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Red Vienna
Red Vienna
RED VIENNA
Experiment in
Working-Class Culture
1919-1934
Helmut Gruber
«
0 M7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paris IL G
August !W ()
Contents
1. Introduction 3
O b itu a ry fo r A ustrian Socialism 3
A M odel o f P ro le ta ria n C u ltu re 5
3. M unicipal Socialism 45
Public H ousing: E n v iro nm ent fo r “ n e u e M ensch en” 46
Public H ealth a n d Social W elfare: S haping the “ O rd e rly ”
W o rk e r Family 65
Public E ducation: Equality fo r W orkers and Rising
E x pectations 73
7. C onclusion 180
Political Limits 181
C u ltural Limits 184
N otes 187
In dex 257
RED VIENNA
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
un ite d fro n t with the c om m un ists.” 11In th e C o m m u nist In te rn a tio n a l’s own
vitriolic c o n d e m n a tio n , th e “ A ustrian w orkers h a d b een b ro u g h t u n d e r the
yoke o f fascism” by th eir lead ers.7
As m ight be exp ected , the foreign conservative press in te rp re te d the
o n g o in g events differently. Le Temps accused th e socialists o f having “ obsti
nately refu sed to s u p p o rt the g o v ern m en t in its heroic struggle against
ex tern al forces th re a te n in g the in d e p e n d e n c e o f Austria. By n o t having
c o m p rom ised with reaction, they have s tre n g th e n e d the h a n d o f national
socialism.” 8 Le Figaro suggested that “ with c ou rag e b u t also with foolish
carelessness, socialism has played its last ca rd [to rally its constituents] and
has lost, th ereb y playing into the han d s o f H itle r ’s follow ers.” 9 T h e L o n d o n
Times was m o re c o n c e rn e d with the foreign political im plications than with
the fate o f the A ustrian socialists. It co n clu d ed th at C hancellor Dollfuss had
b een fighting o n two fro n ts a n d h ad s tre n g th e n e d his foreign political posi-
tion by elim inating the left at h o m e .10 Interestingly, the New York Times
o ffered the m ost detailed a n d balanced coverage: daily dispatches, analysis,
a n d large p h o to essays. T h o u g h various fe a tu re articles expressed great
sympathy fo r casualties am o n g w om en a n d children a n d even co m m en d ed
(he female w orkers fo r fighting “ like the old p io n e e r w om en o f the A m eri
can p rairies,” th e underly in g c o n c e rn was with th e foreign political
im plications."
Such were the obituaries fo r A ustrian socialism a n d the republic which
d isa p p e a re d with th e sto rm in g o f the w o rk er enclaves in Vienna. T h e re h ad
been n o civil w ar.12 A tiny m inority o f w orkers h a d risen spontaneously by
d isreg ard in g the cautious wait-and-see policy o f th eir leaders, who clung
desperately to constitu tio nal safeguards which h a d ceased to exist when
C h an cellor Dollfuss s u sp e n d e d p arliam ent in M arch 1933. F o r m o re th a n
a year th e leaders o f th e A ustrian Socialist p arty (SDAP) h a d suffered the
sam e paralysis o f will which had im m obilized th e G e rm a n left as H itler rose
to pow er. They repeatedly p o stp o n e d th e use o f fo rce to p re v e n t th e over
throw o f the republic, altho u gh .fo rce h a d b een a m easu re o f self-defense in
the SDAP p ro g ra m since 1926. This strategy o f passivity in the face o f the
g radual d em olition o f re p ub lican safeguards was in effect a capitulation to
t he c o rp o ra te state publicly p ro je c te d by Dollfuss a n d th e C hristian Social
p arty (Christian Socials). Ultimately th e in su rre c tio n o f th e few was only a
d e sp e ra te act in th e face o f a d efeat th a t was already a p p a re n t; it was also
d ire c te d against those socialist leaders w ho h a d c au tio n ed a n d counseled
against self-defense by th e workers, a n d who w ere absent d u rin g the crucial
h o u rs from F ebru ary 12 to 14 .15
T h e sub jug atio n o f th e A ustrian w orking class was viewed in virtually all
the press accounts as increasing the d a n g e r o f fascist expansion in E urope:
conservatives feared th a t A ustria would fall prey to Italian o r G erm an
aggression; socialists saw in the sup p ressio n o f th e SDAP by clerical fascism
an om inous rep etitio n o f th e d e stru c tio n o f G e rm a n socialism a year e a r
lier tlu* loss o f two pillars o f the L a b o r a n d Socialist In tern atio n al, which
w eakened the working-class m ovem ent. D espite the fact that passing horn-
Introduction 5
age was paid to the accom plishm ents o f Viennese m unicipal socialism in
b o th the labo r a n d middle-class p ress,14 strategic geopolitical o r institutional
c o n c e rn s w ere p a ra m o u n t.
