On the occasion of the 75^th return of liberation from the National Socialist regime of terror, the Mauthausen Committee Austria (MKÖ) is organizing for the eighth time the Festival of Joy on May 8, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. at Vienna's Heldenplatz. The Wiener Symphoniker will again conduct a free open-air concert in 2020 under the direction of conductor Alexander Liebreich and soprano Julia Lezhneva. On May 8, however, the liberation from National Socialist rule is not only celebrated. It also commemorates the millions who were persecuted and murdered by the Nazis. On this day, the victims and the opponents are to be honored at the symbolic Vienna Heroes' Square, and the liberators are celebrated.

In 2020, the Festival of Joy will be devoted to the focus on "Humanity without borders". The festival begins with the greeting of MKÖ chairman Willi Mernyi and the words of Federal President Dr. Alexander Van der Bellen.
The highlight of the ceremony will be the speech by contemporary witness Erika Kosnar.

The highlight of the ceremony will be the speech by contemporary witness Erika Kosnar. Erika Kosnar comes from a Viennese working-class family of Jewish faith. Her mother converted in 1931 to Judaism. From 1938, Erika had to suffer abuse, harassment and atrocities. Thanks in part to her mother's civil courage, she survived the Nazi terror in Vienna.

For decades, Erika Kosnar did not speak publicly about her experiences. She has been speaking at events since 2000, especially at schools. Even today she is well informed about the political situation and is committed to civil courage and humanity. Solidarity in the small everyday situations is also important to her. "Often only the first person has to dare," she says. "Well, something like that happened and that's something that I like to talk to the students about. I call it civil courage."

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