Review and Outlook 2024/25

As 2024 draws to a close we look back upon an eventful year, which brought with it a number of new developments at the National Fund and the Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria. We would like to take this opportunity to take stock of the past year and look ahead to 2025.

A look back at 2024

At the beginning of 2024, an amendment to the National Fund Law and the Cemeteries Fund Law came into effect, bringing with it new tasks and structures:

Memorial Service and international exchange programmes

Since 2024, the National Fund has been funding memorial service volunteers and international exchange programmes for young people in order to provide support to younger generations in their commemoration and remembrance work in the future.

In the first year, over 160 of the memorial servants, who are deployed at around 100 locations in over 30 countries worldwide, were subsidised with around 250,000 euros in total. In partnership with the Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD) and Erinnern.at, a pilot concept was developed for an international school student exchange programme between Austria and Israel. An intensive exchange of experiences and best practice examples took place in discussions with German colleagues who run comparable programmes.

A memorial and financial support for the Roma and Sinti people

A memorial for Roma and Sinti victims of National Socialism is also currently in planning. Potential locations for the memorial were discussed at a dialogue forum with representatives of the community, which were then examined in terms of their feasibility and monument protection requirements. Since 2024, the National Fund has also been providing financial support to people who bear the costs for the graves of Holocaust survivors from the Roma and Sinti community..

The “gesture payment” and other forms of assistance for victims of National Socialism

In 2024, the disbursal of the extraordinary gesture payment was to all intents and purposes completed. Over 3,400 victims of National Socialism in 40 countries worldwide, most of them in Austria, the USA, Israel, the UK, Australia, Canada and France, have received a further gesture payment. In total, the National Fund has paid out 17.3 million euros in the form of extraordinary gesture payments.

Survivors in need of special support can request to receive additional payments. The abundance of applications in recent years demonstrate how relevant and urgent the need is for targeted support in this area.

The National Fund also assists survivors of National Socialism and their descendants in obtaining Austrian citizenship and by undertaking historical research into family histories.

The Simon Wiesenthal Prize award ceremony

The Simon Wiesenthal Prize was awarded in Parliament in March 2024. The dialogue project “LIKRAT – Let’s talk!” received the main prize, the prize for civic engagement to combat antisemitism was awarded to the “Asociación Cultural Mota de Judíos” from Spain, and the Austrian-based organisation CENTROPA was honoured for its civic engagement to promote Holocaust education. During the award ceremony, tribute was paid to the following contemporary eyewitnesses for their contribution in the field of antisemitism prevention: Helga Feldner-Busztin (Austria), Jeno Friedman (USA), Octavian Fülöp (Romania), Naftali Fürst (Israel), Maria Gabrielsen (Norway), Viktor Klein (Austria), Otto Nagler (Israel), Katharina Sasso (Austria), Liese Scheiderbauer (Austria) and Marian Turski (Poland).

The Jewish cemeteries in Austria

The amendment to the Cemeteries Fund Act, which also came into effect in 2024, provides for the restoration of Jewish cemeteries in Austria to be continued and intensified. In May, the Board of Trustees approved funding for a restoration project at the Jewish cemetery in Mattersburg. In June, the renovated “New Jewish Cemetery” in St. Pölten was ceremoniously released to the local authority and in autumn an art project co-financed by the National Fund was opened at the “Old Jewish Cemetery” in St. Pölten. In co-operation with the Institute for Jewish History in Austria, the National Fund also holds workshops for teachers at both Jewish cemeteries in St. Pölten.

Since the Cemeteries Fund was established, projects subsidised with around 14 million euros have been implemented at 18 Jewish cemeteries. To date, 13 Jewish cemeteries have been fully restored and handed over to the local authorities for future upkeep. In the coming year, renovation work will continue at the Jewish cemeteries at Gate 1 and Gate 4 of the Vienna Central Cemetery, and the cemeteries in Währing, Mistelbach and Mattersburg.

Networking conference with national and international organisations

In October 2024, the National Fund held its first conference on prevention work and networking with national and international organisations at the Austrian Parliament. The conference focused on the past and future of commemoration and remembrance work. It offered a comprehensive review of Austria’s process of reckoning with its Nazi past, paid tribute to the achievements and realised projects and opened up a discourse on the future of remembrance.

Publications and public relations

In February, the illustrated book “Houses of Eternity. 10 Years of the Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria”and the 2024 edition of the “Visitors’ Guide to the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria” were presented in Parliament.

In November, the National Fund was represented at the Interpädagogica, an educational trade fair for teaching materials, equipment, culture and sport, where it presented, among other things, its book series “Lives Remembered” containing life stories of people persecuted by the Nazi regime together with accompanying materials.

You can find an overview of our publications and documentations here.

In November, an updated version of the National Fund’s exhibition “From Repression to Remembrance” was opened at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. as part of our public relations work.

Outlook for 2025

The Simon Wiesenthal Prize award ceremony

As the competition entered its fourth year, once again numerous projects and initiatives were submitted for the Simon Wiesenthal Prize, which is endowed with 30,000 euros. Around 220 entries were received from 30 countries worldwide. The youngest applicant is 15 years old, the oldest 99.

In October 2024, the Board of Trustees chose the prize winners from the shortlist drawn up by the Simon Wiesenthal Prize Jury. The prize winners will be announced and the contemporary eyewitnesses honoured at an event in Parliament in March 2025.

Changes in the area of project funding

In 2025, the focus will be on funding projects that are dedicated to identifying and combating disinformation in online media. There will be a particular focus on projects that specifically tackle disinformation that relativises the Holocaust or undermines the culture of remembrance. One third of the total project funding budget will be earmarked for this focus area in 2025.

A new guideline enables the funding of projects that benefit the descendants of victims of National Socialism, and of projects conducting academic research on the role of perpetrators and followers under the Nazi regime. The Fund will also continue to support educational and school projects in order to raise awareness of the past and enable a more nuanced examination of history.

From 2025, the submission deadlines for project funding will be extended from two to four dates per year: 1 February, 1 April, 1 September and 1 November.

New publications

The latest volume, Volume 8, of the book series “Lives Remembered. Life Stories of Victims of National Socialism” is dedicated to the topic of “Exile to Palestine/Life in Israel”.

The eighth volume of the series “Decisions of the Arbitration Panel for In Rem Restitution” contains 21 decisions of the Arbitration Panel from 2009 and 2010 in the original German and in English translation.

The publication of the bilingual “Final Report of the Arbitration Panel for In Rem Restitution” will also be presented next year. This report documents the historical background to the proceedings, sheds light on the many challenges involved in the historical and legal processing of claims and provides a compelling account of the results of this most recent Austrian restitution measure in connection with the Nazi era.

Book presentations on the new publications are planned for the first half of 2025.

Conference and 30^th anniversary of the National Fund

Two special events are coming up in autumn 2025: the second conference on prevention work and networking with national and international organisations and the 30^th anniversary of the National Fund.

In the spirit of this look to the future, we wish you

Happy holidays and all the best for the new year 2025!