Gold medals for outstanding achievements in the fight against anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism were awarded by the Federation of Jewish Communities here last night to Anton Proksch, Austria’s Minister of Social Affairs, and Prof; Franz Goebhard, of Graz University.
The awards were given at the Austrian Jewish Community’s annual observance of Crystal Night, the 1938 night of horror when the Nazis initiated their full-scale implementation of the Hitlerian program for annihilation of Jewry. Thousands of synagogues, Jewish institutional buildings and shops and homes were smashed that night and during several following nights in the most methodical pogrom ever conducted.
Dr. Proksch was honored for his work in getting the Austrian Parliament to pass legislation compensating victims of Nazism. Prof. Goebhart was cited for initiating action which prevented Nazis and neo-Nazis in Austria from holding “public discussions” advancing their anti-Semitic views.
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