38 Vienna Before the Fall

38 – Vienna Before the Fall (German: ) is a 1987 Austrian-West German co-produced drama film directed by Wolfgang Gluck. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 59th Academy Awards. The German title is literally translated as 38 - That, too, was Vienna, but it is also known in English as 38 - Vienna Before the Fall. It is set in Vienna in 1937-38 at the time of the Anschluss.

The film presents the political events surrounding the Anschluss in March of 1938 through the lives of Carola Hell, a popular young actress at the prestigious Theater in der Josefstadt, and Martin Hofmann, the Jewish journalist she plans to marry. When we encounter the couple in the lovely springtime weather their future is full of promise. They are determined to stay clear of politics. Yet in the climate of the time, nobody of her prominence or his religion can remain apolitical. Although Martin's journalist friend, Drechsler, calls to inform them that the Nazis plan to take over Austria soon, they concentrate on their work and their private happiness and dismiss the warnings.