U nderstand ably , th a t perspective— the de stru c tio n o f a republic an d
th e liquidation o f a p arty o f 6 6 0 ,0 0 0 — was p u t b efo re all o th e r consider
ations in th e crisis a tm o sp h e re o f that time. It is u n fo rtu n a te , however, th at
until very recently th e m ost significant casualty in F eb ru ary 1934, namely,
th e ex p e rim e n t to c reate a working-class c u ltu re in the socialist enclave o f
V ienna, has n o t received th e a tte n tio n it deserves. T h at a ttem p t to develop
a com prehen siv e p ro le ta ria n c o u n te rc u ltu re , going beyond piecemeal cul
tu ral re fo rm efforts o f socialist parties in o th e r c ou n tries a n d serving as an
a lte rn a te m odel to th e Bolshevik’s e x p e rim e n t in Russia, is the subject o f
this book. In the Bolshevik exam ple p o p u la r en lig h ten m en t ideals, cultural
liberalism, a n d u to p ia n visions h a d b een at risk virtually fro m th e beginning
in th e struggle fo r o r d e r a n d con trol. T he Bolshevik p a rty ’s “ v a n g u a rd ”
position d e te rm in e d the co n tro lle d Soviet c u ltu re fo r the masses em erging
at the e n d o f the 19 2 0 s.15 T h e A ustrom arxists, a n d particularly O tto Bauer,
distan ced themselves fro m w hat they co n sidered th e d ictatorship o f a caste
o v er th e m asses.16 T h e ir cultural e x p e rim e n t was to be p red icated on
dem ocracy in a dual sense: relying on the political g ua ra n te e s o f a rep u b li
can g o v e rn m e n t a n d on the SD A P’s relation to th e ran k a n d file o f the
p a rty .17 W h at follows is n e ith e r an o bituary n o r a testim onial fo r this un iqu e
cu ltu ral land m ark b u t an e n d e a v o r to study it within its con tex t a n d to assess
its w ider significance.18
A M o d el o f P roletarian Culture
T h e Socialist p a rty ’s a tte m p t to create a com prehensive p ro letarian c o u n
te rc u ltu re was n o t an e x p e rim e n t in a form al, m ethodological sense o f pos
iting a hypothesis, e x te n d in g a n d testing it in practice, a n d evaluating its
results. Its e x p erim en tal quality lay in the d arin g a tte m p t to ex plo re the
u n k n o w n — the b len din g o f c u ltu re a n d politics th ro u g h a com plicated n e t
w ork o f organizations aim ed at tra n sfo rm in g th e w orking class. Even
th o u g h the c ultural p ro je c t did n o t follow a b lu e p rin t b u t ra th e r evolved on
the basis o f e x p erien ce in daily practice, it flowed from a central b elief in
A ustrom arxist theory th a t c u ltu re could play a significant role in the class
struggle. If, as I a rgue, a m ain stre n g th o f this th eo ry was its flexibility, allow
ing socialist leaders o f the republic to re g a rd themselves as always acting
w ithin its compass, at th e p o p u la r level available to SDAP m em b ers a n d u n a f
filiated w orkers it also h a d an em blem atic a n d confidence-inspiring quality.
Unlike o th e r versions o f Marxism, it p ro m ised a foretaste o f the socialist
u to p ia o f the fu tu re in the p re se n t by locating the beginning o f the great
tra n sfo rm a tio n leading to a new socialist hum anity within capitalist society
itself, b e fo re the u ltim ate revolution. F o r the y o u n g er gen e ra tio n o f Aus-
trom arxists, en gag ed in realizing the socialist project in Vienna, a boundless
6 Red Vienna
\
CHAPTER 2
V ien n a, 1 9 1 9 -1 9 2 1 : A M on tage
T h e repu b lic o f A ustria, with V ienna rem ain ing as capital, was finally p ro
claim ed o n N ov em b er 12, 1918.5 T h e re was little enthusiasm fo r th e new
republic. T he C hristian Social a n d Pan-G erm an parties had only shortly
b efo re declared themselves com m itted to m onarchy; the SDAP hesitated.
All th re e conceived o f the new state as being “ G erm an A ustria.” The
E n te n te powers p re p a rin g f o r a “ C arthag inian p ea c e ” in Paris had insisted
o n the c o n to u rs o f the republic u n d e r the simple nam e “ A ustria.” N o n e o f
the political forces re p re s e n te d by the Provisional Assembly m eeting in
V ienna w ere satisfied with the m inuscule state, pasted to g e th e r from the
leavings of a d ism em bered m onarchy: the C hristian Socials favored a central
E u ro p ean e m p ire u n d e r H a b sb u rg leadership; the left socialists as well as
T h e Dual M onarchy o f A ustria-H u ng ary in 1914 a n d the A ustrian republic o f 1920
Vienna as Socialist Laboratory 15
Demobilized soldiers in 1919, a source o f both the soldiers’ councils and the
Volkswehr (Verein für Geschichte d er Arbeiterbewegung [VGA])
Vienna as Socialist Laboratory 19
Organized workers’ dem onstration. The bann er proclaims: “ Long Live the
International World Revolution.” (VGA)
bank ers o r Jew ish capital. T h e perversity o f Jew ish self-hatred am on g Jewish
socialist leaders was exp ressed in th e a tte m p t to fight anti-Semitism with
anti-Sem itism in socialist p am phlets a n d b road sides.74 B ut at n o time did the
SDAP publish a full-scale re b u tta l o f anti-Sem itism o r expose the close ties
betw een its P an-G erm an a n d Christian Social e x p o n e n ts a n d the Catholic
ch u rc h a n d racist o rgan izatio ns.75
