Helen Baker Diary Entry

Americans living in Vienna when Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, Helen and Ross Baker documented what they saw through letters, a diary, and film. Ross was studying at the University of Vienna. Explore the Baker collection in Accidental Witnesses to History: The Baker Collection (Curators Corner video). In her diary for March 14, Helen described what she witnessed as Hitler entered the city: "Flags all over town..." The next day, Hitler spoke to a huge crowd on Vienna’s Heldenplatz.

On March 11–13, Nazi Germany took over and annexed Austria, an event known as the Anschluss.