Medal of honor for memorial work: St. Georgener in Warsaw!

Medal of honor for memorial work: St. Georgener in Warsaw!

St. Georgen/Gusen, Österreich - In the heart of memorial culture, two outstanding personalities were awarded on December 17, 2024: Martha Gammer and Rudolf A. Haunschmied. The founders of the Gusen Memorial Service Committee received the "Virtus et Fraternitas" in the Belweder Castle by Minister Piotr CWIK for President Andrzej Duda. This special award recognizes the decades of commitment to the two for the processing of the complex history of the former concentration camp Gusen, where between 1940 and 1945, above all, Polish deportants suffered from cruel conditions. As the “My District” reports, the honor was awarded at the proposal of the director of the Witold Pilecki Institute in Warsaw, Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, and the Polish Memorial Council.

a life's work for the culture of memory

Media attention to the medal is not only praise for the two committed contemporary history activists, but also recognition for their wide work. Among other things, you have contributed to the fact that the long-forgotten mountain crystal tunnel system in the region is back into public awareness. The community is deeply valued by the community. Their commitment made a significant contribution to the fact that the Republic of Austria acquired significant areas of the former concentration camp in 2021 in order to design it as an interactive memorial. This redesign is accepted by all relevant groups, which would not have been possible without the tireless work of Gammer and Haunschmied, as reported.

At the celebration in Warsaw, highly old survivors and their relatives were also present, whose emotional feedback and acceptance speeches underlined the importance of the evening. According to a survivor, rabbi rav yechezkel harp, Gusen was the worst of all camps and museum was a place, the horrors of which were rarely told. This gives the work of Gammer and Haunschmied an even deeper dimension, since they put the often silent suffering of the survivors in the foreground and create a platform for their stories. Your publications are not only specialist literature, but also testimonies of a tireless effort that even recognizes experts. The high appreciation of your activity underlines the importance of human and sensitive contact with the past.