T h a t th e SDAP allowed such g u tte r politics to go essentially un chal
lenged fro m th e b e g in n in g o f th e republic to its en d, with th e p ro m in e n t
Jew s in its lead ersh ip keep ing a low profile, w eakened the party and u n d e r
cut th e republic as well. O tto B a u e r a n d o th e r p ro m in e n t Jew ish socialists
lacked the political c o u rage to answ er the anti-Semitic slanderers fearlessly
a n d pow erfully in public deb ate. By contrast, w hen L éon Blum was su b
jected to an anti-Semitic slur in th e C h a m b e r o f D eputies in 1923, he
replied: “ I am a Je w indeed. . . . O n e does n o t in any way insult me by recall
ing th e race in which I was b o rn , a race which 1 have never denied an d
tow ards which I re ta in only feelings o f g ra titu d e a n d p rid e .” A nsw ering a
similar sland er in 1936, Blum said th a t he b elo n g ed to “ a race which owed
to th e F re n c h R evolution h u m a n liberty a n d equality, som ething th a t could
n ev er b e f o rg o tte n .” 76
It is difficult to explain the very differen t resp o nse to anti-Semitism o f
F re n c h a n d A u strian Jew ish socialists. P erh ap s the F re n c h enjoyed the
advantage o f the revolutionary heritag e o f a n a tio n which h a d also painfully
e x p e rie n c e d a n d risen above the Dreyfus Affair, w hereas th e A ustrians con
fro n te d a tra d itio n th a t h a d p rid e d itself in resisting ch a n g e .77 P u t m ore
boldly, o n e m ight say th a t the difference o f resp o n se lay in the difference
betw een th e two republics: th e F re n c h was secular a n d the A ustrian clerical.
D efeat on the battlefield swept away th e old m onarchy, b u t the Catholic
c h u rc h re m a in e d und im in ish ed in its pow er. T h e A ustrian episcopate lost
no time in declaring itself to be the m oral g u ard ian o f a “ Christian a n d G er
m an n a tio n .” 78 At th e same tim e the reigning cardinal a n d bishops
im pressed u p o n th eir flocks the n e e d to vote fo r those parties re p re se n tin g
C hristian principles in the u p c o m in g national a n d m unicipal elections.
While th e politicians were deb a tin g articles o f the c o n stitu tio n and the rel
ative pow ers o f th e provinces a n d n ational g o v ern m en t o f the fe d e ra te d
republic, th e Catholic c h u rc h quietly laid claims to its e n d u rin g place in the
new A ustria. It re ta in e d c o n tro l over secular fun ctio ns exercised u n d e r the
m onarchy, such as com pulsory religious e d u catio n in th e schools a n d reli
gious m a rria g e .79
T h e Catholic c h u rc h was b e tte r p r e p a re d th a n anyone else to arg ue fo r
I he c ontinuity b etw een the old a n d th e new, a n d thereb y to effectively fo re
stall a serious co n sid eration o f the sep aratio n o f ch u rc h a n d state. Thus
( Catholic priests w ere paid salaries by the state, a privilege n o t a ccord ed to
the officials o f o th e r religions. A nd m ost im p o rta n t, priests were perm itte d
to hold public office, a situation m ade blatant in the p erso n o f the Jesuit
lgnaz Seipel, who as lead er o f the C hristian Social party becam e h e a d o f
governm ent. F u rth e rm o re , the n u m e ro u s thinly disguised Catholic lay
28 Red Vienna
anced, only a civil w ar c ould break the stalemate. T he latter, which in addi
tio n to causing m u ch bloo d sh ed a n d suffering would wipe o u t all the gains
a n d p ow er o f th e w orking class, h a d to be avoided at virtually any price.
It was a d a rin g con c e p tio n which placed an e n o rm o u s b u rd e n on the
SDAP in V ienna to c re a te an institutional n etw ork th ro u g h which the work
ers c ould be m ade culturally m a tu re fo r socialism. It p resu m ed that n eith er
side w ould risk a c o n test fo r pow er, a n d th a t th e w orkers would not be inte
g ra te d in to the politics o f the bourgeoisie o r d o m in ated by its cult ure. Thus
B a u e r se p a ra te d th e cultural fro m th e political revolution, with the implicit
d a n g e r (soon to b ecom e actual) that the fo rm e r would be substituted for the
latter, th at the V iennese cu ltu ral e x p e rim e n t would attem p t to com pensate
fo r socialist pow erlessness in the national a r e n a .126 T he dualism o f Bauer's
con c e p tio n was n o m o re resolved th a n the contrad ictio n s in p rew ar A ustro-
m arxism h a d been. T h e p re p a ra to ry cultural strategy, which legitim ated the
w hole V iennese ex p e rim e n t, h a d n o real links to the process o f com ing to
p ow er in th e fu tu re . N o r was the relationship m ade clear betw een cultural
h eg em o n y th ro u g h B ildung a n d th e laws o f capitalist developm ent. In that
w orld o f real pow er, objective an d im m utable laws o f historical materialism
w ere p re su m e d to be g rin d in g on to th a t happ y fu tu re when the socialists
w ould “ in h e rit” p o w e r.127
By som e cruel irony B au er was recap itu latin g p rew ar A u stro m arxism ’s
evasion o f the con tra d ic tio n betw een subjective a n d objective power. O n
th e basis o f B a u e r’s analysis, which took little acco un t o f the tough-m ind-
edness o f the C hristian Social party o r the C atholic chu rch , Bildung becam e
