WORLD HISTORY AND FACTS

“We wanted more from life than just to be tolerated,” reflected Holocaust survivor Erwin Deutscher.  “Of course later on, we understood it's even worse than we expected.” On this day 85 years ago, German troops crossed the Austro-German border unopposed just hours after Nazi leaders pressured the Austrian chancellor to resign.  Erwin was 15 years old. “Our family definitely, but I would say almost all the Jews were surprised,” remembered Erwin. As a child, Erwin was largely unaware of Hitler’s intentions for Austria. Hitler spent years plotting out an Austro-German union.  By March 1938, he succeeded in carrying out the German annexation of Austria—an event known as the Anschluss—without firing a single shot.  Erwin remembered his father, Efraim, had tears in his eyes as their neighbors attempted to console him.  “Non-Jewish neighbors came in very friendly and said, ‘But you know, nothing will happen to Jews like you. You're the good Jews,’” recalled Erwin. Thei...