COMMEMORATION 2025

Under radiant sunshine, people from Hungary and the local region gathered with relatives of survivors to commemorate the liberation of the Gunskirchen camp. The subcamp of Mauthausen had been liberated 80 years ago, on May 4, 1945, by American troops. 

Kathrin Lenzenweger on the violin and Katja Bielefeld on the piano created a festive atmosphere with their sensitive musical performances. More than 30 students from the 4th grades of the Gunskirchen middle school had prepared intensively and for a long time for the memorial ceremony. They spoke about their perceptions and emotions on the topic of fascism and expressed them impressively in several languages and through musical presentations. 

Eighty-four-year-old György Frisch, representing a large Hungarian delegation, spoke of the mission given to him by the survivors of the camp: “We must never forget the people who are buried here. We must ensure a dignified burial site.” Afterwards, the chief cantor of the Budapest synagogue sang a prayer of mourning for the victims of the camp. 

Willi Mernyi, chairman of the Mauthausen Committee Austria, thanked the students for their important contribution and presented the committee's plans for the establishment of a memorial site. These plans are to be implemented over the course of the year, with the potential to expand it into a memorial forest. 

In the concluding speech, Werner Retzl, chairman of the Wels Initiative Against Fascism, emphasized the importance of memorial sites and collective commemorations. We must be aware of our responsibility, send clear signals, and actively oppose current movements that promote aggression and exclusion and threaten peaceful coexistence.