Students commemorate Holocaust victims: moving march on the prebichl

Students commemorate Holocaust victims: moving march on the prebichl

On the occasion of the memorial day for the victims of the Holocaust, extraordinary memory events took place today in the Leoben region. Around 150 pupils took part in a memorial march, which led from the Ski Arena prebichl to the pass height. The march is reminiscent of the death march of Hungarian Jews in April 1945, in which over 200 Jewish forced laborers were murdered on the prebichl shortly before the end of the war and buried in mass graves. This dark story is also the reason why the event has been carried out regularly for 18 years, such as meinzirk.at.

The mayor of Eisenerz, Thomas Rauninger, emphasized the importance of peace, freedom and democracy in his speech. A special moment of the march was the symbolic withdrawal of a fist -sized stone that is supposed to pass on the weight of the history and awareness of the past. The commitment of the young people was also praised by Dominik Knes, managing director of the ARGE youth against violence and racism, who, despite adverse weather conditions, set a strong sign of memory.

The role of forced labor

The dark time of forced labor during World War II must not be forgotten. During this time, millions of people were forced to work under inhumane conditions. Stiftung-evz.de explains that an estimated 26 million people became victims of forced labor, not only in concentration camps, but also in agriculture, in companies and even in private households. Many of these forced laborers were Jews as well as Sinti and Roma, who were often died in work or cruelly treated.

Reminding the past, as is done by events such as the memorial march on the prebichl, is of central importance to understand the effects of Nazi compulsory work and the associated crimes. Gerhard Niederhofer, the initiator of the memorial march, is tirelessly committed to clarifying persecution and racism. The memorial on the prebichl, which includes a sculpture by the resistance fighter Cilli Muchitsch, a multilingual commemorative plaque and a symbolic tree of life, is an important symbol of humanity and civil courage.

The life march fits into the appeal to learn from history and call a “never again”. This is done not only by transferring stories, but also through an active commitment to a future in which peace and respect are in the foreground. Even today, the effects of the Nazi compulsory work in the biographies of many families and in the collective memory of Europe are present.