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Family Matters: The Emigration of Elderly Jews from Vienna to the United States, 1938–1941
- Journal of Social History
- Oxford University Press
- Volume 45, Number 1, Fall 2011
- pp. 238-260
- Article
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After the annexation of Austria to Germany in March 1938, Austrian Jews sought refuge all over the globe. Elderly émigrés struggled to leave Austria, and when they could not, they contributed to a disproportionate aging of the Austrian Jewish community as compared to the Austrian population. Elderly émigrés have not received a great deal of attention from historians. Yet they faced many unique challenges, which are discussed in this article. Using previously untranslated letter collections and a variety of memoirs, this article explores the emigration attempts of several elderly Austrian Jews. These case studies demonstrate that elderly émigrés are worthy of further study and point to the importance of contextualizing the emigration of elderly individuals in family emigration and reunification efforts.