Giles MacDonogh’s book 1938: HITLER’S GAMBLE was an interesting eye-opening book, which focuses on what happened in Austria to the Viennese Jews after the Anschluss. I found this book interesting precisely because the typical treatment of this material is to focus on what was going on in Berlin, London, Paris and Washington. Mr. MacDonogh makes vivid the plight of the Austrian Jews, who were singled out for bad treatment within days of the Anschluss. Through his vivid writing, I could see myself queueing up for my papers, going from one line to another, only to be turned away because the quotas allowed for Jews to enter other countries was pitifully small.
I cannot imagine how heartbreaking it must have been, both for the Jews who were pleading to be let out of Austria, and the bureaucrats who were forced to turn them down. I highly recommend this book to those of you who are interested primarily in what happened to the Viennese Jews in 1938. Five stars. A bookclub recommendation.