Date/Time
Date(s): 24/11/2015
Time: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location
WLB210, Wing Lung Bank Building, Shaw Campus
Language: English
Admission: Free; Registration required
European Studies Programme, Government and International Studies (HKBU), Hong Kong Holocaust Centre, Austrian Consulate General Hong Kong
Speaker: Hannah Lessing
Hannah Lessing, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor has been appointed as the Secretary General of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism since 1995, the General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism and the Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish cemeteries in Austria. In addition, she has been Head of Delegation of the Republic of Austria to the “International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance”. Hannah Lessing has received international acclaim for her work. She lectures extensively on the National Fund and the General Settlement Fund and is an internationally renowned speaker on restitution issues as well as in connection with international commemoration activities regarding the Holocaust, transitional justice and reconciliation as well efforts to combat anti-semitism and raise awareness against racism.
Biography
Hannah Lessing is Secretary General of the
National Fund of the Republic of Austria and of the
General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism as well as of the
Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria.
She is responsible for the administrative and organizational management of the three Funds, which carry out their work in remembrance of the victims.
The National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism was established in 1995 in order to express the moral responsibility of the Republic of Austria towards victims of National Socialism. It carries out a range of activities related to matters of restitution and compensation and the conveyance of historical awareness. In 2011, the National Fund was entrusted with coordinating the renewal of the Austrian exhibition at the Auschwitz memorial as well as the administration of the Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria.
In 2001, as a member of the Austrian delegation headed by Ambassador Sucharipa, Hannah Lessing participated in the negotiations on compensation issues conducted by Under-Secretary of State Stuart Eizenstat, which led to the signature of the Joint Statement in Washington in 2001. Following this Agreement, the General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism was established in 2001 in order to achieve a comprehensive resolution to open questions of compensation for victims of National Socialism.
Hannah Lessing is also Head of the Austrian delegation to the “International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance” (IHRA). Since March 2011, she has been Austria’s representative on the International Committee of the Auschwitz Foundation and Member of the Board of the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance.
Photo Album:
ENQUIRIES
Bookings
Bookings are closed for this event.