From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of World War II, Vienna was one of the “jewels” of Europe. The large, beautiful capital of Austria, it was a world center of sciences and art, famous for its theater, renowned for its music, and home to some of the most famous cultural figures in the world. Silvia, who was influenced by the cultural vitality of Vienna, acted in its theaters in the 1930s.
At that time, Vienna had the third-largest Jewish community in Europe. Despite Austria’s persistent antisemitism, many of the Jews of Vienna were cultural leaders who contributed to Vienna’s brilliance. Sigmund Freud, the “father of psychoanalysis,” made Vienna his home. Gustav Mahler was the director of the Vienna Opera, and Arnold Schoenberg pioneered innovative music in Vienna. Adolf von Sonnenthal, who is often considered the greatest actor of his time, worked in Vienna.
Antisemitism, however, was historically persistent in Vienna. Adolf Hitler himself lived in Vienna in 1908, and would later claim that Viennese attitudes had helped shape his ideology. As his Nazi Party grew in neighboring Germany, antisemitism grew markedly worse in Vienna, and by the time the German Army occupied the city on March 12, 1938 many of the Jewish leaders had emigrated. The general population of Vienna greeted the Germans with Nazi flags, and the next day a reign of terror against the Jews began.
