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44-548: The Austrian Service Abroad has its origin in the acknowledgement of the Austrian government, in particular by chancellor Franz Vranitzky in 1991, regarding the Austrian people's share of responsibility for the crimes committed by National Socialism during WWII . The initiative initially started in form of the Gedenkdienst in 1992. In 1998 the organization Austrian Service Abroad, named 'Association for Services Abroad' until 2006,

88-411: A persona non grata , thereby barring him from entering the country in 1987, while Israel had recalled its ambassador after Waldheim's election. Vranitzky managed to normalise Austria's relations with both countries and frequently stepped in to perform diplomatic duties commonly assigned to the president. On 8 July 1991, in a speech in parliament, Vranitzky acknowledged a share in the responsibility for

132-558: A government, based on a grand coalition with the second-largest party, the Christian democrat ÖVP, with Alois Mock serving as vice-chancellor and foreign minister. In 1988, Vranitzky also succeeded Fred Sinowatz as chairman of his party. Until 1992, Austria's foreign policy had to deal with the repercussions of the Waldheim controversy, as the Austrian president was shunned in some diplomatic circles. The United States regarded Waldheim as

176-592: A referendum on 12 June 1994 resulted in 66% in favour of EU membership, Austria joined the European Union in January 1995. Austria's military neutrality , which had been espoused during the Cold War, was reaffirmed in the process. In party politics, Vranitzky kept his distance from Jörg Haider 's Freedom Party – a stance the latter decried as a "policy of exclusion." In the election of 1990 , Vranitzky's coalition government

220-710: Is a 100-year-old house in which the Jewish Kluger family lived before the war. Only three of their children survived the Holocaust, including Shimson Kleuger (1925-2000), who from 1961 until his death again lived in the family home. The building was then donated by his heirs to the Auschwitz Jewish Center, which in 2013 carried out a major renovation and conversion to the Cafe Bergson museum café, along with educational and exhibition space. The original entrance door with

264-670: Is about peace on the basis of honesty regarding the past. The program was founded in 1992 and has been a part of the association Austrian Service Abroad since 1998. It remembers the crimes of Nazism and commemorates its victims. Gedenkdiener work for Holocaust remembrance memorials and institutions as well as research facilities. Examples are the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, the World Jewish Congress in New York ,

308-549: Is also a partner of the Israeli Volunteer Association partnering on the initiative Understanding Israel in conjunction with the Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs. Gedenkdienst is the concept of facing and taking responsibility for the darkest chapters of one's own country's history while ideally being financially supported by one's own country's government to do so. Gedenkdienst has the acknowledgment of,

352-662: Is non-confessional and non-partisan. The Austrian Service Abroad cooperates with the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The servants abroad are obliged to cooperate with the Austrian embassy in their respective host country. Some of partner institutions or organizations are the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim, Poland, Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles, United States,

396-479: The 2006 elections . During the campaign it was revealed, that in 1999, Vranitzky had received a million Austrian schillings as a consultant to the BAWAG bank, which was then under public scrutiny. It was alleged that the payment was made without any service in return and that it constituted an "indirect party funding". Vranitzky denounced the allegations. Vranitzky chairs the quarterly Vranitzky colloquia , organised by

440-660: The Creditanstalt-Bankverein (1976–1981), briefly as its director general and as director general of the Länderbank (1981–1984). In 1984, Vranitzky joined the SPÖ- Freedom Party (FPÖ) government coalition under Chancellor Fred Sinowatz as finance minister . He was criticized for receiving multiple compensations from his various functions in government-run businesses. In the presidential elections of 1986, Chancellor Sinowatz vociferously opposed Kurt Waldheim ,

484-879: The Jewish Museum Berlin , the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oswiecim or Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. In addition, Austrian Holocaust Memorial servants are also sent to serve in former refuge countries of the victim groups persecuted by the Nazis , for example to the Casa Stefan Zweig in Petrópolis (Brazil) or the Center of Jewish Studies Shanghai (China). The program annually confers the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award to actors "who have shown special endeavors for

