prisoners who were murdered near Alois Will's parents' home during the death marches to Mauthausen concentration camp in April from 1945.
Also suggested was Austrian historian Heidemarie Uhl, who passed away in 2023. She was committed to reconciling and educating people about the Holocaust in Austria for decades and presented important scientific research on this topic.
The organization CENTROPA (Austria), which documents the memory of contemporary witnesses to the Holocaust and Jewish life before the Second World War, was named for the efforts it made to promote Holocaust education in Ukraine during the Russian era. February 2022. (end) sox