since the late 1970s. On October 10, 1980, he was invited by political scientist Prof. Anton Pelinka to present his "civilian service in Auschwitz" in Dolores Bauer's television-broadcast "Kreuzverhör". In a response the Austrian Federal President Rudolf Kirchschläger rejected his idea with the statement "An Austrian has nothing to atone in Auschwitz". Later Kirchschläger backtracked on his statement acknowledging the "positive achievement" of the "accomplished holocaust memorial service" of Andreas Maislinger. 1980/81 Maislinger volunteered together with Joachim Schlör in the Poland department of the German Action Reconciliation Service for Peace. In the Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau he guided German teenager groups. After his return he was more convinced than ever to realize a similar programme in Austria. In this endeavor he was supported by Simon Wiesenthal, Teddy Kollek, Ari Rath, Herbert Rosenkranz, Gerhard Röthler and Karl Pfeifer. In 1991 Austrian chancellor Franz Vranitzky was the first chancellor of Austria to admit 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. The Gedenkdienst is an outflow of this recognition. Realisation In 1991 Andreas Maislinger received a letter from the Minister of Interior Franz Löschnak informing him that the Gedenkdienst was permitted by the Austrian government to be an alternative to the civilian service. The needed funds would be provided by the Federal Ministry of Interior. Acknowledgments 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. The Gedenkdienst since 1992 Walter Gruggenberger (SPÖ), Andreas Hörtnagl (ÖVP) and Andreas Maislinger (politically independent) founded the association of the Gedenkdienst in 1992. The