Austrian Exile and Political Upheaval
The Royal GameThe story places Dr B’s personal catastrophe within the rapid destruction of independent life in Austria.
increasing
Bearing strength in each event
decreasing
Watching Germany

Warning Across a Border
Political methods spread
Dr B describes the movement building networks of resentful supporters and informants in neighboring countries. What begins beyond Austria increasingly touches its ministries and businesses.
The danger within institutions
A clerk in Dr B’s office proves to be an informer. The practice’s modest appearance cannot protect it once surveillance reaches into its daily operations.
The Annexation Crisis

A Country Overrun
Sudden political collapse
The resignation of Schuschnigg and the approaching German occupation bring the secret threat into the open. Dr B is arrested by the SS just before the change of power is completed.
Private life overwhelmed
His professional safeguards and careful routines prove insufficient against the state’s force. The arrest turns the crisis of a nation into a personal struggle for survival.
Exile’s Paperwork

Leaving Home
Administrative escape
After release, Dr B must complete military, police, tax, passport, visa, and health procedures. The formalities leave little time to reflect on imprisonment.
Memory deferred
The practical demands help him leave, but do not resolve his trauma. Only later, aboard the ship, does he find enough distance to begin recalling his confinement.
After the National Socialist movement takes power in Germany
March 1938, as the German forces approach Vienna
The fourteen days following Dr B’s release