"Never again": Commemorative exhibition marking the end of the war at Vienna's Heldenplatz

To mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation from National Socialism, the Mauthausen Committee Austria (MKÖ) is presenting a commemorative exhibition at Vienna's Heldenplatz from May 5 to 9. On display are life-size portraits and quotes from concentration camp survivors, as well as excerpts from the Mauthausen Oath. One of the subjects is Mark Olsky. He is one of the three "Mauthausen babies" born in the concentration camp or on the prisoner transport there a few days before the liberation.

Olsky will also be present in person at the exhibition opening on May 5th at 10:00 a.m. The goal of the event is to hear the voices of survivors in public spaces and make remembrance visible, the MKÖ stated in a press release. "We are grateful that we were able to make Heldenplatz a place of 'Never Again' on May 8th, and that official Austria is celebrating the liberation and the end of the Second World War," said Chairman Willi Mernyi.

The event is supported by the Vienna Jewish Community, the Memorial Service Association, the Documentation Center of the Austrian Resistance, and the "Now Make a Sign" initiative. The Festival of Joy will take place on Heldenplatz on May 8, and the International Liberation Celebration will take place at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial on May 11. Both events this year—like the other concentration camp commemoration events in Austria—are centered around the theme "For a Never Again and Peace in Europe."