Re: What was it like?
Ernest Blaschke (eblasch@worldy.com)
Sat, 1 Feb 1997 12:48:32 -0500
Crystal Atkinson wrote:
> Hello,
>
> My name is Crystal, and I am attending the University of Central
> Arkansas in America. I am intrested in talking with someone who
> lived in a European country that was occupied by Hitler and the
> Nazis.
I lived in Vienna during the war. In 1938 Hitler massed his troops at the
German - Austrian border and a plebiscite held in Austria for "unification"
with Germany managed to get a large majority of "yes" votes. Many of them
were cast by true Nazis, others probably wanted to avoid the expected armed
invasion by the German army. In any event, Hitler entered Austria and
Vienna and was met by jubilant crowds (something few Austrians will admit
these days). Austria was renamed "Ostmark" and considered as one of the
provinces of Germany.
> Were there many rebellions in your country? How were you and
> your fellow country men treated?
No, there were no rebellions. People were treated as they were in the rest
of Germany.
> Were there many Jewish people in your town or area?
Yes, Vienna had a large Jewish population. Since Jewish people had the
benefit of seeing what Hitler was up to in Germany for the last 5 years
before taking over Austria, many of them left Austria before Hitler's
takeover. Many, many more perished in concentration camps, and few of them
survived the war in Germany.
> Did you
> personally want the Nazi take over, I mean were there supposed to be
> benefits in it for your country, or did you oppose it?
The Austria/Germany situation has some parallels with Canada/USA.
Austrians/Canadians see Germans/Americans as their neighbours with much the
same culture, the same language, but living in an economically more viable
country. Just as there are Canadians who would want to join the US ( and
many others that definitely wouldn't), so there were Austrians who thought
it would be to their economic benefit to join Germany and others would
rather stay in a smaller but independent country.
Personally I did not want the Nazi takeover, since my mother was considered
Jewish. Incidentally, she survived the war being married to my non-jewish
father, but all her siblings perished. Towards the end of the war there
were some new harsh rules to be adopted with regard to remaining Jews, but
at least in Vienna the "authorities" knew the war was going to be lost soon
and they would rather not be held accountable for last-minute atrocities
and they simply ignored or "shelved" further directives from Berlin.
> I know I'm asking a lot of questions, and if you don't feel like
> answering them all you don't have to. I hope you and I can discuss
> this further, but now I must go. :-)
If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask. Remember I was
only 14 at the end of the war, for more detailed conditions in Germany you
should read what Walter Felscher and Eberhard Weber wrote in project
memories, they seem to be able to recollect many more things than I do.
Regards from Toronto, Canada
Ernest