Wiesenthal Institute: New Chairman Georg Graf

Austrian Press Agency (11/09/2009)

Vienna – Vienna’s Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) has a new chairman: Georg Graf, Professor for Civil Law at the University of Salzburg, is taking over the position of political scientist, Anton Pelinka, who has resigned along with the entire board.

Differences with the Jewish Religious Community (IKG) over use of the Jewish Community’s archives were given as the reason for the resignation. According to Jewish Community president Ariel Muzicant, the differences have meanwhile been resolved.

Historian Brigitte Bailer, from the Documentation Archives on Austrian Resistance, was designated as First Deputy-Director whereas Ariel Muzicant will serve as Second Deputy-Director. According to a press release, plans are for additional research institutes to work together with the organization of the Wiesenthal Institute in the future.

As Bailer explained to questions posed by the Austrian Press Agency, the election took place through a conference telephone call. Originally the decision was to have been made at a meeting scheduled for November 12, 2009. Graf has been an outside expert for the Historian Commission involved with aryanization and restitution of property after 1945. The previous year he had written an official report for the Jewish Community on looted art held by the Leopold Museum. He is with the University of Salzburg.

For the interim period over the next few weeks an executive board will be appointed by the VWI and the position of director will be advertised for applicants wishing to apply. As explained, “the laid out plans will bring the tense situation of the last few months to an end and will guarantee the future basis of research work of the Institute as an archive and independent research institution.”

The Wiesenthal Institute, financed primarily by the Federal Government and City of Vienna and residing in the Strozzi Palce in Vienna’s Josefstädterstraße,  will be up and running by 2012. The seven member board had resigned in July of 2009. The conflict over use of the Jewish Community’s archive has been resolved, according to Muzicant: Although remaining in the possession of the Jewish Religious Community, the archive will be handed over to the Wiesenthal Institute, which will have unlimited access for research purposes.

Pelinka, however, saw “no future” for the Institute and he criticized the agreement over the use of the archive as “hostile to research,” stepping back from his position on November 30, 2009, as he stated last week. Three other board members, Ingo Zechner, Georg Kö and Else Rieger likewise left the Institute.