Gedenkdienst
Gedenkdienst is the concept of facing and taking responsibility for the darkest chapters of one's own country's history while ideally being financially supported by one's own country's government to do so.
| Gedenkdienst | |
| Purpose | Holocaust remembrance |
|---|---|
| Founder | Andreas Maislinger |
| Andreas Maislinger (left) with Branko Lustig (right) | |
| Office | Innsbruck, Tirol, Austria |
| Foundation | 1992, Innsbruck |
| Website | www |
Founded in Austria in 1992 by Andreas Maislinger, the Gedenkdienst is an alternative to Austria's compulsory national military service as well as a volunteering platform for Austrians to work in Holocaust and Jewish culture-related institutions around the world with governmental financial support.
In Austria it is also referred to as Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service provided by the Austrian Service Abroad. The Austrian Gedenkdienst seeks to serve the remembrance of the crimes of Nazism, commemorates its victims and supports Jewish cultural future. The program is rooted in the acknowledgment of responsibility by the Austrian government for the crimes committed by the Nazis.