th e real politics o f th e SDAP. T he fo u n d a tio n , on which the Viennese cul
tu ral e x p e rim e n t was based, seems to have b e e n fragile, a n d B a u e r’s op ti
mistic p ro g n o sticatio n fo r th e com ing o f socialism app ears to have been
based o n a very naive co n c e p tio n o f struggle. R abinbach has explained
th e mystery o f such evasions o f reality tersely as B a u e r’s “ will to
pow erlessness.” 128
T h e co u rse c h a rte re d by B au er fo r th e SDAP exem plified what D ieter
G ro h has called “ negative in te g ra tio n .” 129 It consisted o f an em phasis on
party grow th a n d unity, o n electoral success a n d p arliam entary activity, and
m ost o f all o n B ildung to p re p a re th e w orking class fo r its historical role and
to neutralize w ork er aggression, diverting it from political action. Bauer's
justification o f the p a rty ’s cultural ex p e rim e n t was seconded by Max Adlet
in a long essay whose title, Neue Menschen, was probably m o re influential
th a n its s u b sta n c e .130 In this work, dealing with the ed ucation o f the workei s,
A dler d e n o u n c e d existing socialist pedagogy as being unscientific and
avoided all practical questions. H e assum ed th at the w orkers were not
m a tu re e n o u g h fo r revolution a n d p ro p o s e d an educational tra nsfo rm atio n
th a t w ould c reate th e new consciousness within the existing state. In that
sense, ed uc a tio n w ould act as a vehicle o f cultural c om m unication a n d as an
im p o rta n t in stru m e n t o f th e class struggle. T he last tu rn o f p h rase was p r o b
ably th e essay’s m ain c o n trib u tio n to B a u e r’s co ncep tual cdilicc.
B a u e r’s fo rm u latio n o f the balance o f class forces received critical h ie
40 Red Vienna
alm ost im m ediately a fte r its main exposition, fro m b o th outside a n d inside
the party. H ans Kelsen, the liberal legal theoretician a n d architect o f A us
tria ’s c o n stitution , arg u e d th at th e re h a d n o t b e e n a balance o f class pow er
e ith e r d u rin g th e b rie f coalition p erio d o r th ereafter, because the capitalist
exploitative system an d related social o r d e r h a d r em ained in c o n tro l.131 The
b elief th at the equilibrium betw een classes could be exp ected to last for
som e time a n d provide the necessary basis fo r the SD A P’s cultural strategy
was challenged by O tto L eichter, one o f the editors o f Die Arbeiter-Zeitung.
T h e disarray am o n g reactio n ary forces a fte r the war, he arg u ed , h a d been
p ro d u c e d by th e council m ovem ent, which h a d since faded away. In A ustria
th e balance h a d ceased to fu n c tio n w hen the C hristian Social party regained
its po w er in 1922. Such an e p ip h e n o m e n o n , he concluded, did n o t m erit a
whole new c o n cep tio n o f the class struggle a n d the s ta te .132
T hese co m m en taries n e ith e r alte re d B a u e r’s position n o r deflected
m unicipal officials and SDAP fun ctio n aries fro m co n tin u in g to p u t the cul
tural p ro g ra m into p ractice— so m ethin g they h a d be e n d o in g fo r som e time
b e fo re th e form al discussion o f the legitimizing balance-of-forces theory.
T o e n d th e long saga o f A ustrom arxist theo ry h ere, in 1 9 2 3 -2 4 , w ould offer
to o idyllic a p ictu re o f the fate o f B a u e r’s co nceptu al s tru c tu re in its contact
with political reality. Strangely e n o u g h , the SDAP did ex perien ce a few
nearly halcyon years in which th e party grew a n d its p rog ram s flourished.
T h e party congress o f 1926 took place at the high p oin t o f socialist self-
confidence a n d sense o f practical accom plishm ent. This was ex pressed in
the so-called Linz P ro g ram , which co nfirm ed the socialists’ co m m itm ent to
social ch an g e a n d cultural im p ro v e m e n t.133 M uch o f the d ra ft p ro g ra m — as
usual, the w ork o f B a u e r— was devo ted to explicating th e p a rty ’s devotion
to political dem ocracy a n d its institutions. In the process it n o t only ch a r
acterized Bolshevism as a failed a tte m p t to elevate socialism to a hig her
p lane a n d w a rn e d a b o u t m eth od s o f change based o n force, b u t also directly
re c o n sid e re d th e n o tio n o f balance o f class forces. T h e latte r review was
u n d e rta k e n in respo n se to the grow th o f th e H e im w e h r134 a n d o th e r an ti
rep u b lic a n forces which th re a te n e d to overthrow dem ocracy. It p roje c te d
a fu tu re in which th e balance w ould be u pset in favor o f the socialists, who
w ould com e to p o w er by being elected by a clear m ajority o f A ustrian s.135 If
the socialists th e n u sed th e ir dem ocratically gained right to e x p ro p ria te cap
italism, su p p o rte rs o f th e la tte r w ere ex p ected to d e fe n d th eir p ro p e rty and
p osition o f p o w er by resisting. If, th e a rg u m e n t c o n tin u ed , th e bourgeoisie
sh ou ld initiate a co u n te rre v o lu tio n with the object o f re sto rin g the m o n
archy o r c re a tin g a fascist state, th e SDAP would be obliged to use defensive
fo rce (civil war) a n d a defensive dictatorship.
