33 Winter 2015-2016 It is especially so in a year in which we mark the end of the Second World War and the liberation of the concentration camps, that we must consider the fact that an increasing number of our fellow Jewish citizens are leaving Europe. We must confront this resolutely—with a joint and loud “Never Again!” The protection of the Jewish community is both our goal and obligation. In the last few years, we in the Ministry of the Interior have introduced clear measures to counteract antisemitism. This concerns first of all the careful and comprehensive l processing of criminal offenses with antisemitic background; two official actions may be especially emphasized in this regard: namely the activity concerning the - website “alpen.donau.info,” which led to the condemnation of the perpetrators (including Gottfried Küssel) and subsequently to their long-time imprisonments, and a - case in Salzburg, where a series of criminal offenses have been committed since 2013, in which Jewish institutions have also been bedaubed and damaged. Since then, the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Salzburg has succeeded in investigating and proving the identity of eight suspects. Such successes are also the result of intensive cooperation with the justice system as well as international partners. Alongside the operational investigation work, the second pillar upon which we lean in our struggle against antisemitism is prevention. In this regard I am referring to the National Security Reporting Office, the cooperation of the Federal Ministry of the Interior with the l Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance; - various NGOs such as ZARA, the Stop Line and Safe Internet Council, or the - “Anti-Defamation League”-- the latter being designated as Best Model Practice by the OSCE. We perform preventive police works at schools and hold events aimed at raising awareness and providing information to citizens. But we obviously provide intensive teaching within our own ranks as well, first and foremost by means of special continued education programs for our fellow state protection officers. In addition, all policewomen and policemen are made aware of antisemitism as a motive for extreme criminal activities during their basic as well as advanced training.1 As part of their basic training, all police cadets also visit the Memorial in the concentration camp of Mauthausen. The Memorial, whose maintenance lies under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior, is not only a cemetery, a museum and a place of remembrance, but also a learning and documentation center for contemporary history. With each such visit by a class, the Mauthausen Memorial makes an especially valuable pedagogical contribution. I myself have spoken over and over again with students during my visits to Mauthausen. I have also witnessed dismay, rage, lack of understanding as well as tears as a reaction to the crimes committed at that location. I can assure you of one thing: the message hits home with these young people. It hits home in their minds and hearts, and that is something I find encouraging when looking ahead to the future. It makes me confident, that our society shall eventually learn its outstanding lessons and that one day antisemitism will become a thing of the past. Thank you very much. 1. E.g. the awareness program in the seminar titled “A World of Difference.”
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