11 – 12 March 1938Following the resignation of Federal Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg, National Socialists occupy government posts in some parts of Austria. On 12 March, the Wehrmacht marches in, marking the official beginning of Austria’s ‘Anschluss’ to the German Reich.
17 March 1938A decree by the Governor of Burgenland, Dr Tobias Portschy, deprives Roma of the right to vote in the Austrian referendum on 10 April 1938.
12 May 1938Austrian Roma from Burgenland write a letter of protest to the Reich government complaining about the restriction of their rights. None of the men survive the Nazi era. Franz Horvath dies on 22 October 1939 as a result of mistreatment he endured in Dachau concentration camp in Germany.
August 1938In Austria, the Burgenland Gauleiter and Governor, Dr Tobias Portschy, publishes a racist memorandum calling for radical measures of persecution against Roma.
