16th Dialogforum Mauthausen: The Liberation and its Aftereffects
Conference
On 5 May 1945 the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp was liberated by members of the US Army. In the weeks following the liberation, thousands of people died who were so weakened or seriously ill from their imprisonment that they no longer had a chance of survival. Even in the decades that followed, many died as a result of their imprisonment, which had left them not only with severe health problems but also psychological trauma, something that the survivors had to deal with for the rest of their lives.
The majority of the perpetrators managed to go into hiding after the end of the war; only a few had to stand trial for their crimes. Others, after being released from captivity, were celebrated as ‘heroes’ and ‘returning soldiers’ and immediately reintegrated into society.
Many of their victims, however, were faced with the question of where to go after liberation. Their homes had been destroyed, their families deported or killed, and many, such as the liberated Spanish prisoners, were unable to return to their homeland as they were threatened with renewed persecution. For years they thus remained ‘Displaced Persons’ in barracks camps, which were often located on the grounds of former concentration camps, or they found a new home among the former perpetrators.
These topics will be explored at the 16th Dialogforum Mauthausen, which takes place from 19 to 20 September 2025 at the Visitor Centre of the Mauthausen Memorial.
Fri 19.09 – Sat 20.09.2025
Visitor Centre of the Mauthausen Memorial
In cooperation with
