Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, bringing approximately 200,000 additional Jews under Nazi rule. The Nazi regime quickly extended anti-Jewish legislation to Austria. At the time, the majority of Austrian Jews lived in Vienna, the capital and an important center of Jewish culture and education.
The exterior of a Jewish-owned business damaged by Austrian Nazi terror bombing before the annexation of Austria.
The exterior of a Jewish-owned business damaged by Austrian Nazi terror bombing before the annexation of Austria. Vienna, Austria, between 1933 and 1938.
Item ViewAn SS officer standing in front of Jews assembled for deportation
An SS officer stands in front of Jews assembled for deportation. Vienna, Austria, 1941-1942.
Item ViewViennese Jews wearing yellow Stars of David
Jews wearing compulsory yellow Stars of David in Vienna. Austria, 1941.
Item ViewNazis prevent Jewish students from entering
Nazis block Jews from entering the University of Vienna. Austria, 1938.
Item ViewJewish refugee from Vienna upon arrival in the United Kingdom
A Jewish refugee girl from Vienna, Austria, upon arrival in Harwich after her arrival in England on a Kindertransport. United Kingdom, December 12, 1938.
Item ViewHome vandalized during Kristallnacht
A private Jewish home vandalized during Kristallnacht (the "Night of Broken Glass" pogrom). Vienna, Austria, November 10, 1938.
Item ViewA Jewish man is forced to paint anti-Jewish graffiti on a storefront in Vienna
Onlookers watch as a Jewish man is forced to paint anti-Jewish graffiti on a shuttered storefront. Vienna, Austria, March 1938.
Item ViewPublic humiliation of Jews in Vienna
Two Jewish men (center, and at right in overcoat), carrying paint and brushes, who were forced by Austrian Nazis to paint "Jude" on the fronts of Jewish-owned businesses. Vienna, Austria, 1938.
Item ViewLong lines awaiting visas at the Vienna's Polish Embassy
Jews wait in front of the Polish Embassy for entrance visas to Poland after Germany's annexation of Austria. Vienna, March or April 1938.
Item ViewA long line in Vienna, hoping for emigration visas
Jews seeking emigration visas line up in front of the Polish consulate in Vienna. Austria, March 22, 1938.
Item ViewScene during an SS raid on the Viennese Jewish community offices.
Scene during an SS raid on the Viennese Jewish community offices. Vienna, Austria, March 1938.
Item ViewJews line up outside a Vienna police station hoping for exit visas
Jews wait in line at the Margarethen police station for exit visas after Germany's annexation of Austria (the Anschluss). Vienna, Austria, March 1938.
Item ViewHitler speaks to a large crowd Vienna
Hitler addresses a jubilant crowd on Vienna's Heldenplatz after Germany annexed Austria (the Anschluss). Austria, March 15, 1938.
Item ViewAnnexation of Austria
Adolf Hitler and his entourage view a military parade following the annexation of Austria (the Anschluss). Vienna, Austria, March 1938.
Item ViewA crowd cheers Hitler in Vienna
A cheering crowd greets Adolf Hitler as he enters Vienna. Austria, March 1938.
After a prolonged period of economic stagnation, political dictatorship, and intense Nazi propaganda inside Austria, German troops entered the country on March 12, 1938. They received the enthusiastic support of most of the population. Austria was incorporated into Germany the next day.
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