"Never forget! That is the major focus of the Holocaust and Tolerance Center "Haus der Namen" by the Israelitischen Kultusverein Graz 70 years after the victory over National Socialism. It is a house of history and at the same time with history, but primarily it is a program for the future. Only by becoming aware of the horrors that have happened in this dark period, we can learn from the mistakes of the past and ensure that such acts are never repeated. Today we live in a time, in which certain segments of our society still hold extremist views and are trying to disseminate them. This is a challenge for our civil society; we must be ever vigilant. Through the Holocaust and Tolerance Center Styria the victims of this criminal ideology are transformed from nameless figures to touching individual stories, which in turn become warning monuments about the terrifying abysses of human action. To name perpetrators and victims is clearly necessary, so that we all never forget!"
Hermann Schützenhöfer
Governor of Styria
"The racist mania of the National Socialissm, the despicable crimes against Jews, Sinti and Roma, as well as dissidents, homosexuals and the handicapped, remains the most horrific singular event in the history of mankind. In Graz too, many have become perpetrators, when the synagogue was burned, shops were looted and Jews were herded through the streets. But many also just looked away when Jews were arrested and deported. Only very few had the courage to resist and that resistance often meant that they shared the fate of those they tried to help. All those victims had faces and names. We want to name them to remind us that the dangers of opportunism, or the search for scapegoats, which can repeat itself at any time."
Mag. Siegfried Nagl,
Mayor of Graz
Among the millions of Jewish victims of the Holocaust more than 1.5 million were children. With this exhibition, which presents Jewish life in Graz based on the fate of two Jewish children between 1938 and 1945 - from the Kristallnacht to the mass murder in the concentration camps, young people will gain access to this sensitive issue. Students are encouraged to reflect on the experiences of these two children and connect that with the present time. Especially, in a time when Jews in Europe are again exposed to rising anti-Semitism, a multitude of efforts is required by our civil society to address these developments. To this end, the Holocaust Memorial Center in Graz makes an important contribution to the remembrance, as well as to the education and discussion of this topic.
Oskar Deutsch
President of Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde Wien/
Israelitischen Religionsgesellschaft
"As a Chamber of Commerce organization, our central task, in the interest of the entrepreneurs, is the successful development of this area as a business location. In doing so we never lose sight of the shared big picture: History has shown us that it is a matter of developing prosperity and prospects for the future, to serve as the most effective prophylaxis against armed conflicts and to guarantee lasting peace.
This is our socio-political task. But is also essential to learn from the past. For this reason, the WKO wholeheartedly supports, the "Haus der Namen" Holocaust and Tolerance Center Styria, because the memory of these atrocities must never be forgotten. "
Ing. Josef Herk
President WKO Steiermark
"Exhibitions concerning the topic of the holocaust are not a sign of a one sided view of the past. One must engage with the past in order to draw conclusions for the present and the future. The only way to avoid a repetition of that disaster is to be vigilant.
This is especially important right now, where a renewed discussion about the future of Judaism in Europe is taken place... The existence of the state of Israel gives us the strength, despite all the challenges, to look into the future with hope."
Mag. Raimund Fastenbauer
Generale Secretary of Israelitischen Religionsgesellschaft
"Seven decades since the end of the second world war and the crushing of the Nazi-Dictatorship, which, through the holocaust, managed to write the darkest chapter in the history of mankind, we say and demand „never again – something like this must never happen again“! But even today some right-wing thought is finding fertile grounds within some segments of our society; even some leading politicians publicly doubt the holocaust and the organized extermination of human life by calling it a propaganda lie. ´This makes it all the more important to constantly and decidedly, with enlightened integrity to keep the memory of this time and its gruesome facts alive. We not only want to, but we have the duty through remembrance to encourage people to think and not forget. The center for holocaust and tolerance Styria is adding a valuable contribution to this process. Let us take this remembrance as a direction to a more humanistic and humane society – as direction not just for us, but also for all generations to follow."
Mag. Franz Voves
Former Governor of Styria