Hamilton-Wenham Public Library

Jews of Nazi Vienna, 1938-1945:, rescue and destruction, Ilana Fritz Offenberger

eng

Contains bibliographic references and index

illustrationsfacsimiles

index present

non fiction

Jews of Nazi Vienna, 1938-1945:

bibliography

1065721002

Ilana Fritz Offenberger

rescue and destruction

This book examines Jewish life in Vienna just after the Nazi-takeover in 1938. Who were Vienna's Jews, how did they react and respond to Nazism, and why? Drawing upon the voices of the individuals and families who lived during this time, together with new archival documentation, Ilana Fritz Offenberger reconstructs the daily lives of Vienna's Jews from Anschluss in March 1938 through the entire Nazi occupation and eventual dissolution of the Jewish community of Vienna. Offenberger explains how and why over two-thirds of the Jewish community emigrated from the country, while one-third remained trapped. A vivid picture emerges of the co-dependent relationship this community developed with their German masters, and the false hope they maintained until the bitter end. The Germans murdered close to one third of Vienna's Jewish population in the 'Final Solution' and their family members who escaped the Reich before 1941 chose never to return; they remained dispersed across the world. This is not a triumphant history. Although the overwhelming majority survived the Holocaust, the Jewish community that once existed was destroyed

From the opera to the streets -- The Anschluss pogrom: panic, chaos, and confusion for Vienna's Jews in March 1938 -- The IKG: Co-opted by new masters -- Turning point: from Vienna to Dachau -- Rescue and destruction: daily life during a mass exodus -- November complications, but emigration continues -- Transition to deportation, 1941 -- Caught in the vicious cycle: from a working Jewish community to a council of Jewish elders -- Epilogue: going "home"? The aftermath of the Holocaust for the Jewish community of Vienna