Schedule

11:00 a.m.

International Liberation Ceremony 2026 

The International Liberation Ceremony takes place at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial to mark the 81^th anniversary of the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp. As in previous years, the International Liberation Ceremony starts with a commemorative procession with an unlimited number of participants.

Directions & Shuttle, Visitor Information, Delegations

• The International Liberation Ceremony begins at 11:00 am with a reading of the “Mauthausen Oath” by young people in several languages, followed by a welcome address by MKÖ Chairman Willi Mernyi
• At the head of the commemorative procession will be pupils from the Neue Mittelschule Mauthausen, as well as contemporary witnesses and concentration camp survivors.
• Designated meeting points will be set up for all delegations. Delegations take part in the procession by alphabetical order. The formation of the delegations for the memorial procession will start at 10:20 AM.
• After the wreath-laying, participants in the commemorative procession are invited to attend the joint liberation ceremony on the former roll call square.
• Contributions by Willi Mernyi, chairman of the Mauthausen Committee Austria, and CIM president Guy Dockendorf are part of the commemoration.
• The International Liberation Ceremony will be hosted in several languages by actresses Mercedes Echerer and Konstanze Breitebner. and translated live into Austrian Sign Language by Sabine Zeller.
• Musical accompaniment will be provided by the Meira Mandlburger Connection and the Upper Austrian Military Band.
• The memorial procession will conclude with the large youth delegation.

The Liberation Ceremony will focus on the theme of “Perpetrators of National Socialism”. As in previous years, the connection to the present day will form an essential part of the event.

The ceremony will be broadcasted on ORF III and streamed internationally and in several languages on the on-line channels of Mauthausen Committee Austria.

On the day of the liberation celebration, all wreaths must be delivered before 7:30 am at the latest. To enter the grounds of the CC memorial site, you need a delivery card (QR Code for delivery). On the day before the liberation celebration, the wreaths can be delivered until no later than 4:30 pm to the former camp for protective custody.