Commemoration ceremony at the former Gusen concentration camp

5 May 2025 marks the 80^th anniversary of the liberation of the Mauthausen and Gusen concentration camps. This anniversary will be honoured at the former Gusen concentration camp with an event that focuses on the importance of remembrance. Taking as its motto ‘Liberated?!’, the event explores the complex meaning of freedom and liberation – for the victims, the survivors and our society today.

For decades, memory work in Gusen was carried out primarily by the Gusen Memorial Committee on the one hand, and by survivors and relatives of victims on the other. Since 2023 the commemoration ceremony has been organised jointly by the Mauthausen Memorial and the Gusen Memorial Committee. This collaboration marks an important step in the development of the Gusen Memorial and in creating more widespread awareness of this place. This decision was based on the findings of the participation process carried out from 2022 to 2023 as part of the expansion of the Gusen Memorial.

Programme

The event begins at 5:00 pm with a musical performance. This will be followed by welcoming remarks from Barbara Glück (Mauthausen Memorial) and Reinhard Kaspar (Gusen Memorial Committee). Speakers from various international memorial organisations and representatives of victim groups such as Roma and Sinti, Jehovah’s Witnesses and members of the Jewish community will then give short statements.

The ceremony will feature music from various nations. The Mauthausen Memorial is working closely with the Comité International de Mauthausen to organise this. During the  subsequent procession, participants will walk together to the Memorial de Gusen, accompanied by the Marktmusikkapelle St. Georgen an der Gusen brass band with a programme that includes pieces composed in the camp by prisoners.

The event ends at 6:45pm with wreath laying at the Memorial – a moment of silent remembrance.

This commemoration ceremony is not only an act of remembrance but also a bridge to the future. It connects generations and countries, thus ensuring that the message of ‘Long live international solidarity! Long live freedom!’ from the Mauthausen Oath lives on!

In cooperation with