Young Austrian’s Service for Peace, Kazimierz Local Quarterly

Kazimierz Local Quarterly (Krakow) 2 / 4 2001 Young Austrian’s Service for Peace The intent of Gedenkdienst, The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service, is to emphasize the recognition of Austria’s part of the collective responsibility for the Holocaust and the responsibility for each and every one of us to remember and to fight for “never again”. The founder and chairman of this interesting peace service is the political scientist, Dr. Andreas Maislinger. This Service, which is an alternative to national service in the Austrian military force, lasts for 14 months and is financially supported by the Austrian government. Some of them serve in Poland, in places associated with the Holocaust. “Very early in my life I had to deal with the fact that both of my grandfathers fought for the German Wehrmacht. After knowing that, it became quite for me not to join the Austrian army, but rather to look for an alternative peace service instead of army service. And since I was always interested in history and the role of my country in the Second World War, the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service (Gedenkdienst) seemed to me as the best alternative to the Austrian compulsory military service. I am very grateful in having this unique opportunity and to participate in such wonderful projects, which serve to foster a mutual understanding between all human beings”, says Richard Schlager, a 22- year-old electrical technician from Salzburg who for the last 7 months has worked for the Jewish Cultural Center in Kazimierz. His main duties are: assisting in the organization and realization of various events, taking care of Polish and international visitors, assisting in the German spoken summer program “Auf den Spuren des Jüdischen Erbes in Galizien”, telling visitors more about the occupation during the Third Reich, the annihilation of the Jewish community by the Nazis and the lesson of the Holocaust. So far, three volunteers have worked for and with the Center for Jewish Culture in Kazimierz Kraków. This year, from the 28th of July to the 2nd of August the first Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service Seminar will be held in Kraków and Auschwitz-Birkenau. The seminar is intended as a preparation for these Austrian volunteers who will do their alternative service in Holocaust Museums, research centers and libraries all over the world. Richard Schlager and Malgorzata Walczak