What do you think?
Rate this book
The City Without Jews: Life and Death in Nazi Vienna
Not yet published
Expected 29 Sep 26‘A truly major work, both deeply moving and incredibly powerful. It is a masterpiece of research, structure and writing . . . unforgettable’ Sir Antony Beevor, bestselling author of Stalingrad
In 1938, Vienna was the second largest Jewish city in Europe. By 1946, only a few thousand Jews remained. In this extraordinary story of loss, fear, longing and hope, acclaimed historian Douglas Smith chronicles the destruction of Jewish Vienna under the Nazis. Drawing on hundreds of long-forgotten sources, The City Without Jews centres on one remarkable Mignon Langnas.
A woman of exceptional strength, courage and dignity, Mignon’s story opens a window onto the larger history of Vienna in the Nazi years. The city was at the forefront of the Nazis’ anti-Semitic policies and became a laboratory for developing methods to eradicate the Jews – expropriation, forced emigration, exile and eventually mass deportation to the killing fields and death camps in the East.
Watching as nearly every Jew she knew disappeared, Mignon vividly recorded her world in diaries and letters, creating an indispensable and uniquely detailed account that is impossible to forget. In intimate and heart-rending prose, Douglas Smith tells a story like no other – of betrayal, sacrifice, impossible choices and survivor guilt.
In 1938, Vienna was the second largest Jewish city in Europe. By 1946, only a few thousand Jews remained. In this extraordinary story of loss, fear, longing and hope, acclaimed historian Douglas Smith chronicles the destruction of Jewish Vienna under the Nazis. Drawing on hundreds of long-forgotten sources, The City Without Jews centres on one remarkable Mignon Langnas.
A woman of exceptional strength, courage and dignity, Mignon’s story opens a window onto the larger history of Vienna in the Nazi years. The city was at the forefront of the Nazis’ anti-Semitic policies and became a laboratory for developing methods to eradicate the Jews – expropriation, forced emigration, exile and eventually mass deportation to the killing fields and death camps in the East.
Watching as nearly every Jew she knew disappeared, Mignon vividly recorded her world in diaries and letters, creating an indispensable and uniquely detailed account that is impossible to forget. In intimate and heart-rending prose, Douglas Smith tells a story like no other – of betrayal, sacrifice, impossible choices and survivor guilt.
560 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication September 29, 2026
About the author
Douglas Smith
8 books125 followersDouglas Smith is an awarding-winning historian and translator and the author of four books on Russia. He studied German and Russian at the University of Vermont and has a doctorate in history from UCLA.
Over the past twenty-five years Smith has made many trips to Russia. In the 1980s, he was a Russian-speaking guide on the U. S. State Department’s exhibition “Information USA” that traveled throughout the USSR. He has worked as a Soviet affairs analyst at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Munich, Germany specializing in Russian nationalism and served as an interpreter for late President Reagan.
Smith has taught and lectured widely in the United States, Britain, and Europe and has appeared in documentaries for A&E and National Geographic. He is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including a Fulbright scholarship and a residency at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Study Center.
His latest book, Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy, was published in 2012 with Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the U.S. and Macmillan in the U.K. Read an interview with Douglas Smith about Former People and listen to his interview on KUOW Radio.
Douglas Smith is currently writing a biography of Grigory Rasputin to be published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2016.
Over the past twenty-five years Smith has made many trips to Russia. In the 1980s, he was a Russian-speaking guide on the U. S. State Department’s exhibition “Information USA” that traveled throughout the USSR. He has worked as a Soviet affairs analyst at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Munich, Germany specializing in Russian nationalism and served as an interpreter for late President Reagan.
Smith has taught and lectured widely in the United States, Britain, and Europe and has appeared in documentaries for A&E and National Geographic. He is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including a Fulbright scholarship and a residency at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Study Center.
His latest book, Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy, was published in 2012 with Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the U.S. and Macmillan in the U.K. Read an interview with Douglas Smith about Former People and listen to his interview on KUOW Radio.
Douglas Smith is currently writing a biography of Grigory Rasputin to be published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2016.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 3, 2026
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the arc of this book.
This book was an incredibly detailed account of the lives of the Jewish in Vienna before, during, and after WWII and the holocaust. Specifically, it follows Mignon Langnas - through her miraculous survival and the people she met who didn’t. It once again brought to light the horrors of the past that weren’t truly that long ago.
This book was an incredibly detailed account of the lives of the Jewish in Vienna before, during, and after WWII and the holocaust. Specifically, it follows Mignon Langnas - through her miraculous survival and the people she met who didn’t. It once again brought to light the horrors of the past that weren’t truly that long ago.
July 31, 2026
I’ve read many books about the Holocaust, but this one was especially eye-opening. I hadn’t read much about the Holocaust in Austria, and I had no idea just how devastating life became after Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany.
I especially appreciated that the book centered on oral histories, allowing readers to hear directly from people who experienced the Holocaust from multiple perspectives. It included the voices of victims, resistance fighters, bystanders, and even perpetrators, creating a well-rounded and deeply impactful account of this tragic period in history.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the Holocaust in Austria and the experiences of those who lived through it.
