Following the 1938 annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, many members of Vienna’s vibrant Jewish community sought safe havens overseas to escape growing persecution. Amongst them were Michael and Regine Weiss and their family. Their story, as told through records held by the National Archives of Australia and other information provided by their descendants, reveals much about Australia’s attitudes towards Jewish refugees during these dark days. Presented by Patrick Ferry (National Archives of Australia) and Angus Davison (Monash University History student) in conjunction with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation.

This will be a hybrid event. The real-space event will be held at the Victorian Archives Centre, 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne. Those who attend in person can also tour the NAA’s exhibition, Out of this world: Australia in the space age

It will also be available as a Zoom presentation. Once you book a place in this free Zoom event you will be sent an automatic email confirmation. If you don’t receive this confirmation, please check your Junk Mail or Spam folder as automatic emails often go astray. Then, 24 hours before the event, we will send you the necessary Zoom log-in details.

Image captions:

These three images are from the National Archives of Australia’s collection. 

• Visa stamps from Michael’s passport, showing stamps signifying where they were headed (Australia), what they were fleeing (Nazi occupied Vienna) and how they got there (via Shanghai).
• Michael and Regine Weiss’ passport photographs