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. [LCID: 30153]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/ae8adad3-b577-4c6d-930d-cf73a7cc2468.jpg "The exterior of a Jewish-owned business damaged by Austrian Nazi terror bombing before the annexation of Austria. [LCID: 30153]")
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 View![An SS officer stands in front of Jews assembled for deportation. [LCID: 31412]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/7c533512-37da-46c9-91db-e1a1d9d770b2.jpg "An SS officer stands in front of Jews assembled for deportation. [LCID: 31412]")
An SS officer stands in front of Jews assembled for deportation. Vienna, Austria, 1941-1942.
Item View![Jews wearing compulsory yellow Stars of David in Vienna. [LCID: 71290]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/d5ad86c2-f63c-45d2-a36d-8e7231982eec.jpg "Jews wearing compulsory yellow Stars of David in Vienna. [LCID: 71290]")
Jews wearing compulsory yellow Stars of David in Vienna. Austria, 1941.
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Nazis block Jews from entering the University of Vienna. Austria, 1938.
Item View![Jewish refugee girl from Vienna, Austria, upon arrival in Harwich. [LCID: 69285]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/d9e8449a-ad94-4734-a57f-1f48fb48a882.jpg "Jewish refugee girl from Vienna, Austria, upon arrival in Harwich. [LCID: 69285]")
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 View![A private Jewish home vandalized during Kristallnacht (the "Night of Broken Glass" pogrom). [LCID: 4303]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/31ebc745-df2b-43a2-917f-43920c619d03.jpg "A private Jewish home vandalized during Kristallnacht (the \"Night of Broken Glass\" pogrom). [LCID: 4303]")
A private Jewish home vandalized during Kristallnacht (the "Night of Broken Glass" pogrom). Vienna, Austria, November 10, 1938.
Item View![A Jewish man forced to paint anti-Jewish graffiti on a shuttered storefront. [LCID: 01508]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/d92717f4-3c23-4898-9e6c-adb65f79aa24.jpg "A Jewish man forced to paint anti-Jewish graffiti on a shuttered storefront. [LCID: 01508]")
Onlookers watch as a Jewish man is forced to paint anti-Jewish graffiti on a shuttered storefront. Vienna, Austria, March 1938.
Item View![Two Jewish men (center, and at right in overcoat), carrying paint and brushes, who were forced by Austrian Nazis to paint "Jude" ... [LCID: 01504]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/a32f9dcc-7e47-4a75-b3e2-52364643c8f5.jpg "Two Jewish men (center, and at right in overcoat), carrying paint and brushes, who were forced by Austrian Nazis to paint \"Jude\" ... [LCID: 01504]")
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 View![Jews wait in front of the Polish Embassy for entrance visas to Poland after Germany's annexation of Austria. [LCID: 65615]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/98077179-ff22-48e7-b287-ca3387c49527.jpg "Jews wait in front of the Polish Embassy for entrance visas to Poland after Germany's annexation of Austria. [LCID: 65615]")
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 View![Jews seeking emigration visas line up in front of the Polish consulate in Vienna. [LCID: 00227]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/597aaa79-5b94-4c51-a8d8-88925651be23.jpg "Jews seeking emigration visas line up in front of the Polish consulate in Vienna. [LCID: 00227]")
Jews seeking emigration visas line up in front of the Polish consulate in Vienna. Austria, March 22, 1938.
Item View![Scene during an SS raid on the Viennese Jewish community offices. [LCID: 01786]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/4b7cf9ca-09b2-4fa4-b62b-75892ee107cd.jpg "Scene during an SS raid on the Viennese Jewish community offices. [LCID: 01786]")
Scene during an SS raid on the Viennese Jewish community offices. Vienna, Austria, March 1938.
Item View![Jews wait in line at the Margarethen police station for exit visas after Germany's annexation of Austria (the Anschluss). [LCID: 83458]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/191a47f9-f3a0-4e84-a32b-13895a605e8c.jpg "Jews wait in line at the Margarethen police station for exit visas after Germany's annexation of Austria (the Anschluss). [LCID: 83458]")
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 View![Hitler addresses a jubilant crowd on Vienna's Heldenplatz after Germany annexed Austria (the Anschluss). [LCID: 65595]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/b31b2233-87ce-49c6-880b-fb578eb9f054.jpg "Hitler addresses a jubilant crowd on Vienna's Heldenplatz after Germany annexed Austria (the Anschluss). [LCID: 65595]")
Hitler addresses a jubilant crowd on Vienna's Heldenplatz after Germany annexed Austria (the Anschluss). Austria, March 15, 1938.
Item View![Adolf Hitler and entourage view a military parade following the annexation of Austria (the Anschluss). [LCID: 12314]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/dd15d79e-5f9c-4588-a3f2-cbc077cc8f0e.jpg "Adolf Hitler and entourage view a military parade following the annexation of Austria (the Anschluss). [LCID: 12314]")
Adolf Hitler and his entourage view a military parade following the annexation of Austria (the Anschluss). Vienna, Austria, March 1938.
Item View![Cheering crowds greet Hitler as he enters Vienna. [LCID: 70065]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/fe648b88-683a-422a-bcec-3ef64fde3cd9.jpg "Cheering crowds greet Hitler as he enters Vienna. [LCID: 70065]")
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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![Belongings of Jews who were deported from Vienna. [LCID: 12356b]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/91646354-592d-43ad-98a9-5b0f16a2b587.jpg "Belongings of Jews who were deported from Vienna. [LCID: 12356b]")