On March 15, 1938, Adolf Hitler arrived at Heldenplatz (Heroes' Square) in Vienna, Austria. Following the Anschluss (the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany), he stood on the balcony of the Neue Burg wing of the Hofburg Palace to deliver a speech to an ecstatic crowd of roughly 250,000 people.

From that terrace, Hitler officially announced Austria's incorporation into the Third Reich, famously declaring: "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer!" ("One People, One Nation, One Leader!"). This heavily orchestrated propaganda event marked a chilling turning point that destroyed Austrian sovereignty and accelerated the path to World War II.