Bloody Sunday (1938)

Bloody Sunday (1938) refers to a series of antisemitic pogroms and violent attacks against Jews that took place in Austria and Germany on March 13, 1938, immediately following the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany. These events were distinct from, though a precursor to, the larger-scale Kristallnacht pogrom that occurred later in the same year.

During Bloody Sunday, Nazi supporters and sympathizers, along with elements of the German army that entered Austria, unleashed a wave of terror against the Jewish population. Jewish businesses and homes were ransacked, looted, and vandalized. Jews were subjected to physical assaults, humiliation, and public harassment. Many were arrested and imprisoned, often on spurious charges. Some were forced to perform degrading tasks in public, such as scrubbing streets while being taunted by onlookers.

These attacks were characterized by their spontaneity and widespread participation of the local population, emboldened by the arrival of Nazi rule. The violence served to immediately isolate and dehumanize the Jewish community, setting the stage for further persecution and discrimination. Bloody Sunday (1938) marked a significant escalation in the Nazi regime's antisemitic policies and foreshadowed the horrors of the Holocaust. It demonstrated the willingness of the Nazis to utilize both state power and popular support to systematically target and oppress Jewish people.