Nazi Germany occupied the Sudetenland

The occupation of the Sudetenland enters Dr B’s account as a possible turning point in his Gestapo imprisonment: after it, he was released and ordered to leave Austria within fourteen days. The narration does not establish that the occupation directly caused his release, but presents it as one explanation for why the authorities may have lost interest in his case.

Background and Political Context

Before his arrest, Dr B had managed assets for monasteries and members of the imperial family, continuing a discreet legal practice established by his father. When Hitler took power in Germany, the firm handled transactions intended to move some church property beyond confiscation. Its connections and confidential work made Dr B a potential source of information for the Gestapo, which sought evidence against the monasteries and the imperial family, as well as access to assets it believed remained hidden.

Detention and Possible Turning Point

The authorities held Dr B at the Hotel Metropole, where he was isolated in a room and later interrogated about financial dealings and contacts. During questioning, he could not tell how much the Gestapo already knew, so each answer carried the risk of exposing others or increasing suspicion against himself. His account emphasizes the uncertainty surrounding his case: it was possible, he says, that the Sudetenland’s occupation made the Gestapo regard Austria’s case as closed and Dr B as no longer important.

Release and Aftermath

Dr B’s release followed help from a doctor, but the doctor’s intervention does not resolve why the authorities let him go. Dr B was required to sign a promise to leave his homeland within fourteen days. The time was consumed by travel formalities, including military papers, police, tax, passport, visa, and health documentation; only later, aboard the ship, did he feel able to recall his imprisonment in detail. The occupation thus appears in the narrative not as a fully explained cause but as a possible shift in political circumstances coinciding with his release and forced departure.