The Austrian army has had a cooperation with the Mauthausen concentration camp since October 8, 2020. In the course of this cooperation and the course “Legal, Law, Morality”, officers of the Theresian Military Academy are trained in particular on the subjects of the Wehrmacht and concentration camps, the role of the Wehrmacht in the war and Holocaust, prisoners of war in concentration camps as well as conscience conscience and military makers. This creates understanding and illuminated a gloomy time in order to identify dangers and to counter them.
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner: “The Second World War was one of the darkest times in history for our country. However, we can draw our teachings from this terrible time, but this can only be done with good processing, discourses and opinion formation. That is why this cooperation between the Austrian Armed Forces and the Mauthausen concentration camp memorial is an important step to counteract such dangers in the future. ”
A central milestone of the cooperation project in 2024 was the in-depth examination of the Nazi past through excursions and study days; A total of 738 Federal Championships attended the Mauthausen concentration camp memorial and 196 employees the Melk memorial. For the first time, special study days for non -commissioned officers from the Army Sub -Affordant Academy took place, which dealt with topics such as the role of the Wehrmacht in the war of extermination, prisoners of war in the Mauthausen concentration camp and deserters. In addition, a new workshop format for basic military servants was developed at the Mauthausen memorial, which uses historical documents to highlight the Nazi era and its aftermath. Furthermore, the training of information officer specialists was intensified – they will implement the content of the educational cooperation in barracks.
In the early days, only German and Austrian men were imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp; This changed in the course of the war and the SS characterized the occupants in: political occupants, anti -social, criminals, emigrants, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, Jews, Roma and Sinti, Wehrmacht, judiciary or civil worker. Between 1938 and 1945, around 190,000 people from more than 40 nations were detained in the Mauthausen/Gusen concentration camp and in his outdoor camps. At least 90,000 people died in this camp.
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