My service as an Austrian Intern at

the Jewish Holocaust Centre

Armin Schoepf

WHERE SHOULD I BEGIN? AFTER APPLYING FOR the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service, I arrived in Melbourne from the west of Austria just over a year ago to serve as an intern at the Jewish Holocaust Centre. This was my first visit to Melbourne. Since then I have had an incredible time meeting people full of courage, strength and compassion, exploring new places and ways of life, as well as improving my skills while working on interesting – sometimes very demanding – projects.

At the end of my internship at the Centre, as I reflect upon my experience, there are some standout moments that would like to share.

The ‘big one’ that immediately comes to mind is my work with art historian Dr Anna Hirsh, JHC Archivist. I assisted Anna in her work with the University of Melbourne for the exhibition The House Talks Back, an exhibition about the life and work of architect Dr Ernest Fooks. I was fortunate to join the project from the beginning and to remain involved until the very successful exhibition. My brief was to translate Dr Fooks’s thesis and other works from the German original. Seeing how much people appreciated the result made up for all the sleepless nights that were necessary to finish the work on time!

I also had the privilege to accompany the Courage to Care exhibition to Bendigo and learn about and help out with the very modern and interactive exhibition. I received a warm welcome and learnt much from the experience.

My work at the Centre also saw me fully involved in the many events held at the Centre, including much schlepping, photography, ushering and technical tasks. However, I was always rewarded by being able to sit down to attend wonderful talks and performances, which made up for any of the more mundane jobs.

What I enjoyed most was not the one-off events, but something that happened every day: simply spending time with all the lovely survivors, who put so much effort into this great cause and who accepted me – even without a Viennese accent! Although there are so many capable guides at the Centre, and I have no training as a guide, was occasionally able to serve as a guide for German-speaking visitors to the Centre, something that challenged me by putting my knowledge of the Holocaust to the test.

After 10 months I am glad to say that I never tired of my tasks. I am also very grateful for the wonderful people to whom I could turn when I was unsure, or when things were not going the way I had hoped. What I learned at the JHC has been invaluable, and as think about the years ahead, I hope not to waste what I learned but to use those lessons in my day-to-day life.