Dissolution decided

A single vote decided the memorial association

The Holocaust victims in Israel are commemorated at Yad Vashem - the friendship association in Austria has now disbanded.

(Bild: Yad Vashem)

The "Austrian Friends of Yad Vashem" association is history after 21 years. On Wednesday evening, the members decided to dissolve the association at a general assembly in Linz - it was decided by a single vote. Prior to this, a list of candidates from politicians around the FPÖ mayor of Wels, Andreas Rabl, made headlines.

No candidates, no election: the "Austrian Friends of Yad Vashem" association - which supports the commemoration of the Shoah, i.e. the Holocaust - had to cancel the board election scheduled for Wednesday at short notice because individual candidates on the list of candidates had concerns about the compatibility of work and voluntary work.

The list of politicians around the FPÖ mayor of Wels, Andreas Rabl, who, according to their own statements, wanted to ensure the continued existence of the association, had already withdrawn their candidacy following criticism and the appearance of the second list of candidates. And the idea of finding a transitional arrangement was also not feasible - the board had already resigned.

Successor organization under consideration
A vote on dissolution was therefore held at the General Assembly in Linz on Wednesday. "Two thirds had to vote in favor," said spokesperson Georg Schuster and in the end, a single vote - out of 103 valid votes - decided the dissolution after 21 years.

A successor organization is being considered that is less rigid - because in the now dissolved association, which started with ten members and had grown to 870, a two-thirds majority was required for almost every decision.