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In the early 20th century, Vienna was one of the main centres of Jewish culture in Europe. In the 1930’s, Austria had a Jewish population of almost 4% with 10% in Vienna. There were 22 synagogues and numerous prayer houses as well as a Jewish museum, libraries and schools.

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The list of Austrian Jews from this period shows the preponderance of prominent Jews in the fields of psychology and psychotherapy.

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Alfred Adler                      

Anna Freud                       

Sigmund Freud                 

Viktor Frankl                     

Melanie Klein                    

Wilhelm Reich                   

Ludwig Wittgenstein         

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Leopoldstadt, where Grandma and Grandpa lived with young Eric, was the main Jewish quarter in the heart of the city, near the Danube. So much so, that the large “island” was nicknamed Matzo Island or Mazzesinsel. From their third floor flat on the Obere Donaustrasse, (street above the Danube), Grandma recalled how they could see the Danube. Grandma’s parents, Nathan  and Hermine Weiss lived around the corner in Herminengasse. Leopoldstadt was also a traditional theatre district, and home to numerous cafes.

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From Grandma's transcript: “I used to go to very… many theatres. There was the big theatre, the Burgtheater, the Opera Theater. They had lovely theatres, wonderful theatres. Then there was the Deutsches Volkstheater that I used to go so many times. Lots. I went very often.”

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Nearby was Grandma’s much-loved swimming pool, the Dianabad. The Dianabad in the 1930’s had two swimming pools (one for men with a sports pool, and the other for women with a wave pool). It had steam and tub baths, sun baths and a hotel on Obere Donaustrasse. Mosaics adorned the circular entrance hall with a large goldfish basin in the middle. It also offered a sanatorium, shops, hairdressing salon, pedicure and a restaurant. No wonder Grandma loved going there so much! The baths were damaged in 1945 during the Battle of Vienna and rebuilt several times since then. My husband and I visited the Diana Baths on our trip to Vienna in the 1990's.

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Grandpa was employed in the office of the hemp factory in central Vienna’s old town, whilst Grandma was a housewife looking after Eric. In their spare time, Grandma spoke of them going for walks in “Kai” Park and we assume in the huge 129 acre park, the Augarten.

 

“On one side was the Augartenstrasse, then the other side the Salztorbrücke ... And when you walked over the bridge, you came into that park where we used to go. And opposite our flat, our house, was another park.”  

 

Hiking and skiing in the mountains around Vienna would have been another favoured pastime. A number of mountains were accessible by train from Vienna including the Rax, Semmering and the Vienna Woods.

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“Every week we went to the Viennese (woods) on excursion, a lovely surrounding. Vienna is surrounded by hills. Kahlenberg, Leopoldsberg, it’s lovely to see Vienna and go up to the hills, you know, by tram.”

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Grandma and Grandpa would have enjoyed the coffee house culture in Vienna. The famous coffee houses Café Weimar, Central and Hawelka still survive today.

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Carefree days were to change during the rise of Naziism in the thirties leading inexorably to the annexation of Austria on March 12th 1938 by Nazi Germany. The presence of the swastika became inescapable. The anti-semitic policies of the regime forced Jews to lose their possessions, status, freedom, culture and to live in constant fear.

 

 

The Anschluss

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Political events in Vienna during the 1930’s led up to the  annexation of Austria by the German Nazis known as "The Anschluss". This information has been taken from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum website:

 

Following World War I, Austria was weakened by a period of economic stagnation and political strife. At this same time, Nazi propaganda inside Austria intensified, and as early as 1934, just a year and a half after Hitler came to power in Germany, a group of Nazis seized the Austrian chancellery and attempted to proclaim a government. Though they did not succeed, they did assassinate the chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss.

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Once Hitler allied with Mussolini, Austria’s resulting political isolation spelled its fate. On March 12th, 1938, German troops entered Austria, and one day later, Austria was incorporated into Germany.

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This union, known as the Anschluss, received the enthusiastic support of most of the Austrian population and was retroactively approved via a plebiscite in April 1938. Although neither Jews nor Roma (Gypsies) were allowed to vote, the results were manipulated to indicate that more than 99 percent of the Austrian people wanted the union with Germany.

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Widespread antisemitic actions and political violence followed quickly on the heels of the Anschluss. Austria’s leading politicians were imprisoned, and anyone opposing the Nazi rule was subject to arrest, torture, and death. Jews particularly were attacked and humiliated on the streets. The Gestapo, along with Austrian Nazis and sympathizers, looted Jewish belongings, seized Jewish businesses, and arrested those who refused to surrender their property. Furthermore, anti-Jewish legislation was in place almost immediately, forcing Jews from their positions, and essentially expelling them from the country’s economic, social, and cultural life.

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RS 2020