One of the most terrible things in human history. It happened during the World War II, when Adolf Hitler, was the leader of Germany, chosen with regular votes. During this period of time were killed 6 million of Jews people from German Nazis, between them were 1 million children. Millions of other people that Hitler didn’t like were killed. Some populations that Hitler and Germans in his orders persecuted and executed were polish people, Slavs, Catholics and sick people. In total is supposed that German Nazis had killed 17 million of innocence people in between 1938-1945.

Hitler had his own philosophy about the races. He hated Jews people and blame them for the lost in World war I. He called Jews people like they were more down than people. He believed in superiority of German race ore Arian race. He wanted to use Darwinism and grafting to create a perfect race. His book is called Mein Kampf and in his time were used like laws, with his only purpose that Jews people to be exterminated from Germany. Hitler made laws that Jews people doesn’t have any rights. Then he attacked their houses. Night of November 9 1938 when all the Jews businesses and houses where vandalized all over Germany, entered in history like Kristallnacht or like night of broken glass.

Since he took power in 1933 Hitler and his Nazis people worked with young people, with their Nazification to educate them with Nazis propaganda. How did this happen? Since in 33 all the kids were invited to be part of youth organizations Hitlerjugend (Hitler youth) and Bund Deutscher Madel (Connection of German girls). In 1936 membership in those organizations became mandatory.

First of all, the boys were engaged in strong sports activities, military trainings and shooting. Sports were 2-3 hours in day teaching subject and after 1938 became 5 hours in day sports. They minimize the intellectual education for the kids. For history text they took Hitler book, every school text was approved by the Nazis party. Membership for teachers in Nazis party became mandatory. Intellectual teachers were dismissed and only those who were indoctrinated with the Nazis were kept in work. Jews teachers and jews students weren’t allowed near German schools and universities after the year of 1938.

Before Hitler took power, there were 6 million unemployed. The state immediately became the largest employer. The trade unions were closed down as early as 1933 and the leaders of the workers’ unions were arrested. The workers were now controlled only by the party. Young people between the ages of 18-25 were all employed in government projects, from Olympic projects after the 1936 World Olympic Games in Germany to party jobs.

Germans were mostly Catholic, and before Hitler came to power, in 1933, 45 million were Protestant Christians, 22 million were Catholic, 500 thousand Jews, 25 thousand Jehovah’s Witnesses. Only Protestantism was to be allowed according to the Nazis. All others were persecuted and persecuted.

All Jewish authors and communist authors including Karl Marx were banned, their books pulled from the market. All paintings of Jews, or of the non-Aryan race, were removed from the galleries. Likewise in music, all non-Aryan musicians were banned from performing. The media was put completely under the control of the party. About 70% of Germans had a radio, and that’s where the sound of Nazi propaganda came from. So much so that everyone became engrossed in hatred towards other races, blindly believing what Hitler preached.

And while the “Aryan race” was privileged and stunned by propaganda for all other classes, terror started in the concentration camps. Initially, the ghettos were created, the neighborhoods for the Jews where they were surrounded by barbed wire walls, so that they could not communicate with the rest of the area. They suffered for bread, food, medicine. Then because the enemies and haters were many, concentration camps were opened. The first was opened on March 22, 1933 in Dachau. Initially, the convicts were sent to the camps to work for the Germans in hard work without pay, in quarries, railways, etc. In the camps, conditions were scandalous and people were sent to die. Not only were they treated inhumanely, but they were killed, poisoned and burned in crematoriums.

The Mauthausen camp was one of 1,000 concentration camps and sub-camps set up by Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945. Mauthausen is a village located in Upper Austria, in a hilly and green area above the Danube River. When Austria became an ally with Nazi Germany, camps began to be built in Austria as well. The village of Mauthausen, near the railway, near Danube River was chosen. The camp was established in 1938, very small where 727 prisoners were initially brought. Then there were the prisoners who went to work to finish all the other parts of the camp, additional barracks, which kept coming and filling up with prisoners. Mauthausen is known for the death stairs which climbed from the quarry to the height of the camp. With those stones the entire camp was built there and other subcamps. Mauthausen subcamps were: Guseni, Melk Ebense, etc. From 320 000 prisoners who entered Mauthausen and its subcamps, only 80,000 survived.

Albanians were sent to Mauthausen as it was the closest itinerary. Most of the Albanian prisoners were headed to prisons in Belgrade, (Zemuni and Banica) or Pristina, and then ended up in Mauthausen by train. According to statistics, of the 326 Albanians imprisoned in Mauthausen prison, were mainly from Tirana, Durrës and Vlora, only 23 remained alive, of which 22 returned to their homeland, while one went directly to the USA, and never returned. 303 Albanians died in Mauthausen. Today, 417 dead people are depicted on the wall of the Camp.

How did the 23 Albanians survive? They went to the camp late; most were arrested in the winter operation of 43-44. After making several itineraries in the prisons of Yugoslavia, they arrived at Mauthausen in the summer of 44. Until May 45, they spent a short time in this terrible camp, and yet over 303 Albanians died. We have brought in a documentary and in this exhibition 8 stories of survivors, told by their families. They are: The story of Beqir Xhepa, Abdulla Krutani (from Tirana); The story of Dhimiter Simon, Fejzo Toska from Vlora, Ahmet Cekaj from Tropoja, Beqir and Mehmet Agalliu and Stefan Konduri from Durres, Taqo Doni from Përmeti and Gaqo Como from Korca.