Austria’s Justice Minister Alma Zadic meets Holocaust Survivor Gerda Frey

The Austrian Justice minister, Alma Zadic, has posted this on facebook.

Die Arbeit der Österreichischen Freunde von Yad Vashem ist eine tragende Säule des gemeinsamen Erinnerns und Gedenkens an die Opfer der Shoah in Österreich.
Letzte Woche durfte ich an ihrer Generalversammlung teilnehmen. Besonders berührt haben mich die Ausführungen der Holocaust Überlebende Gerda Frey, die von ihren eigenen Fluchterfahrungen und dem Schrecken der Shoah berichtet hat.
Antisemitismus ist eine der bedauerlichsten Konstanten unserer Geschichte, die es endlich zu überwinden gilt. Unser Auftrag ist daher klar: Antidemokratischen Tendenzen müssen wir entschlossen und auf sämtlichen gesellschaftlichen Ebenen entgegentreten.
Es ist unsere Verantwortung zu verhindern, dass sich die Vergangenheit wiederholt.

Facebook auto translation: The work of the Austrian friends of Yad Vashem is a supporting pillar of joint remembrance and commemoration of the victims of the Shoah in Austria.
Last week I was allowed to attend their General Assembly. I was especially touched by the statements of Holocaust survivor Gerda Frey, who told about her own experiences of escape and the horror of the Shoah.
Antisemitism is one of the most regrettable constants of our history, which it must finally be overcome. Our mission is therefore clear: we must decisively and counter anti-democratic tendencies at all social levels.

It is our responsibility to prevent the past from repeating itself.

Austrian Justice Minister Alma Zadic (right) talking with Gerda Frey (left)

This is what Gerda Frey was quoted in a 2013 Austrian news article as saying about the case:

“In Austria, support for Alexander and her children is growing: Gerda Frey, the Austrian representative of the International Council of Jewish Women, has met Alexander: “She is absolutely sound, an intelligent, lovely person, and a very lovely mother. And my estimation of her plight is very much that an injustice has been done to her,” Frey said in a recent interview.

Frey is also convinced that being a foreigner has been a disadvantage for Alexander in her custody fight, pointing to the “outrageous letters” from the Jugendamt (Social Services).

The two letters she referred to were sent in 2011, informing her that she had to pay a total of €1,116 a month in child support for her two sons, who were now living with their father. This amount was based on the Jugendamt’s assumption that, as a Cambridge graduate, she “could, by applying her skills, earn €4,000 net, including special payments.”

That’s an entirely unrealistic sum, Frey says: “You have to have a very high position to earn that much. It is unheard of” for a woman who is so young, and also a foreigner.

Later, the Jugendamt changed its position significantly, suggesting instead that she could earn on the level of an unskilled worker (“Hilfsarbeiter”).

When confronted with the letters, spokeswoman Staffa denied that there was any “personal tone”, claiming only an “effort to achieve adequate support for the children”.




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