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528-649: The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). In 1962, Vranitzky married Christine Christen, with whom he fathered two children. Vranitzky began his career in 1961 at Siemens-Schuckert , but within the year switched to Austria’s central bank Oesterreichische Nationalbank . In 1969, he received a doctorate in International business studies. The following year, Hannes Androsch , finance minister under Chancellor Bruno Kreisky , appointed him economic and financial advisor. Vranitzky served as deputy director of

572-696: The Third World . Andreas Daniel Matt, the first Austrian social servant was sent in 2004 to a SOS children's village in Lahore (Pakistan). Since October 1998 hundreds of Austrian social servants have been assigned mainly to countries in Central and South America, Africa and Asia. Since 2018 the Austrian Service Abroad also partakes in the program Understanding Israel, sending young Austrians to do social service at child-care places and handicapped-care facilities in

616-1016: The World Jewish Congress in New York, United States, the Center of Jewish Studies Shanghai in Shanghai, China, the Russian Research and Educational Holocaust Center in Moscow, Russia, the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Melbourne, Australia, the Tom Lantos Institute in Budapest, Hungary, the Ashraya Initiative for Children in Pune, India, and A chance for children in Zigoti, Uganda. The Austrian Service Abroad

660-441: The apology for and the assumption of responsibility for atrocities done by one's own country's society in history as its basis. Gedenkdienst is about honesty with one's country's past and the desire to rectify past wrongs. Gedenkdienst is about providing people of the perpetrator's side a platform for education and going to the victim's side to serve the remembrance of the evil done and the commemoration of its victims. Gedenkdienst

704-415: The Austrian Service Abroad is about supporting life in an ethical, sustainable, global, responsible and permanent manner. Franz Vranitzky Franz Vranitzky ( German: [fʁants vʁaˈnɪtski] ; born 4 October 1937) is an Austrian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), he was Chancellor of Austria from 1986 to 1997. As the son of a foundryman , Vranitzky

748-612: The Austrian government for their work abroad. The Austrian Service Abroad is funded and supervised by the Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs and subject to the Austrian Federal Act on the Promotion of Voluntary Services ( Bundesgesetz zur Förderung von freiwilligem Engagement .) Before being sent out as Austrian Servants Abroad the candidates undergo a preparation period (typically 1.5 years) during which they are educated on

792-579: The Center has been affiliated with the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. Before the Holocaust, Oswiecim was a bustling town with a mostly Jewish population with synagogues, study houses, clubs, schools, shops and other businesses. Jews had lived there for centuries and were active in all spheres of life. Only a few physical traces remain. The Center carries out its mission by making these traces available to visitors. Visitors can take advantage of guided tours of

836-524: The Centre for Peace, Nonviolence and Human Rights in Osijek, Croatia. At present, Austrian Service Abroad sends young Austrians to the following partner institutions: In 2006 Andreas Maislinger, chairman of the Austrian Service Abroad, initiated the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award (AHMA) . Winners: The core concept underlying the initiative of the Austrian Service Abroad is the concept of responsibility . Hereby

880-592: The Jewish Museum in Oświęcim highlighting the history of the local Jewish community, looks after the only preserved synagogue in the city, the Khevre Loymdei Mishnayos Synagogue , and the home of the last Jewish resident of Oświęcim, Shimson Kleuger , which now incorporates a café along with exhibition and educational space. The Auschwitz Jewish Center makes the Jewish cemetery in Oświęcim, owned by

924-630: The Jewish community in Bielsko-Biała , available to visitors. In 1995, the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation was established in New York with the aim of creating a Jewish cultural and educational center in Oświęcim. A year later, a sister organization, Fundacja Edukacyjne Centrum Żydowskie in Oświęcim, was established in order to carry out this task. In September 2000, the Jewish Center was officially opened. Since September 2006,

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968-515: The Museum, as well as the city. Educational workshops on Judaism , the history of Jews in Oświęcim and human rights are offered for school groups from Poland and abroad. Special study programs on the history of the Holocaust as well as contemporary prejudices and hate-motivated violence are prepared for students, teachers and uniformed services. The Jewish Museum is located in a building adjacent to

