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House of Responsibility

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Gerhard Skiba, Andreas Maislinger and Austrian Holocaust Memorial Servants in front of Hitler's Birthhouse.

The House of Responsibility in Braunau am Inn (HRB) is a concept to establish an international meeting place for young people to work on projects about the past, present and future in Hitler's birth house. The house is located in the upper-Austrian town of Braunau am Inn. The former tavern was a cultural center for the Nazi party during the Third Reich. After the heritage house was used as a homestead as well as a workshop for people with disabilities it is now standing empty since 2011.

Braunau sets a sign

After the FPÖ (Austrian Freedom Party) took part in the government under Jörg Haider in early 2000, the “Braunauer Rundschau” (Braunau review) started to collect signatures under the slogan “Braunau setzt ein Zeichen” (Braunau sets a sign).[1] [2] Andreas Maislinger, an Austrian historian and founder of Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service and Braunau Contemporary History Days, reacted on the call and suggested setting up a House of Responsibility in the house where Adolf Hitler was born.[3]

Past – Present – Future

The “Braunau review” presented the idea of Andreas Maislinger on May 4, 2000:

Concept HRB

(Translated)

Volunteers from EU-countries, Austrian Zivildieners and former Austrian Servants Abroad should work and live together in the house. Because of this there should take place a constant exchange of ideas. The ‘House of Responsibility’ should be something completely new, split into three stories, where the ‘unwanted inheritance’ and the refurbishment of the background of the NS should take place on the first floor. The second floor will be devoted to the present, and concrete help for people will be offered for example by the Austrian Service Abroad and also by human rights – and third-world projects. On the third floor ideas for a more peaceful future should be worked out.

Philosophical basis for this project is the book 'Das Prinzip Verantwortung' (The concept responsibility) written by Hans Jonas in 1979.

Realisation

The project couldn’t be realized in the following years but the idea of taking responsibility remained.[4] In 2005 the owner of a house close to where Hitler was born offered his house for the project. In 2002 members of Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service (AHMS) remembered the Austrian Righteous Among the Nations in front of Hitler's birth house.[5] In October 2009 mayor Gerhard Skiba argued for the first time in support of a 'House of Peace' or 'House of Responsibility' in Hitler's Birthhouse in Austria's Newspaper Kurier.[6][7]

In the first half of 2014 the HRB gained increasing support by the public and by acknowledged international organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League in New York, the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oswiecim, the European Roma Rights Center in Budapest and the John Rabe and International Safety Zone Memorial Hall in Nanjing.[8] The final decision upon the use of Hitler’s birth house has not been made yet.

Supporters

Argentinia Erika Rosenberg Austria Erhard Busek, Franz Fischler, Alfred Gusenbauer, Ludwig Laher China Pan Guang France Michel Cullin, Beate Klarsfeld Germany Markus Ferber, Stefan Klein Israel Ben Segenreich, Moshe Zimmermann Poland Wladyslaw Bartoszewski Russia Ilya Altman United Kingdom Ladislaus Löb, USA Abraham Foxman, Branko Lustig

Hitler birthplace memorial stone

See also

References

  1. ^ Austrian Town of Hitler's Birth Aims to Transform 'the Burden', Paul Watson, Los Angeles Times (January 13, 2001)
  2. ^ Impossible to Deny (Frankfurter Rundschau Online, February 10 2001)
  3. ^ History as responsibility - House of Responsibility
  4. ^ Hitler's Birthplace Still Struggles With Burden of History (Deutsche Welle, September 14 2006)
  5. ^ Braunau's mayor Gerhard Skiba, AHMS-founder Andreas Maislinger and young Austrians commemorated the Austrian Righteous (gedenkdienst.org)
  6. ^ What Will Hitler’s House of Birth Become? (Georg Markus), October 11, 2009
  7. ^ Town concerned as Hitler’s childhood home might be sold, January 02, 2010 (rt.com)
  8. ^ Posting of the official Facebook-Site of HRB about the support of the John Rabe and Internationals Safety Zone Memorial Hall in Nanjing
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