VIENNA DID NOT CONDEMN AUSTRIANS WHO PARTICIPATED IN MANHUNT FOR SOVIET PRISONERS OF WAR

VIENNA, MAY 24 /SRNA/ - Austria has not yet issued a public political or moral assessment of the actions of its citizens who participated in the manhunt for Soviet prisoners of war who escaped from the Mauthausen concentration camp during the Second World War, said Ilja Vasiljev, president of the “Alexander Pechersky” Foundation.

Vasiljev reminded that it was in Mauthausen, in the so-called death block, that one of the uprisings of Soviet prisoners of war took place, marking a turning point.

After that, near the town of Mauthausen, what followed was a real “manhunt by peaceful Austrians” for unarmed and exhausted Soviet prisoners who had managed to escape from the Nazi camp.

“The Austrian state has still not given a clear political and moral assessment of this most shameful page of its national history,” Vasiljev told RIA Novosti.

The Third International Anti-Fascist Forum has meanwhile opened in Moscow under the title “The Fight Against International Terrorism, Lawlessness and Aggression: For Peace and Security.”

The gathering brings together representatives of 70 parties, movements, and organizations, as well as political and public figures from more than 100 countries.

Earlier this month, Belarusian Ambassador to Austria Andrei Dapkiunas sent an open letter to the president and members of the International Mauthausen Committee regarding the removal of the Belarusian flag during commemorative events.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers the decision to be politicized, absurd, and driven by current political considerations.

The Mauthausen concentration camp operated in Austria from 1938 to 1945. More than 100,000 prisoners were tortured and killed there, including 32,180 Soviet citizens. The memorial site has been located at the former camp since 1947.

Numerous delegations and thousands of visitors attend commemorative events at the site every year in May.