1012-464: The ancient Temple of Jerusalem. The Register of Jewish residents of Oświęcim was run by the local Jewish Committee, which was established in April 1945. The notebook contains the names of several hundred Jews who survived the Holocaust and returned to Oświęcim. Most of the people whose names were included in the register remained in Oświęcim for only a brief period. The list includes both prewar residents of

1056-602: The area of the destroyed Great Synagogue in Oświęcim. The work was carried out by archaeologists from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, under the supervision of dr Małgorzata Grupa, during which the team recovered over 400 elements of the temple's equipment. The items were subsequently renovated and catalogued as part of the Jewish Museum Collection. The Ner Tamid (Hebrew for eternal light )

1100-472: The banking sector, as political consultant to the WestLB bank. In December, he was elected to the board of governors of automotive supplier Magna . He later occupied the same position for the tourism company TUI and Magic Life hotels. In June 2005, he donated one of his kidneys to his wife Christine, who suffered from chronic kidney failure. He actively supported his party's frontrunner Alfred Gusenbauer in

1144-483: The building and to campaign for its renovation and restoration. In 2000, the synagogue was reopened after renovation. Today, the Oświęcim Synagogue does not have its own rabbi, nor a congregation of the faithful, but remains the only Jewish place of religious worship near the former KL Auschwitz camp, serving on an ad hoc basis as a place of prayer, reflection and remembrance. Behind the Oświęcim synagogue there

1188-531: The candidate of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) opposition. The former UN Secretary General 's campaign for office caused international controversy due to allegations about his role as a German army officer in World War II . When Waldheim was elected on 8 June, Sinowatz resigned from the government, proposing Vranitzky as his successor. Vranitzky entered his new office on 16 June 1986. At first he continued

1232-521: The government coalition with the Freedom Party . On 13 September 1986, however, radical FPÖ politician Jörg Haider was elected chairman of his party, ousting the moderate vice chancellor Norbert Steger . Vranitzky ended cooperation with his coalition partner and had parliament dissolved. In the subsequent elections on 23 November 1986 , the SPÖ remained the strongest party. In January 1987, Vranitzky formed

1276-653: The grand coalition broke apart over budget policy, leading to the elections of December 1995 , which however only saw slight changes in favor of SPÖ and ÖVP. Vranitzky and Schüssel resumed their coalition in March 1996. In January 1997, Vranitzky resigned as chancellor and as party chairman. He was succeeded in both positions by his minister of finance, Viktor Klima . After leaving office, Vranitzky served as Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe representative for Albania from March to October 1997, before returning into

1320-399: The initiative is guided by the ethics conceptualized by the Jewish philosopher Hans Jonas who defined the following supreme moral imperative: "Act so that the effects of your action are compatible with the permanence of genuine human life". By integrating the chronological dimensions of past , present and future , in addition to the totality of humanity and the full dimension of space ,

1364-548: The interwar period. During the war, the Nazi occupiers destroyed the interior of the synagogue and used it as an ammunition warehouse. After the war, a small group of Holocaust survivors used the synagogue again for prayers. During the Polish People's Republic , the building was partially abandoned and then became a carpet warehouse. The last remaining survivor of Auschwitz living on Oświęcim, Shimson Kleuger , made efforts to preserve

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1408-500: The memory of the Shoah". Austrian social servants serve vulnerable social groups, support the economic and social development of the host country and contribute to environmental protection. They are active in projects relating to street-children, homeless people, educational projects and children villages, elderly and handicapped care, medical care, etc. An example type of project is the improvement of drinking water supplies in countries of

1452-547: The pain brought, not by Austria as a state, but by citizens of this country, upon other people and peoples", thereby departing from the hitherto official portrayal of Austria as "Hitler's first victim." After the end of the Cold War , Vranitzky focused on furthering relations with the nations of Eastern Europe and membership in the European Union , of which Vranitzky and his foreign minister, Alois Mock, were strong advocates. After