A big thanks to Net Galley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for letting me read this book early!
I especially appreciated that the book centered on oral histories, allowing readers to hear directly from people who experienced the Holocaust from multiple perspectives. It included the voices of victims, resistance fighters, bystanders, and even perpetrators, creating a well-rounded and deeply impactful account of this tragic period in history.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the Holocaust in Austria and the experiences of those who lived through it.
A big thanks to Net Galley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for letting me read this book early!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The thing about the Holocaust is that it is such a large and cataclysmic event that it is hard to truly take it all in. I'm on record saying that a well-written Holocaust book needs to leave you depressed and contemplative by the end. In the case of The City Without Jews by Douglas Smith, I was also left speechless.
Smith tells the story of Nazi Vienna. Ingeniously, (but also rather confusingly to quite a few people on social media I found out), the title of the book is the same as a novel of the same name which came out before World War II. The subject of this novel? The people of Vienna drive out their Jewish neighbors only to welcome them back with open arms when society nearly collapses. If only history was so simple.
Their is a main character named Mignon Langnas. She is ultimately trapped in Vienna, and Smith uses her as the reader's focal point as the city devolves into hatred and evil. However, make no mistake. This book is about how Vienna served as a center of antisemitism in World War II. Most may expect that Berlin was the nexus for Hitler's worst impulses, but often Vienna served as a pilot for inhuman mechanisms that then permeated the Third Reich.
What makes this narrative stand out against so many World War II books is the meticulous attention to detail without becoming myopic. Smith wants to turn the reader into the proverbial frog in the pan as the heat gets turned up. This is the first time I could see and understand why so many Jews didn't leave immediately when the Nazis arrived. The reader gets to feel the pressure being turned up. It's easy to look back, knowing what the Nazis were revealed to be. However, it is much different to be a group that was never treated well by Vienna in the first place. The Nazis seemed to be just another malevolent ruler in a long line of oppressors. Before many realized just how bad it would get, it was already too late.
I am going to use what I consider to be a rather pretentious word, but there is no way around it. This is truly a magisterial history book. Smith has proven that great works on World War II and the Holocaust can still be written even in a crowded market.
(This book was provided as a review copy by FSG Books.)
Smith tells the story of Nazi Vienna. Ingeniously, (but also rather confusingly to quite a few people on social media I found out), the title of the book is the same as a novel of the same name which came out before World War II. The subject of this novel? The people of Vienna drive out their Jewish neighbors only to welcome them back with open arms when society nearly collapses. If only history was so simple.
Their is a main character named Mignon Langnas. She is ultimately trapped in Vienna, and Smith uses her as the reader's focal point as the city devolves into hatred and evil. However, make no mistake. This book is about how Vienna served as a center of antisemitism in World War II. Most may expect that Berlin was the nexus for Hitler's worst impulses, but often Vienna served as a pilot for inhuman mechanisms that then permeated the Third Reich.
What makes this narrative stand out against so many World War II books is the meticulous attention to detail without becoming myopic. Smith wants to turn the reader into the proverbial frog in the pan as the heat gets turned up. This is the first time I could see and understand why so many Jews didn't leave immediately when the Nazis arrived. The reader gets to feel the pressure being turned up. It's easy to look back, knowing what the Nazis were revealed to be. However, it is much different to be a group that was never treated well by Vienna in the first place. The Nazis seemed to be just another malevolent ruler in a long line of oppressors. Before many realized just how bad it would get, it was already too late.
I am going to use what I consider to be a rather pretentious word, but there is no way around it. This is truly a magisterial history book. Smith has proven that great works on World War II and the Holocaust can still be written even in a crowded market.
(This book was provided as a review copy by FSG Books.)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book details the careful and deliberate evisceration of the Jewish population of Vienna, Austria, leading up to and during the Nazi regime. At its heart are the diaries and letters of one woman, Mignon, a daughter, sister, wife, and mother to two young children. As the Christian Viennese population embraces anti-semitism, the world grows smaller and more confining for the city's Jews. Some make plans to leave, but not all can afford the processing fees and the passenger tickets needed. At any time, any Jewish person can be taken out of their home and forced to clean shit from the street with their bare hands. For entertainment. Things get worse from there. Mignon's sister, husband, and children are able to leave Austria, but Mignon elects to stay with her parents, now weakened by food shortages. In addition to Mignon's diary entries, the author provides insights into what was happening in the city, in Germany, and worldwide. For example, one day, as Soviet soldiers roam the streets of Vienna, we learn what Mignon and Adolf Eichmann write in their respective journals that same day.
The book seems long in its thoroughness, emphasizing Mignon's relentless struggle to stay alive and to stay connected to her family and her faith. The Anschluss or "annexation" of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938, gave the local anti-semites carte blanche to ramp up their violence, adding fuel to the fire that already burned in many. The kindness of a few Christian friends is well noted, but the majority of non-Jewish Austrians acted despicably to steal from, abuse, and murder their Jewish neighbors. It's an impressive retelling in that the author invests us in Mignon's fate whilst exposing us to the grim realities of her situation. The audiobook is well narrated and the original source material shines.