This position on defensive force a n d defensive d ictatorship to safeguard
d em ocracy was a co m p ro m ise h a m m e re d o u t at the congress betw een B auer
a n d Max A dler, in o p po sitio n to R e n n e r .156 T h e latter had a rg u e d th at the
socialists' e n try in to a new coalition with its o p p o n e n ts w ould safeguard the
balance o f forces. A dler had insisted that only the fear of w orker self-
d efen se kept th e bourgeoisie at bay an d the ( lass forces in balance. T he linal
Vienna as Socialist Laboratory 41
p ro g ra m im plied that the SDAP would pro te c t its c ultural ex p erim en t with
force o f arm s if necessary. A ltho u gh Die Reichspost a n d o th e r right-wing
n ew sp ap ers chara c te rize d the defensive force position as a call fo r bloody
revolution, B a u e r’s terse slogan— “ D em ocratic as long as we can be; dicta
to rsh ip only if we are fo rc e d to it, a n d insofar as we are fo rc e d ” — suggested
that p e rh a p s th e SD A P’s firm stan d was only rh etorical a fte r all.137 A test o f
how far the party was p re p a r e d to go to d e fe n d the balance o f forces cam e
s o o n e r th a n th e socialists e x p e c te d .138
O n July 15, 1927, a sp o n ta n e o u s a n d massive w orker revolt in V ienna
directly challenged th e SD A P’s central d oc trin e a n d p u t the survival o f the
repu b lic in q u e stio n .139 By th e e n d o f th e day the Palace o f Justice as well as
th e Reichspost b uildin g h a d b een b u rn e d , 89 p ersons h a d b e e n killed, a n d
5 00 to 1,000 w oun d ed . O n the previous day a ju r y trial in V ienna had fo u n d
th re e right-w ing activists, accused o f m u rd e rin g a socialist m an a n d boy,
in n o c e n t o f “ all w ro n g d o in g .” A fiery editorial in Die Arbeiter-Zeitung o n the
m o rn in g o f July 15 d e n o u n c e d the acquittal as an o u tra g e o u s exam ple o f
class justice. S po n taneo usly w orkers left th e ir factories, shops, an d hom es
a n d m ade th eir way along the fashionable Ringstrasse to the squ are facing
th e Palace o f Justice.
In the b e g in n in g stages o f this developing c o n fro n ta tio n betw een the
V iennese w orking class a n d the real a n d symbolic agents o f law an d o rd e r,
th e socialist leadersh ip avoided taking a stand. O tto B au er actually hid from
a d elegation o f electrical w orkers who cam e to party h e a d q u a rte rs to
d e m a n d o rd e rs to sh u t dow n p ow er p la n ts.140 T h e m any th o usan d s who h ad
g a th e re d in fr o n t o f th e Palace o f Ju stice by n o o n w ere left to act as a sp o n
ta n e o u s mass; n o o n e c o uld blam e the SDAP fo r having o rd e re d o r plan n ed
anything. T h e police was com pletely u n p r e p a r e d a n d th e re fo re u n d e r
m a n n e d because th e ir chief, Jo h a n n e s S chober, h a d been told by SDAP
leaders th a t n o official d e m o n stra tio n was planned.
M o u n te d police seeking to clear the key streets set off the violence, d u r
ing th e c o u rse o f which the police w ere in stru c te d by th eir superiors to fire
h urried ly issued arm y rifles point-blank into the crowds, while various build
ings w ere set ablaze. In the h e a t o f the struggle th e re was a w idespread
d e m a n d by w orkers a n d m em b ers o f th e S ch u tz b u n d (created by the SDAP
in 1923 precisely to p ro te c t the w orkers in situations such as this) fo r the
d istrib u tio n o f arms. Socialist a n d tra d e u n io n leaders refu sed to a pp rov e a
c o urse which n o d o u b t w ould have led to civil war. D iso rd er a n d violence
c o n tin u e d in th e working-class districts th ro u g h o u t th e 16th. A national
strike o f tra n sp o rta tio n a n d in fo rm atio n services, called the same day fo r an
indefinite perio d, was m ad e ineffective outside V ienna, even in industrial
towns, by heavily a rm e d H eim w eh r u nits acting as auxiliary police.
In the a fte rm a th ihe SDAP so u gh t by to u g h language to force C hancel
lor Ignaz Seipel to m ake concessions such as calling new elections, g ra n tin g
a general amnesty, o r initiating a parliam entary investigation. But Seipel
sto o d his g ro u n d an d refused any real c o m p ro m ise .1'" It was a p p a re n t that
m unicipal socialism an d the socialist party cu ltu re in Vienna had m ade no
42 Red Vienna
social p rob lem s b efo re them , w ithout being able to wait fo r party doyens
a n d theorists to h a m m e r o u t e n ab lin g theory. As I have a tte m p te d to d e m
o nstra te , they w ere pragm atists in the spirit o f A ustrom arxism ; the th e o re t
ical justificatio n fo r th e ir decisions o fte n lim ped b eh in d the events. As we
tu r n to the u n iq u e V iennese ex p e rim e n ta tio n with m unicipal socialism, it
will b ecom e clear th a t d u rin g its early years practical im provisation was
based on th e choices left o p e n by the vagueness o f the A ustrom arxist h e ri
tage. Being u n fe tte re d by an inflexible th eoretical fram ew ork was an a dvan
tage in dealing with u n p re d ic ta b le a n d ch anging realities in daily practice.