1496-430: The pre-war Jewish community through photographs, documents, and recorded testimonies of survivors. The Khevre Loymdei Mishnayos (English translation: Association of Those Who Study Mishna ) is the only Jewish house of prayer in Oświęcim, that has survived to the present day (close to twenty functioned in and around town before the war). Its construction began around 1913, and it performed its functions until 1939. In

1540-887: The state of Israel in cooperation with the Israeli Volunteer Association. Austrian Peace servants are stationed in organizations serving the achievement and protection of peace in connection with (armed) conflicts. They work, for example, at the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation in Japan, the John Rabe House in Nanjing, China, the Dayton International Peace Museum in Ohio, USA, the Peace Palace in The Hague and

1584-598: The study group WiWiPol, which discusses economic topics and their impact on Austria and Europe. He is a former member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group . Auschwitz Jewish Center The Auschwitz Jewish Center is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to preserve the memory of the Jewish community of the city of Oświęcim and educate about the dangers of anti-Semitism , racism and other prejudices and intolerance. The Center runs

1628-619: The subject-matter relevant to their place of assignment. They are also being trained with professional skills via contributing to the work-flow of the organization. Once a year the president of Austria and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs invite all Austrian Servants Abroad of the year before departure for a reception at the Hofburg and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs respectively. The Austrian Servants Abroad are commonly referred to as "little ambassadors of Austria". The Austrian Service Abroad

1672-495: The synagogue, which was previously owned by the Kornreich and Dattner families. The permanent exhibition is called "Oshpitzin. The History of Jewish Oświęcim” and presents over 400 years of Jewish presence in Oświęcim through photographs, archival documents, historic exhibits and multimedia, including recorded accounts of former inhabitants of Oświęcim. The Jewish Museum exhibits items found during excavations performed in 2004-2005 on

1716-471: The town and survivors from other areas. The register was compiled by Maurycy Bodner, president of the Committee. The Museum collection also comprises photographs of the Jewish and Polish inhabitants of the pre-war Oświęcim, letters written by members of the community, certificates, permits and other archival materials documenting the life of the Oświęcim community before the war. Before Auschwitz and

1760-465: The town of Oświęcim became a symbol of the Holocaust, it was an ordinary Polish town, in which Jews made their home from the early 16th century. In the years preceding the Second World War, the majority of Oświęcim’s citizens were Jewish; subsequent generations contributed to a rich and layered local culture. The collections of the Jewish Museum aim to connect the present-day public with the stories of

1804-600: Was born into humble circumstances in Vienna's 17th district. He attended the Realgymnasium Geblergasse and studied economics, graduating in 1960. He financed his studies teaching Latin and English and as a construction worker. As a young man, Vranitzky played basketball and was a member of Austria's national team, which in 1960 unsuccessfully tried to qualify for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In 1962, Vranitzky joined

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1848-502: Was confirmed when the Social Democrat vote remained stable while the ÖVP lost 17 seats, mainly to the FPÖ. The 1994 election saw heavy losses by both coalition parties, which nonetheless remained the two largest parties, while FPÖ and others made further gains. Vranitzky renewed the coalition with the ÖVP, which after May 1995 was led by foreign minister Wolfgang Schüssel . Later in the year,

1892-403: Was found, along with other items, during the archaeological work carried out in the area of the Great Synagogue on Berka Joselewicza Street in 2004. The lamp was most often hung above or by the Aron Kodesh (previously in a niche on the western wall of the synagogue) and was lit regardless of whether the synagogue is empty or closed. This tradition is meant to remind of the constantly lit menorah in

1936-480: Was founded adding the Austrian Social Service and the Austrian Peace Service . The organization provides young male Austrians a government-funded alternative to the compulsory military service by sending them to institutions of Holocaust commemoration, social service or peace promotion for a time period of at least 10 months. It also provides volunteers of all genders a platform to work in its partner institutions for 6 to 12 months, while being financially supported by

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