Austrian Gedenkdienst at the Center for HGPS

In Austria, where I come from, your eighteenth birthday presents you with three critical options:

- You can enlist in the Austrian military for an 8-month-long compulsory training service. There you learn how to use some killing devices, as I call them;
- You can perform an alternative social service, such as working in a home for the retired, or working in a hospital, or in an institution for juveniles or comparable institutions. This service is for 12 months;
- OR you can choose what I chose: to work as a Gedenkdienst intern (commemorative service intern) at an institution outside of Austria dedicated to examining Holocaust issues. This service is for 14 months.

When I turned 25 (as a graduate student in Business Administration at the University of Innsbruck, I had received several draft deferrals) I knew that I would soon have to start my service. Now it was high time to consider my options within the Gedenkdienst program.

If I was going to give part of my life to my country, I wanted to do something meaningful - not only for Austria, but also for myself. I had been working and studying in an environment of business and commerce; so now I looked for an environment in which I could contribute something I found meaningful.

Through research and discussions on the Internet and with like-minded people in Innsbruck, I came across the Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Peace Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. There were two positions for people like me; Andreas Feuerstein had already been accepted for one of them.

This was my chance! I applied in July 1999 and got the go-ahead to come.

Then, at the beginning of September, I got two e-mails. One from the Chairman of the Gedenkdienst program in Austria and one from Dr. Hertling in Reno. Both of them said that I would get the job. Four weeks - and a thousand plus documents and stamps - later, I found myself at the Reno Airport, right next to a slot machine. The day was the 28th of September; and the welcome by Dr. Hertling and Andreas Feuerstein was very warm.

I had chosen the Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Peace Studies over other partner institutions in countries such as Poland, Israel or Canada because it is not only dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust; it is also concerned with researching how to prevent such tragedies in the future. Furthermore, to serve my Gedenkdienst in a place where the sun seems to be shining every day was a major attraction as well!

Andreas and I would like to meet with you and speak to you, your school, your church, your synagogue, your social club, or your community group. You can reach us at 775-784-6767. We will be here for 14 months.

Heinz Bösch
Austrian Gedenkdienst Intern

My name is Andreas Feuerstein. I was born in a little town called Hohenems in Austria in 1977. After two years of studying Political Science and History at the University of Innsbruck, the time had come for me to serve my country. I already knew what I was going to do - serve as a Gedenkdienst Intern at the Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Peace Studies - I didn’t want to waste my life running through the mud learning how to fight wars.
I found out about the Austrian Gedenkdienst program (commemorative service program) one day while I was wandering about on the university campus in Innsbruck. There was a poster saying, "Are you interested in doing National Service in a foreign country?"I wrote down the phone number and got in touch with the organization that provides this service. Through the Verein für Dienste im Ausland (this organization is approved by the Austrian government for sending interns to foreign countries) it is possible to link up and work with an organization abroad. If this institution accepts us, we can ask the Austrian government for permission to serve there as Gedenkdienst interns. I wanted to work for a Holocaust institution.

Searching the Internet for Holocaust institutions in the US, I came across the Center for HGPS and its homepage. I was impressed by its mission statement, not only to do research on Holocaust and genocide issues; but also to find ways to a more peaceful future.

After a long bureaucratic procedure, the Center for HGPS was accepted as a partner organization on August 6, 1999. Heinz and I are the first interns who have come here to do their service. I arrived in Reno on August 20, 1999. I knew this was where I wanted to be. It is one of my greatest hopes that everything about this service turns out fine. And now I’m here, doing a meaningful job, enjoying Reno’s excellent weather and being surrounded by wonderful human beings.

For further information please visit our website.

Andreas Feuerstein
Austrian Gedenkdienst Intern