But as we shall see, th at fre e d o m gave im m ense po w er to a small g ro u p o f
leaders to fashion m unicipal refo rm s using themselves, th e ir personalities
a n d no rm s o f socialization, as th e yardstick. T he d a n g e r loom ed large that,
in stead o f the A ustrom arxist aim o f liberating th e w orkers to act with a
h ig h e r consciousness, a paternalist pragm atism w ould a tte m p t to impose
p ro g ra m s a n d refo rm s on w orkers w ithout including them in the process.
CHAPTER 3
Municipal Socialism
h o u sin g co n stru c tio n fro m 1915 to 1924. In the d ecade b e fo re the war a
yearly average o f 9 ,3 0 0 domiciles h a d b e e n built fo r the private housing
m a rk e t.4
It is to th e socialists’ credit that they recognized the d e te rm in in g role
h o u sin g w ould have to play in th e ir a tte m p t to make V ienna th e showcase
fo r m unicipal socialism. T h eir plans a n d expectations w ent fu rth e r. D ecent
h o u sin g becam e the c o rn e rs to n e o f the SD A P’s p ro ject to create the
“ o rd en tlich e A rbeiterfam ilie,” a p hrase co n n o tin g n o t only orderliness but
also decency and respectability.5 In o th e r words, the socialists aim ed beyond
m unicipal refo rm s tow ard an all-encom passing p ro le ta ria n c u ltu re in which
the physical co n te x t o f a certain type o f hab itatio n would play a central o rg a
nizing role. E nvironm entalism was an im p o rta n t aspect o f A ustrom arxist
subjectivism a n d was th e u n w ritte n basis o f m unicipal reform . Theoretically
it h a d a g re a te r affinity to neo-L am arkianism th a n to Darwin, whose theory
m ad e n o allowance fo r h u m a n in terv en tio n in evolution an d p re c lu d e d the
socialists’ belief th at they could be th e midwives in the creatio n o f “ n eu e
M en sch en .” As we shall see in c h a p te r 6, o n th e questio n o f b irth co ntrol
th e city fathers, led by Ju liu s T an d ler, the councilor fo r health a n d social
welfare, a d o p te d a eugenic view akin to social Darwinism .6
T h e idea o f c reatin g a total cultural en v iro n m e n t grew gradually an d
h ap h azard ly o u t o f the socialist city fa th e rs ’ a ttem p ts to b rin g som e relief to
the h o usin g crisis. W hereas th e re m ight have been a th eoretical affinity
betw een these two aims, in practice they w ere frequ ently at odds, as th e chal
lenge to m ake available the largest n u m b e r o f livable domiciles (with at least
som e o f th e basic am enities o f th e pro m ised d e c e n t life) conflicted with a
grow ing socialist co m m itm ent to c reatin g a special kind o f living env iro n
m e n t fo r the co n tro lled socialization o f th e working-class family. W ith o ut a
d o u b t th e n a tu re o f public hou sin g in Vienna, n o t only because o f its obvi
ous visibility b u t also because o f the underly ing reasons fo r its particu lar
characteristics, becam e th e to u c h sto n e o f th e a tte m p t to create a socialist
p arty culture.
cen tral kitchen a n d din in g room , light cooking facilities in each ap artm e n t,
a c entral laundry, a n d a staff o f h o u sek eepers a n d cooks w ho professionally
p e rfo rm e d th e no rm al ho u sew ork o f each ten ant.
In o th e r w ords, th e H e im h o f c o n fo rm e d rem arkably to the partial
socialization B auer h a d p ro p o s e d f o u r years earlier. But the socialist ra p
p o r te u r o f the d e m a n d fo r c redits to the cooperative never c o n sidered the
advantages o f this m odel o r the feasibility o f e x te n d in g the ex perim ent. H e
merely re s p o n d e d to an e arlier ob jection by th e Christian Social council-
w om an, G abriele W alter, th a t th e b u ild ing ’s collective a rra n g e m e n ts u n d e r
m ined th e housewifely fu n c tio n o f w om en, by a rgu ing th at only a small n u m
b e r o f peo p le w ere involved in the v e n tu re a n d th at the p o p u la tio n at large
w ould n o t b e aifected by it o n e way o r th e o th e r.38 H e im h o f was again on
th e council ag end a in 1925, w hen m unicipal financing fo r the extension o f
th e cooperative to 246 a p a rtm e n ts was pro p o sed . Again, th e re was n o real
d e b a te a bo u t the m erit o f this type o f housing, only o bstructionist a rg u
m en ts from th e m inority a n d a d e m a n d fo r th e acceptance o f an atypical
h o u sin g v e n tu re by th e socialist m ajority.37
T h e a p a rtm e n ts in H e im h o f tu r n e d o u t to be to o expensive fo r w orker
b udgets, because the c o n stru c tio n techniques a n d m aintenan ce o f a single
small com plex w ere to o costly. But th e high quality o f life fo r its fo rtu n a te
te n a n ts was n e v e r in d o u b t. T he e x p an sio n o f 1925 in clu d ed a r o o f terrace
with showers, a n d b etw een mealtim es co n v erted the attractive d inin g ro o m
in to a cafe amply su pp lied with c u rre n t re a d in g m aterial.38 T he idea o f p r o
fessionalization o f h ou sew ork in th e new building projects o f the m unici
pality d ie d w ith this ex p erim en t. But th e SDAP h a d nev er really p re se n te d
th e positive aspects o f this h ou sin g m od el to th e workers. O n e searches in
vain th ro u g h th e pages o f Die Arbeiter-Zeitung, fo r instance, fo r a discussion
a b o u t ad a p tin g th e H e im h o f partial socialization fo r mass housing. W hat
o n e finds is th e negative assessm ent o f such possibilities by th e socialist lum i
nary O tto N e u ra th .39 T h e workers, h e claimed, did n o t w ant such centraliza
tion o f personal n eed s o n a com m u nal basis; such innovations could only be
realized in the fu tu re. But how did N e u ra th o r any socialist party fu n c tio n
ary o r m unicipal councillor know “ w hat th e w orkers w a n te d ” ?
