Tali Nates awarded Austria’s top honour for Holocaust education

South African Holocaust educator Tali Nates, the founder and director of the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre (JHGC), received one of Austria’s highest civilian honours at the end of October. Nates was awarded the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, by President Alexander Van der Bellen, in recognition of her extraordinary contribution to Holocaust education, memory, and dialogue. 

The award, which she received at a private ceremony at the JHGC on 26 October, marks significant international acknowledgement of Nates’ work, as well as South Africa’s role in preserving the lessons of the past for future generations. Nates dedicated the award to the staff who work with her at the JHGC. 

“Any award I receive is always a surprise because I certainly don’t do this work for that,” she said, “I’m not doing it for awards, and I’m not doing it alone. The awards always go to the whole team at the centre. It’s teamwork, it’s the trustees, it’s the volunteers, it’s the survivors, it’s everyone who is doing the work.” 

Nates said that getting this honour from Austria meant a lot to her, not only because of the recognition it gave to the work of her and the JHGC team, but also as the granddaughter of victims of the Holocaust. Her grandmother, Eleonora Turner, is from Nowy Targ, which was in Austria when she was born, but is now in Poland. A German speaker, her grandmother was murdered in August 1942 in the Belzec killing centre. 

“I have a little family connection to Austria because during the partition of Poland, my father’s family was under the Austrian Empire. So, they spoke German at home, and it was a full circle kind of thing, because my grandmother was born in Austria, even though it became Poland,” she said. Nates said what lay behind this recognition was the President of Austria’s acknowledgement of the work done in fighting antisemitism. It was also to recognise the increasing Holocaust memory, and the role Austria has played in remembering what happened, even when it was difficult with it having been a perpetrator. 

Nates told the SA Jewish Report that considering the great deal of work she and the JHGC did in collaboration with Holocaust organisations in Austria such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Jewish Museum Salzburg Global, this recognition was even more special. 

“I work closely with many Austrian colleagues at the Jewish Museum, Salzburg Global, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, so this recognition feels especially significant,” she said, “It places the work of the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre on a new level, not only in Austria but globally. Receiving the Gold Honour Medal, the highest distinction Austria awards, signals that even though we’re based in Johannesburg, our work is seen, valued, and respected internationally. When I was in Europe recently, the medal was immediately mentioned in my introductions at conferences, a reminder of just how meaningful this recognition is.” 

Nates was first approached in June about getting the award by the Austrian Ambassador to South Africa, Romana Königsbrun, and was informed that President Van der Bellen wished to bestow it on her for the work she had done in Holocaust education. He hoped to do this when he was in South Africa for a state visit in the same month. 

However, Nates couldn’t receive this honour from the president in June as she was leading a trip to Poland. So, it was decided that the ceremony for this award would be on 26 October, right after Austria’s national day. 

This award comes after a very difficult year for Nates, personally and for the centre, as Nates’ mother, Judith Turner, passed away, as did the JHGC receptionist and administrator, Dowi Bele. This amidst recent protests outside the JHGC. 

“This award came at a deeply meaningful time for all of us. It recognises what truly matters: remembering the past; learning from it; and educating others. To have that work acknowledged in this way makes the medal especially significant,” said Nates.