Laboratory of Cruelty
Austria became part of the German Reich in an event known as the “Anschluss.” It was accompanied by widespread violence. Even the new rulers, the National Socialists – Nazis for short – were surprised by the extent to which Vienna’s population persecuted and robbed Jews. Nazis developed new bureaucratic systems for the ‘orderly’ confiscation of Jewish property, transforming Vienna into a laboratory of cruelty.
Nazis tried to create a ‘racially’ homogenous society. Nazi followers were encouraged to feel superior and were given opportunities to benefit from the new regime. Those who did not belong to the so-called Aryan race, who opposed Nazis on political grounds, or who were otherwise considered ‘problematic’ were persecuted with utmost brutality.
There were specific sites of Nazi terror and abuse throughout Vienna, including the infamous Gestapo headquarters in the Hotel Metropole, several outposts of the Mauthausen concentration camp, and many factories utilizing forced labor.