Precarious Protection: Jewish Life in Vienna During the Last Years of the War

By the end of October of 1942, the majority of the Austrian Jewish population was deported, leaving behind a peculiar remnant protected by non-Jewish family members who remained in Vienna under precarious circumstances. Additionally, a very small fragment of the Jewish population remained protected by their jobs as doctors, nurses, cooks, cleaning staff, care givers or clerical workers in the remaining institutions of the former Jewish community.

After the conclusion of mass deportations, the Jewish community in Vienna was officially dissolved and reorganized as Council of elders in November of 1942. It was put in charge of all people defined Jewish by Nazi racial laws independent of their religious denominations. In reports of the Council, tensions within this heterogeneous community become apparent. Due to the fact that a great number of people in the remaining institutions were Christians, the Council allowed church members and priests to visit the old age and children’s home, where Christmas and Easter celebrations were held regularly. Non-Aryan Christians had to be buried in the Jewish section of the cemetery, where priests subsequently got permission to hold Christian funerals. During this time, the cemetery became an important recreation area for the remaining Jewish population, who was excluded from parks and woods, while the Council used the space for growing much-needed vegetable for its institutions. The paper will examine the peculiarities of this hybrid community, the interactions between its different members and their coping strategies in the face of growing persecution and the threat of impending deportations.