Austria

Sigmund Freud. Arthur Schoenberg. Stefan Zweig — all Jewish, all Austrian, and all examples of Jewish Austria’s magnificent legacy. And in partnership with JDC, Austria’s Jews are creating a future just as rich and lasting as this history.

Looking back, it’s difficult to overestimate the artistic, intellectual, and spiritual influence of Austrian Jewry on global Jewish life — and global life at large. From the insights of Sigmund Freud to the music of Arthur Schoenberg, the philosophy of Martin Buber to the novels of Stefan Zweig, Jewish Austria has gifted its rich heritage to Jewish communities across Europe and around the world.

JDC is a part of this story, too. During World War II, we were instrumental in spiriting Austria’s Jews to safety when Nazi terror threatened their community. Most of the over 17,000 Jewish refugees in WWII-era Shanghai fled Germany and Austria in 1938-1939, after the Nazi Anschluss. JDC provided essential support, working through local organizations such as the Committee for the Assistance of European Jewish Refugees in Shanghai, which was organized in 1938.

And as World War II drew to a close, JDC mobilized its staff to meet a crisis of staggering proportions: helping tens of thousands of newly liberated Jews enjoy the fruits of freedom. By late 1945, more than 75,000 Jewish Holocaust surivors were crowded into displaced persons (DP) camps, many of which were in Austria. Conditions were difficult, but JDC stepped in, providing food, medicine, and spiritual support, as well as emigration assistance for DPs seeking a new life elsewhere.