Protection of the facilities and sites of former Nazi concentration and extermination camps (case of Konzentrationslager Mauthausen-Gusen in Austria)

15.6.2016

Question for written answer E-004850-16
to the Commission
Rule 130
Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski (ECR) , Anna Elżbieta Fotyga (ECR) , Frédérique Ries (ALDE) , Evžen Tošenovský (ECR) , Milan Zver (PPE) , Kosma Złotowski (ECR)

Respect for the victims of Nazi Germany is closely associated with the principal EU values specified in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. This was recalled in Parliament's resolution of 27 January 2005 on remembrance of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and racism. The duties of public authorities include strict protection of sites where concentration and extermination camps were once located. Unfortunately, further degradation of such sites has recently been observed in Austria. The site of the former Gusen concentration camp (part of the Doppellager Mauthausen-Gusen extermination camp) is not only unprotected, but has deliberately been damaged. This has sparked protests from prisoners of various European nationalities who were incarcerated there.

Is the Commission aware of this serious situation, and does it intend to encourage Member States to adhere to standards for the protection of former Nazi concentration and extermination camps?