The Confederation covers most of the costs of the Holocaust Remembrance Wall "DiePresse.com

The project of a memorial wall of some 66,000 Austrian Jews murdered during the Nazi era brings this realization to a close. Instead of the previous 50% cost-sharing, the federal government now wants to fund almost all of the funding. 4.5 million euros will be reserved for this purpose. This follows from the decision of the ministerial council scheduled for Wednesday.

This was announced Tuesday after Kurz met the founder of the wall, the Holocaust survivor, Kurt Y. Tutter. The wall, which must bear all the names of Jewish victims, must be erected in Ostarrichipark Park, in front of the National Bank in Vienna. The corresponding agreement with the city was concluded in October. The initially planned location on the Schmerlingplatz was abandoned.

The main obstacle to implementation has been funding. Referring to existing memorials (such as the 2000 memorial for Austrian Jewish victims of the Schoah on Judenplatz), the city of Vienna had been willing to look after it and preserve it. With the increase in the federal workforce, construction costs are expected to be between 4.8 and 5.3 million euros (they have increased slightly due to offshoring), but are now almost fully covered. The funding concept of the Tutters badociation provides that Vienna supports the project up to 200,000 euros, the other federal states up to 50,000 euros. About 200,000 euros were placed in private.

Project idea long after realization

Efforts to build such a memorial have been around for nearly 20 years, the government said. International models for the name-Gedenkmauer exist approximately in the form of the 2005 open HolocaustMemorial in Paris, National Monument to the Belgian Jewish Martyrs in Brussels or Dutch Memorial of the Holocaust in Amsterdam.

In a written statement, Kurz spoke of a lasting sign of commemoration for the current commemorative year: "As Chancellor, I am responsible for the memory of the murder of 66,000 Austrian Jews by the NS terrorist regime and the recall of This dark chapter of our history is too important to waste time here. "Tutter was pleased with the sending of the achievement and thanked the Chancellor.

(APA)