W h e th e r working-class w om en u n d e rs to o d th e possible advantages o f
professionalized housew ork (especially com m unal kitchens) rem ains d o u b t
ful. L e ic h te r’s study o f industrial w orkers reveals a great deal o f confusion
a b o u t w hat such socialization w ould involve.40 Som e w om en expressed the
fe a r th at it w ould ro b th e m o f th e individuality a n d feeling o f co n tro l ex p e
rien ced at ho m e, replacing it with th e m o n o to n y a n d com plusion they ex p e
rien ced in the w orkplace; o th e rs th o u g h t th e cost w ould be to o high.
Y ounger, single w om en w ere m o re favorably disposed to th e idea. But n o n e
seem ed to be well info rm ed , to have re a d a b o u t the possibility o f com bining
family individuality a n d collective facilities, o r to know a b o u t the existence
of H eim hof.
T h r o u g h o u t th e tw o b u ild in g p e rio d s f ro m 1924 to 1 9 3 3 , w h e n th e 3 7 7
h o u s in g p ro je c ts w e re p la n n e d a n d b u ilt, th e S D A I’ failed to c o n d u c t a sin
Municipal Socialism 53
was conceived o r c arried ou t, the m ost significant o f the 370 stru ctu res con
tin u e to m ake th e ir im posing p resen ce felt. At the time these were called
“ p e o p le s ’ palaces,” reflecting b o th th e ir m o n u m e n ta l a p p e a ra n c e a n d their
p o p u la r use.68 D espite a g reat variety o f architectural styles, th e basic c o u rt
yard o rie n ta tio n was used, giving buildings a n d com plexes an inward-
tu rn e d , b o th protective a n d excluding aspect.69 O n e could qu ite easily an d
w itho u t ex ag g eratio n view them , as th e city fathers did, as p role ta ria n oases
in which s un a n d light, space a n d c o lor set the to n e o f a new fo rm o f decent
a n d dignified living.
But w hereas th e re was a striving fo r m on u m en talism in the e x te rio r of
th e projects, th e in te rio r o f the a p a rtm e n ts suffered fro m minimalism. In
th e first p ro g ra m o f 2 5 ,00 0 units, 75 p e rc e n t had 38 sq u are m eters (410
s q u a re feet) o f space, a n d 25 p e rc e n t h a d 48 sq u are m eters (518 squ are
feet), typically with a living r o o m /k itc h e n a n d additional b e d ro o m o r h alf
b e d ro o m . In th e second p ro g ra m , a fte r 1928, the m ajority o f apa rtm e n ts
h a d 40 sq u are m eters (432 sq u are feet), while a sm aller n u m b e r h a d 49 o r
57 sq u a re m eters (529 o r 6 15 sq u a re feet). T he typical layout in this later
g ro u p re d u c e d th e kitchen to a functional small ro o m sep arated from a liv
ing room . S ta n d a rd in all a p a rtm e n ts w ere electricity, ru n n in g cold water,
gas fo r cooking, a toilet with a foyer se p aratin g it from th e o th e r room s, tiled
kitchen a n d toilet floors, a n d h a rd w o o d p a rq u e t flooring in th e rooms.
N o d o u h l th ese m u n icip al a p a rtm e n ts re p re s e n te d a c o n sid e ra b le phys
ical i m p r o v e m e n t o v e r t h e t y p i c a l t e n e m e n t h a b i t a t i o n . Bill t h e y a l s o fell
LEGEND:
P P ra te r
Heu H eu rig en
St S ta d iu m
H S u p e rb lo c k p e o p l e ’s p alaces
w ith 8 0 0 o r m o re a p a r tm e n ts
60 Red Vienna
Model living room in Karl-Marx-Hof. Few workers could afford to buy this
functional furniture. (VGA)
T a n d le r’s own version c o m bin ed elem ents o f neo-L am arkian and social
Darwinist ideas, p ro p o sin g th a t changes in the h u m a n env iro n m e n t could
be tra n sm itte d th ro u g h the g erm plasm a n d th a t a “ n atu ra l selection” car
ried o u t by responsible officials w ould en h an ce an d im prove th e genetic
pool o f fu tu re g e n e ra tio n s.112 At times T a n d le r slipped into eugenic fan ta
sies o f sterilization and o th e r m eans o f rep ro d u c tiv e denial by society, quite
frig h ten in g in th eir im plications.113 F inding n o co n tra d ic tio n betw een these
ideas a n d his co m m itm en t to socialism, he set o u t to fashion a pow erful
organization o f social interv ention to p u t p o p u latio n politics into practice.
