Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award

The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award (AHMA) was founded by the Austrian Service Abroad in 2006.

Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award
Awarded forHonoring "those who have shown special endeavors for the memory of the Shoah and / or made special contributions to Jewish life"
CountryAustria
Presented byAustrian Service Abroad
First awarded2006
Websitehttps://www.auslandsdienst.at/en/ahma/
Austrian ambassador Dr Johann Brieger confers AHMA to Tali Nates in Pretoria on October 28, 2021

Meaning

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First young Austrian started in Auschwitz on September 1 1992

The prize is annually conferred to a person, a group of individuals or an institution, which has shown special endeavors for the memory of the Shoah and / or made special contributions to Jewish life.

Background

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Since 1992 Austria has annually sent young Austrians abroad to serve in form of Gedenkdiener in many places around the world remembering the crimes of Nazism, commemorating its victims and contributing to Jewish life. Example partner institutions are the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Poland, Yad Vashem in Israel, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in the United States, the Jewish Museum Berlin in Germany, the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Australia, the Russian Research and Educational Holocaust Center in Russia and the Center of Jewish Studies Shanghai in China. The Gedenkdienst service is rooted in the acknowledgment of responsibility by the Republic of Austria for the crimes committed by the Austrian National Socialists.[1]

Presentations

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Reception at the Austrian Embassy in Paris (March 2008)
 
AHMA 2010 recipient Eva Marks with ceremony speakers. From left to right: Prof. Paul Bartrop, Master of Ceremony from the Austrian Service Abroad Daniel J. Schuster, Austrian ambassador to Australia Dr. Hannes Porias, Awardee Eva Marks with a Letter of Congratulations from the prime minister of Australia Julia Gillard, Australian MoP Michael Danby, Auschwitz Holocaust survivor Saba Feniger, Israeli diplomat to Australia Einat Weiss

On October 17, 2006, the Chinese historian Pan Guang was awarded the first AHMA prize.[2] Michael Prochazka and Austrian Servand Abroad of the Year 2006 Martin Wallner attended the reception in Shanghai.

The Brazilian journalist Alberto Dines[3] was crowned as the AHMA 2007 winner on October 24, 2007 at the Austrian consulate in Rio de Janeiro for his effort to establish Casa Stefan Zweig, a museum devoted to Stefan Zweig in Petropolis, and his book Morte no paraíso, a tragédia de Stefan Zweig.

In March 2008, Robert Hébras was assigned with the award at the Austrian embassy in Paris in presence of Beate Klarsfeld and Andreas Maislinger, founder of the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service and initiator of the AHMA. Robert Hébras is one of only six survivors of the massacre of Oradour and is still giving tours at the age of 84. For 2009 Jay M. Ipson received the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award.[4] Austrian Ambassador to the United States of America Dr. Christian Prosl visited the Virginia Holocaust Museum and presented the award to the co-founder and Executive Director. Ipson is a Holocaust survivor from Lithuania, who was deported to the Kovno Ghetto at the age of six.

On October 28, 2010, the Austrian ambassador to Australia, Dr. Hannes Porias, conferred the award to the Austrian-born Holocaust survivor Eva Marks in Melbourne and read a letter of congratulations from the president of the Austrian parliament, Barbara Prammer. Also the prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, sent a congratulatory letter, conferred by the Australian MP Michael Danby.[5]

Recipients

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AHMA for Alla Gerber at the Austrian embassy in Moscow 2018

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Austrian Acknowledgement of Guilt for Holocaust Welcomed by Survivors". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. March 20, 2015.
  2. ^ Professor Pan Guang received Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award Archived January 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (www.cjss.org.cn)
  3. ^ High Austria distinction for Alberto Dines, Brazilian journalist and biographer of Stefan Zweig (Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
  4. ^ Virginia Holocaust Museum co-founder honored by Austria Archived May 14, 2010, at archive.today, Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 11, 2010
  5. ^ Holocaust survivor Eva Marks as AHMA recipient 2010 Archived August 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (House of Responsibility)
  6. ^ Eva Marks became both the first-ever Australian and first-ever female to receive the prestigious Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award
  7. ^ Auschwitz Jewish center honored by Austrian ambassador, JTA.org, January 27, 2012
  8. ^ A legend of Latvia’s Jewish community celebrates his 90th birthday Archived February 24, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, The Baltic Times, October 21, 2015
  9. ^ Tali Nates receives the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award
  10. ^ Leadership of Jewish Taiwan Cultural Association receives Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award in Taipei
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