On Monday, January 27, 2025, the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp marks the 80th time. On the occasion of this, the FPÖ National Council President Walter Rosenkranz invites you to a discussion event in the parliament. The Memorial Service Association, which has contributed to a critical discussion and processing of the Nazi crimes in Austria for over 30 years, sees no way to commemorate the sacrifices of the Holocaust side by side by side with Walter Rosary.
Then as now, the FPÖ maintains a revisionist culture of remembrance and a problematic handling of the National Socialist past, as the latest scandal about the SS-Leistied affair confirmed again. Walter Rosenkranz ‘Insufficient participation is part of a history of “individual cases”. In the past, for example, he relativized German -national anti -Semitism and convicted Nazi criminals as “service providers in Austria”. Most recently, Rosenkranz, member of a right-wing extremist fraternity, tried to have a wreath on November 9, 2024 to have the police enforced against a human chain of descendants of Shoah-survivors in front of running cameras.
“The FPÖ has its own access to the culture of remembrance, but this fundamentally differs from a critical examination of the National Socialist past. For the FPÖ, remembering means to commemorate the perpetrators of National Socialism. For us it is clear – no remembering with right -wing extremists. We will not be a fig leaf for the FPÖ, so we decidedly reject the invitation to the memorial event with Walter Rosenkranz ”
says Marie Lang, deputy chairwoman of the association memorial service.
The chairwoman of the Memorial Service Association, Nadine Dimmel, added:
“The FPÖ is not a political force that is interested in a serious examination of the National Socialist past. Die ideologische Ausrichtung der Partei, ihr Antisemitismus, Rassismus und Geschichtsrevisionismus ziehen sich seit ihrer Gründung wie ein roter Faden durch ihre Geschichte. Wer wie Walter Rosenkranz NS-Verbrecher zu “Leistungsträgern” verklärt und rechtsextreme Netzwerke hofiert, hat jede moralische Legitimation verloren, eine Gedenkveranstaltung für die Opfer des Holocaust zu organisieren.”
Together with the Jöh, the Memorial Service association is not calling not to take part in the “discussion event” by Walter Rosenkranz and are now signing the commemorative event of the alliance! to visit at Heldenplatz at 6 p.m. The party leaders of the SPÖ, Greens and NEOS were invited in a personal letter on Friday and asked to stay away from the memorial event with Walter Rosary.
Alon Ishay, President of the Jewish Austrian University: Inside (Jöh) emphasized “We call on all MPs to refuse to participate in the Rosary event and to join our ceremony at the Heldenplatz. With the right-wing extremist FPÖ National Council President, the convicted Nazi criminals and whose party has a long list of Nazi offenses, there can be no memory of the Holocaust. ”
In view of the responsibility of Austria on the Holocaust, it is essential to commemorate the liberation Auschwitz and to commemorate the victim.
During this worrying time, we can jointly set a publicly effective sign of solidarity against the normalization of right -wing extremism and protect our culture of remembrance against the consumption by the FPÖ.