The Russian Academy of Sciences announced the end of the era of witnesses to Nazi atrocities amid plans for construction near a concentration camp

Brief retelling from RIA II

Senior researcher at the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences-FNISC RAS, Maria Matskevich, announced the end of the era of witnesses to the atrocities of the Nazis, since there were practically no living participants in the war.

It is planned to build a supermarket and a refrigeration logistics center on the territory of the former branch of the Mauthausen concentration camp in Leobersdorf, which caused a protest from the international Mauthausen Committee.

Mauthausen Memorial director Barbara Gluck called the demolition of the camp's remains a disgrace, saying it destroys historical structures and potential sources of information for future research.

MOSCOW, October 3 - RIA Novosti. Senior researcher at the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences-FNISC RAS ​​Maria Matskevich told RIA Novosti about the coming of the end of the era of witnesses to the atrocities of the Nazis, since there are practically no “living” voices of war participants left.

It is planned to build a supermarket and a refrigerated logistics center on the site of a former branch of the Mauthausen concentration camp in Leobersdorf (Lower Austria). Reacting to such plans, the international Mauthausen committee demanded that construction work be stopped.

Speaking on the situation as a whole, Matskevich noted that the world has entered “an era that researchers call the “end of the era of witnesses.”

“There are practically no living voices of war participants left,” she added.

The sociologist explained that in these conditions, physical places and architecture, as part of cultural memory, symbolize the past for future generations.

That is why, Mackiewicz noted, the director of the Mauthausen Memorial, Barbara Gluck, called the demolition of the remains of the camp a disgrace, emphasizing that it “destroys historical structures and potential sources of information for future research.”

She also recalled a joint statement by the International Mauthausen Committee and the Mauthausen Memorial, which warned that development would permanently destroy the last physical evidence of Nazi terror at the site and make dignified commemoration impossible.

They point to a repetition of mistakes after 1945, when many places were built up. In fact, the memory of the victims is subordinated to financial interests.

During the uprising in the Austrian concentration camp Mauthausen in early February 1945, about 500 Soviet prisoners of war escaped. They overcame the guards and crossed two strips of barbed wire. A hunt was opened for the prisoners who escaped from the camp. Not only the military took part in it, but also ordinary residents of nearby villages, who hunted down and killed Soviet officers, helping the Nazis.