My thanks to the author, Mignon's family, the publisher, @MacmillianAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook #TheCityWithoutJews for review purposes. A difficult subject, deftly handled, and well recommended. Publication date: 29 September 2026.
The book seems long in its thoroughness, emphasizing Mignon's relentless struggle to stay alive and to stay connected to her family and her faith. The Anschluss or "annexation" of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938, gave the local anti-semites carte blanche to ramp up their violence, adding fuel to the fire that already burned in many. The kindness of a few Christian friends is well noted, but the majority of non-Jewish Austrians acted despicably to steal from, abuse, and murder their Jewish neighbors. It's an impressive retelling in that the author invests us in Mignon's fate whilst exposing us to the grim realities of her situation. The audiobook is well narrated and the original source material shines.
My thanks to the author, Mignon's family, the publisher, @MacmillianAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook #TheCityWithoutJews for review purposes. A difficult subject, deftly handled, and well recommended. Publication date: 29 September 2026.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
When Bettauer wrote his novel, antisemitism was a thriving and growing force in post-World War I Austria and Germany. As you can imagine, his book aroused their fury, so much so that a Nazi murdered him in 1925. As the Nazis took power, they implemented many of the antisemitic measures foreseen in Bettauer’s novel, and much worse. Vienna was a vibrant mix of nationalities and religions in the 1920s, with Jews forming about 10% of the population. But by the time the Nazis were through, only a few thousand remained, having escaped all the best efforts of the powers that be to deport and murder them.
One of Vienna’s Jewish citizens was Mignon Langan. Through fortunate placement and sheer luck, she managed to survive, and her diary provides insights into what Vienna was and what it became during the Nazi era. This book portrays the historical events, but then drills down to what they meant on the human level by focusing on Mignon, her family and friends. It painfully illustrates hatred, indifference, and the occasional bit of luck or benevolence, and the roles they played in the fates of Vienna’s Jews.
As anyone with any familiarity with the history of World War II knows, postwar Austrians adopted a position that they were Hitler’s first victims. This book vividly demonstrates how that lie twisted the knife into Vienna’s surviving Jews for many years after the war ended. That was certainly true for members of Mignon’s circle, and she also suffered the common survivors’ guilt, not helped by those who assumed any survivor must have been a betrayer or a collaborator.
This is a hard read, but an important one.
One of Vienna’s Jewish citizens was Mignon Langan. Through fortunate placement and sheer luck, she managed to survive, and her diary provides insights into what Vienna was and what it became during the Nazi era. This book portrays the historical events, but then drills down to what they meant on the human level by focusing on Mignon, her family and friends. It painfully illustrates hatred, indifference, and the occasional bit of luck or benevolence, and the roles they played in the fates of Vienna’s Jews.
As anyone with any familiarity with the history of World War II knows, postwar Austrians adopted a position that they were Hitler’s first victims. This book vividly demonstrates how that lie twisted the knife into Vienna’s surviving Jews for many years after the war ended. That was certainly true for members of Mignon’s circle, and she also suffered the common survivors’ guilt, not helped by those who assumed any survivor must have been a betrayer or a collaborator.
This is a hard read, but an important one.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5
This is a powerful and detailed account of how Vienna's Jewish community was systematically destroyed after the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938.
Drawing on diaries, letters, and other firsthand accounts—especially those of Jewish nurse Mignon Langnas and her family—the author brings individual lives to the forefront of this tragic history, making the enormity of the Holocaust feel intensely personal.
Well-researched and compassionately written, it captures both the horrors of persecution and the resilience of those who endured it.
Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy.
This is a powerful and detailed account of how Vienna's Jewish community was systematically destroyed after the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938.
Drawing on diaries, letters, and other firsthand accounts—especially those of Jewish nurse Mignon Langnas and her family—the author brings individual lives to the forefront of this tragic history, making the enormity of the Holocaust feel intensely personal.
Well-researched and compassionately written, it captures both the horrors of persecution and the resilience of those who endured it.
Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley!
This was a dense, stellar example of research. It took me several months to get to simply because of the size of the book and the amount of WWII content my brain could process at one time (after Yom HaShoah I went a little too hard on my reading list and the anxiety wasn't a fan). If someone is looking for a thorough Vienna specific history under Nazism, this is the one to point them to. Thank you so much for this early copy.
I was given the opportunity to read this title by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This was a dense, stellar example of research. It took me several months to get to simply because of the size of the book and the amount of WWII content my brain could process at one time (after Yom HaShoah I went a little too hard on my reading list and the anxiety wasn't a fan). If someone is looking for a thorough Vienna specific history under Nazism, this is the one to point them to. Thank you so much for this early copy.
I was given the opportunity to read this title by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews