80 years after the White Buses and the Liberation of KZ Mauthausen

A humanitarian imperative to help? Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

This year marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War. As the witnesses and survivors of the Holocaust and WW2 grow fewer, the responsibility falls increasingly on the next generations to keep the memories alive, as they will be the ones that have to ensure that the lessons of the past continue to inform and inspire future humanitarian efforts. It is crucial to engage and empower these younger generations, as their involvement is vital for ensuring our remembrance of the Holocaust and for upholding our collective memory of the horrors of World War II.

Against this background, the Swedish and Danish Embassies in Vienna look forward to organizing an event focusing on the rescue operation of the White Buses, one of the most noteworthy and risk-filled rescue operations carried out on European soil in modern times that today is largely unknown outside of Scandinavia. During the intense and brutal final months of WW2, the White Buses provided 17.500 passengers a passage to freedom. This event will pose the question: How did Scandinavian concentration camp prisoners perceive the White Buses operation at the time? Would the White Buses set off on their mission in today’s times? What lessons can be drawn from their experiences for contemporary humanitarian efforts? And in an era of increasing historical negationism, what responsibilities do governments and institutions have in ensuring remembrance of the mass atrocities committed in concentration camps and the legacy of the White Buses?

Agenda

18:00 Opening and Welcome

• Speeches by Ambassadors Annika Markovic (SWE) and Christian Grønbech-Jensen (DK)

18:15 Keynote Speech

- Dr Barbara Glück, Director, KZ Mauthausen Memorial

18:30 Panel Discussion

Participants:

- Erika Aronowitsch, Head of Division Production and Program at The Living History Forum Sweden

- Lea Riener, Historian currently with Yad Vashem and the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute

- Mette Boritz, Exhibition Editor at the Danish National Museum

- Walter Hajek, Head of International Cooperation at Austrian Red Cross

Moderation: Andreas Kranebitter, Director at the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW)

19:45 Closing & Networking