In a personal email, the Austrian Mauthausen Committee, the International Mauthausen Committee and the memorial asked the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus not to take part in the traditional liberation ceremony on May 15 at the concentration camp memorial. The three organizations agreed on this procedure because of the war in Ukraine. Aid organizations, survivors and their relatives from Russia are expressly welcome, according to a broadcast.
In the joint declaration, the institutions recalled the contribution made by the Soviet Union in the fight against National Socialism and in the liberation of concentration camps. “However, as far as Russia’s war against Ukraine is concerned, given the unjustified violence used and the most serious violations of human rights, we cannot avoid condemning it with the utmost clarity,” it said.
According to Willi Mernyi, chairman of the Austrian Mauthausen Committee, participation by the two countries would not have been compatible with the Mauthausen oath of the surviving prisoners.
Since 1945, the liberation of the prisoners from Mauthausen – among them many soldiers from today’s Russia and Ukraine – has been celebrated on May 15 every year. Traditionally, delegations from the victims’ countries of origin attend and lay wreaths at the various memorials. In order to commemorate the Soviet victims, the committee wants to take on this role.
Memorial procession on April 15th
The liberation ceremony at the Mauthausen concentration camp memorial, which this year has the motto “Political Resistance”, will take place as a commemorative procession. Start is at 11 a.m. at the site. Due to the limited number of parking spaces, the committee provides a shuttle service from the Donaupark shopping center. Further information is available online at befreiungsfeier.at
Source: Nachrichten
