Austria Marks November Pogrom Anniversary and Weighs Higher Grants for Jewish Heritage
Austria's federal government marked the anniversary of the November 1938 pogroms in Vienna on 9 November 2026, with Chancellor Christian Stocker, Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler, Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger and State Secretary Alexander Proell issuing a joint statement pledging to protect Jewish life and preserve Holocaust remembrance, and saying the government is examining an adjustment, from 1 January 2027, to the annual grants paid under the Austrian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Act.
On 9 and 10 November 1938, synagogues across Austria and the Nazi German Reich were set on fire, Jewish shops and homes were wrecked, and Jewish people were abused, murdered and deported to concentration camps. The government said the November pogroms marked a decisive turning point in the Nazi regime's systematic persecution of the Jewish population, which culminated in the Shoah and the murder of six million Jews. Almost nine decades later, Austria remembers the victims and reaffirms its special historical responsibility.
Stocker said antisemitism is rising again in Austria and across Europe, with Jewish people once more facing hatred, hostility and threats, a development he said must never be accepted. Jewish people must be able to live safely and freely in Austria, he said, adding that the government is turning that commitment into action through its National Strategy Against Antisemitism 2.0 and further measures to secure Jewish life.
The statement said the Austrian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Act supports the security of Jewish institutions, the preservation of Jewish cultural heritage and the promotion of Jewish community life. Against the background of the changed threat situation since 7 October 2023 and higher security requirements, the government is examining an adjustment of the annual grants under the act, to take effect from 1 January 2027.
The government also said it would continue and deepen its cooperation with Yad Vashem, the international Holocaust remembrance centre, on the basis of the memorandum of understanding signed in 2024, focusing on Holocaust research, securing historical documents and teaching the history of the Shoah, especially to young people. It said it would also continue funding remembrance projects in the arts and culture, so that memory of the Nazi crimes is passed to coming generations.
(Source: Federal Chancellery of Austria)
Source: Federal Chancellery of Austria
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：奥地利联邦政府成员在维也纳 Ostarrichipark 姓名墙前献花圈，纪念十一月大屠杀遇难者。照片：奥地利联邦总理府／Florian Schrötter。 / Photo: Members of the Austrian federal government lay a wreath at the Wall of Names in Ostarrichipark, Vienna, in remembrance of the November Pogroms. Photo: Federal Chancellery of Austria / Florian Schrötter.
