New Board of Trustees of the National Fund: Important resolutions made!

New Board of Trustees of the National Fund: Important resolutions made!

Wien, Österreich - On June 12, 2025, the board of trustees of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for the first time in the current legislative period met for victims of National Socialism and the fund for the repair of the Jewish cemeteries. Under the chairmanship of Peter Haubner, the second president of the National Council, the members came together to advise on current topics and projects. Haubner was also appointed chairman of the Committee of the National Fund in the course of a amendment to the law in April 2025 and took responsibility for the Simon-Wiesenthal Prize.

The main committee of the National Council unanimously decided on June 10, 2025 on the election of twelve members of the board of trustees. The elected MPs include well -known policies such as Andreas Minnich (ÖVP), Sabine Schatz (SPÖ) and Wendelin Mölzer (FPÖ). The board of trustees is complemented by other representatives: inside of institutions such as Oskar Deutsch from the Israelite cultural community of Vienna and Barbara Glück from the Mauthausen concentration camp.

Simon-Wiesenthal Prize in focus

An important concern of the board of trustees is the award of the Simon-Wiesenthal Prize, which is awarded for civil society engagement against anti-Semitism and to clarify the Holocaust. The National Fund awards this prize annually and is therefore a sign in the fight against anti -Semitism. The award was initiated for the first time in 2020 by a novella of the National Fund Act and is endowed with a total of 30,000 euros that are available for different projects and initiatives.

A total of up to three award winners are awarded as part of the price. The jury, which is responsible for the selection of the award winners, was unanimously reordered and consists of expertized members, including the chairwoman Katharina von Schnurbein and Monika Schwarz-Friesel. This jury is appointed by the Board of Trustees for the duration of a legislative period and also played a central role in the final award when 284 applications from 31 countries were received in 2021.

funding and future prospects

The board of trustees also approved project funding in the amount of EUR 2.8 million. Of this, around 1.2 million euros flow into social and medical programs for Nazi survivors and educational projects. Around 1.5 million euros are to benefit the repair of Jewish cemeteries in Vienna. The approved accounting for 2024 and budget planning for the coming years (13.4 million euros for 2025 and 11.2 million euros for 2026) create a solid basis for the work of the National Fund in the coming years.

Peter Haubner expressed a positive statement about the unanimous election of the members and the upcoming tasks of the board of trustees. Hannah Lessing and Judith Pfeffer emphasized the importance of the work of the National Fund and underlined the need to deal with the continuous processing of National Socialism and his crimes

The Simon-Wiesenthal Prize will be awarded on September 18, 2025 in the Parliament's plenary hall, in which numerous projects from 220 submissions from 30 countries are nominated in advance. This commitment once again shows how important the education about the Holocaust and the fight against anti -Semitism is still. For more information about the Simon-Wiesenthal Prize and its purpose, visit National Fund of the Republic of Austria or read current messages [National Fund] (https://www.nationalfonds.org/simon-wiesenthal-fuer-zivilgesellschaftlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichlichliche- und-Fuer-die-up