The black and white photo was taken in Vienna 70 years ago this week: it shows a crowd of ordinary Austrians and a handful of officials sporting swastika armbands. All of them are grinning or smirking. At their feet six raggedly clad Jews are on their knees, being forced to clean the pavement with brushes.
The picture is a snapshot of the instant "people's justice" meted out by Aryan Austrians against the perceived enemies of the Third Reich. It was taken only hours after 105,000 Nazi storm troopers, many of them singing, marched into the country on 12 March 1938 and formally declared political union or "Anschluss" with Germany.
Last night, 80,000 candles were lit on Vienna's Heldenplatz square to mark the 70th anniversary of the darkest chapter in Austrian history. The candles represented the total number of Austrian Jews and other victims who lost their lives as a result of Nazi rule.
In March 1938, tens of thousands of Austrians gathered in the square to welcome home Adolf Hitler, who was born in Austria, like a prodigal son. In deliberate contrast to that loud enthusiasm, yesterday's sombre ceremony was called "The Night of Silence".
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