Approximately 100 years ago (1919), 90% of Austria's Jewish population lived in Vienna. One of the neighbourhoods most influenced by Jewish individuals was and still is Leopoldstadt, often referred to as the "Matzah Island."
In the upcoming clip, you will hear Gertrude Werner recount her childhood experience.
Gertrude Werner was born into a liberal-Jewish family in 1912. She grew up in the 2nd district, where she was part of the socialist youth organisation until it was banned, after she joined the Zionist-socialist movement, Poale Zion. 1938/39 Werner and her three sisters fled to England where they stayed until the end of the war. Their parents did not escape from Vienna and were murdered by the National Socialists. In 1946 Werner returned to Vienna. Amongst other things she worked for the Österreichischen Friedensrat (Austrian Peace Council). This interview was conducted by the USC Shoah Foundation in Vienna in 1997.