The annexation of Austria into the German Reich in 1938 meant the end of the careers of many Austrian lawyers and trainee lawyers. On 13 March 1938, 2,541 lawyers and around 500 trainee lawyers were registered with the Regional Bar Association of Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland; on 31 December 1938 there were only 771 lawyers and less than 100 trainee lawyers left.

This book illustrates the history of the Austrian legal profession under the Nazi regime from the perspective of the personal and professional fates of Austrian lawyers and trainee lawyers who were persecuted and deprived of their rights. It is both a commemorative work and a critical analysis of the history of Austrian lawyers from 1938 to 1945.

„‚Advokaten 1938‘ makes an important contribution to the history of law and also to the Nazi history of Austria.” („Die Presse“ on the first edition)