In 1924, after having lived in Magdeburg for many years, the Weintraub family returns to the Viennese mainly Jewish district, the so called "Matza Island". Franz, the son, was 14 years old. He tells us about his youth in this neighbourhood, his estrangement from Jewish tradition, about his involvement in the Labor Movement.

His narration and archive material of the time draw a lively picture of Red Vienna and the rise of fascism before 1938.

Return to Vienna is the first part of a trilogy about Jewish identity. Three films - Return to Vienna, Paper Bridge and Towards Jerusalem - in which travelling constitutes in varying ways both form and content.