{| class="infobox" style="width: 25em; text-align: left; font-size: 90%;"
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size: small;" | Gedenkdienst
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |
|-
! Purpose
| Holocaust remembrance
|-
! Foundation
| 1992
|-
! Website
| https://gedenkdienst.at/
|}
Gedenkdienst is a concept in Austria aimed at young people to face and take responsibility for the darkest chapters of the country's history while being financially supported by Austrian government.
Founded in Austria in 1992 by Andreas Maislinger, the Gedenkdienst is an alternative to Austria's compulsory national military service as well as a volunteering platform for Austrians to work in Holocaust and Jewish culture-related institutions around the world with governmental financial support.
The Austrian Gedenkdienst seeks to serve the remembrance of the crimes of Nazism, commemorates its victims and supports Jewish cultural future. The program is rooted in the acknowledgment of responsibility by the Austrian government for the crimes committed by the Nazis.
History
thumb|First young Austrian started in [[Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum|Auschwitz on September 1, 1992|299x299px]]
Origin
The historian, political scientist and scientific director of the Braunau Contemporary History Days Andreas Maislinger promoted the idea of an alternative to the compulsory military service dedicated to the research, understanding and remembrance of the Holocaust as well as the commemoration of its victims since the late 1970s.
In 1991 Austrian chancellor Franz Vranitzky was the first chancellor of Austria to admit to and acknowledge the Austrian people's share of responsibility for the crimes committed by National Socialism during WWII. The new approach rejected the then established myth of Austria merely being the first victim of Nazism. This signaled a new approach within the Austrian political establishment regarding its stance and treatment of Austria's and Austrians' roles during the time of National Socialism.
Following these events, the Austrian government vouched to finance a Gedenkdienst with the first Austrian Holocaust Memorial Servant starting in 1992. Moreover, a new amendment, which came into force in September 2023, increased the financial resources for those performing memorial service and opened up the possibility of continuing memorial service in Austria in the event of disasters such as the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, there is now a centralised record of completed memorial service.
Acknowledgment
:
:
Supporting associations
Association Never Forget from 1994 to 2017
The association provided positions in 19 memorial sites in Germany and Poland. The association "Never Forget" took an active part in youth work against forgetting. The association stopped operations and became defunct in 2017.
Austrian Service Abroad since 1998 (Österreichischer Auslandsdienst)
Andreas Hörtnagl and Andreas Maislinger founded the organization "Austrian Service Abroad" in 1998.
The organization is the largest in Austria and sends Auslandsdiener to six continents of the world to accomplish Holocaust commemoration work, social services and peace services. The Austrian Service Abroad is characterized by offering three types of service: the Gedenkdienst, the Austrian Social Service and the Austrian Peace Service. In May 2023, Maislinger stepped down as chairman after public criticism for alleged abuse of power.
The Gedenkdienst since 1992
The Gedenkdienst association was founded in 1992 by Walter Guggenberger (SPÖ), Andreas Hörtnagl (ÖVP) and Andreas Maislinger (non-party) to raise awareness about the Holocaust, its causes and consequences. In 2008, female volunteers were supported for the first time by the newly created Geschwister Mezei Fund. This was set up with the aim of offering women the opportunity to perform memorial service under the same conditions as those doing alternative civilian service. This was made possible for all sponsoring organisations with the amendment to the Volunteer Act in 2014.
In addition to its volunteer activities, the Gedenkdienst also offers events and projects in the field of historical and political education.
Partner organizations
thumb|[[Casa Stefan Zweig]]
thumb|right|[[Jasenovac concentration camp]]
thumb|[[Centre de la mémoire d'Oradour]]
thumb|[[Amicale de Mauthausen]]
thumb|[[Jewish Museum Berlin]]
thumb|[[Yad Vashem in Israel]]
thumb|Synagogue next to [[Auschwitz Jewish Center]]
thumb|[[Judaica Foundation – Center For Jewish Culture|Centre For Jewish Culture in Kraków]]
thumb|[[Simon Wiesenthal Center]]
thumb|[[Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond]]
thumb|[[Holocaust Memorial Center in Detroit]]
- <blockquote></blockquote>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Country
!City
!Site
|-
|
|Buenos Aires
|Asociación Filantrópica Israelita (AFI) – Hogar Adolfo Hirsch (San Miguel)
|-
|
|Melbourne
|Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre
|-
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" |Brüssel
|CegeSoma - Centre d'Ètude Guerre et Sociéte
|-
| rowspan="2" |
|São Paulo
|Jüdisches Museum von São Paulo
|-
|Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand
|-
|Jüdisches Museum Berlin
|-
|Wolfenbüttel
|Stiftung niedersächsische Gedenkstätten - Gedenkstätte in der JVA Wolfenbüttel
|-
| rowspan="7" |
|Akkon
|Ghetto Fighter’s House Museum
|-
| rowspan="2" |Jerusalem
|Leo Baeck Institut
|-
|Yad Vashem
|-
| rowspan="4" |Tel Aviv
|Anitta Müller-Cohen Elternheim
|-
|The Liebling Haus - White City Center
|-
|Prato
|Museo della Deportazione
|-
| rowspan="2" |Toronto
|The Azrieli Foundation
|-
|Mauritius
|Senneville Riviere des Anguilles
|Island Hebrew Congregation Senneville Riviere des Anguilles
|-
|Niederländisches Widerstandsmuseum
|-
| rowspan="2" |Oświęcim
|Auschwitz Jewish Center
|-
|Warschau
|Museum der Geschichte der polnischen Juden
|-
|Museum of Jewish Heritage
|-
| rowspan="5" |United Kingdom
| rowspan="5" |London
|Nightingale Hammerson - Hammerson House
|-
|The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust & Genocide