The Jewish Community Vienna and the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) are mourning the death of Raul Hilberg who passed away on August 4, 2007 after a serious illness.

Raul Hilberg, a professor at the University of Vermont, was a legend in his lifetime. With his monumental book “The Destruction of the European Jews”, which was first published in English in 1961 and then translated into numerous languages, Raul Hilberg more or less single-handedly laid the foundations for holocaust research. His work was characterized by his unconditional desire for knowledge, his paying attention to every seemingly minor detail and his analytical precision. With his work, the political scientist Raul Hilberg did not only set standards for holocaust studies but also for the entire field of historical research.

Raul Hilberg always found it very hard to bring himself to return to his place of birth from where he and his parents had been expelled in 1939. We would like to express our gratitude and respect for Raul Hilberg’s coming to Vienna in June 2006 in order to support the founding process of the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies which he had accompanied since autumn 2006 as the Honorary Chairman of its International Scientific Advisory Board with high-ranking members.

On behalf of the Jewish Community Vienna and the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) and on our own behalf we would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family of Raul Hilberg on their sad loss.

Ariel Muzicant, President of the Jewish Community Vienna
Anton Pelinka, Chairman of the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI)

Download: Videoarchive: Raul Hilberg und Walter Manoschek im Gespräch, June 8, 2006