Applauding the new law, Hannah Lessing, secretary general of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, told The Observer: “This law is an important step that says Austrian society is finally ready to welcome the families that it drove away,” she said.
“However, like other gestures, it can never truly make amends for the Holocaust.”
Bini Guttmann, the Austrian president of the European Union of Jewish Students, urged people to look beyond such gestures to the country’s current political climate. “Unfortunately, the far right is on the rise again in Austria, assisted by politicians who have adopted its discriminatory agenda,” he said. “As a result, many among Austria’s minorities feel that they are not welcome here.”
More than 200, 000 people are estimated to now be eligible for citizenship – although few are likely to add to Austria’s small resident Jewish population of 10, 000.
At its height the country’s Jewish population number 200, 000.
The new law, which mirrors legislation introduced by Germany, has been backed by chancellor Sebastian Kurz, of the right-wing Austrian People’s Party.
Since he was first elected in 2017, Mr Kurz has asserted repeatedly the country’s responsibility towards Austrian victims of national socialism.