U n d e r th e auspices o f the Public W elfare Office, a n u m b e r o f institu
tions w ere c re a te d to assist th e family— co nsidered the g erm cell o f a healthy
p o p u la tio n — in its task o f re a rin g the next generation. W h ere the family
failed to provide optim al conditions, the Public W elfare Office was to p r o
vide te m p o ra ry o r alternative care. T he m unicipality thus e m p o w ered itself
to rem ove children from th eir p aren ts, if it ju d g e d th em deficient in their
n u r tu r in g capability a n d responsibility.114 T a n d le r was attacked repeatedly
in the m unicipal council by Christian Social m em bers who accused him o f
a lienating c h ildren fro m th eir p a re n ts in o r d e r to in d o crin ate th em with
socialist ideas. His stock reply was th a t h e con sid ered the family sacred, b ut
only if it was capable o f p e rfo rm in g its vital fu n c tio n .115 U n d e r T a n d le r’s
directio n the Public W elfare Office p u t th e p o p u la tio n u n d e r surveillance
with th e a rg u m e n t th at preventive welfare, aim ed at raising th e m oral cli
m ate o f families, necessitated that it act in a supervisory capacity.116 T he
m eth o d s em ployed c om b ined persuasion with com pulsion, voluntary c o o p
e ra tio n with ju rid ic a l force.
T h e realm o f m unicipal family supervision was o rganized in lockstep vir
tually fro m c o n cep tio n to a d u lth o o d , w hen the cycle c o n tin u e d as th e fo r
m e r child becam e a p a re n t. T h e m ost original a n d controversial agency was
a m arriage co n sultatio n clinic c re a te d in 1922. Its fu nctio n was to advise
couples in te n t on m arriage a b o u t th eir sexual health, genetic deficits,
h e re d ita ry weaknesses, a n d pro sp ects fo r p ro d u c in g no rm al a n d healthy
c h ild re n .117 T h e clinic o ffered to issue certificates to prospective conjugal
sexual p a rtn e rs th at they w ere free o f disabilities such as syphilis a n d tu b e r
culosis a n d h o p e d th ereby to im prove the quality o f the p o p ulation . But very
few individuals w ere p r e p a r e d f o r such intrusions into th eir private lives,
a n d a fte r ten years the v e n tu re was a d m itte d to be a failure. T h ro u g h o u t its
existence th e clinic m et with violent o pp o sitio n fro m th e ch u rc h a n d the
C hristian Social party (“ th e Jew s are to u ch in g the holy state o f C hristian
m a trim o n y ” ).118 T a n d le r’s tru e inte n tio n in fo u n d in g th e clinic— that o f
using m arriage con su ltatio n fo r w eeding o u t those “ eugenically unfit for
r e p r o d u c tio n ” — and the possible legal misuse o f the case reco rd s n o d o u b t
did n o t escape th e general p u b lic .119 T h e clinic m ade a p o int o f refusing to
have anything to d o with sex counseling o r b irth co n tro l advice, subjects
which might have m ade it attractive a n d useful. T he SDAP a p p ro a c h to
these sensitive subjects is taken u p in c h a p te r (>.
T h e m a r r i a g e c o n s u l t a t i o n c l i n i c w a s t h e o n l y f a i l u r e ; all o t h e r a g e n c i e s
I
Municipal Socialism 69
W m d e ln in <iìe W ie j« ,
f t n T IT T T
3 3 .0 0 0
»ta mKM diftt n
!mgeÌ*mt
53.000
Sniiqlinqs-
p n h ftf,
in denen überdies BidetucKer,
FUnelle, CwmmiemLfen und
•H «, wm der Sttfjlins bederf,
ßnd, wurden den W iener M üt
tern für »Hf* Neugeborenen
M oreover, it ex p o sed him to quite ju stified attacks within his own ranks fo r
having a d o p te d th e non-M arxist view th a t pedagogy was som ehow a neutral
science.180
T h a t th e socialist city fathers su ffered fro m a lack o f realism was espe
cially a p p a re n t in th e ir belief th at the ed ucational re fo rm p ro g ra m they
strug g led to p u t in place was d esired by th e Viennese w orking class o r was
high on its agend a o f needs. Given th e low wages a n d the n e e d fo r young
peop le residing with th eir p a re n ts to c o n trib u te to th e m eager h ousehold
bu dg et, h ig h e r e d ucation , even if the fees were paid by so m eo n e else, still
m ean t th a t th e family h a d to u n d e rta k e the impossible task o f s u p p o rtin g
o n e o f its m em bers fo r years to c o m e .181 As a co n seq uen ce o f this blocked
p ath , working-class families h a d little use fo r talk o f the professions fo r their
offspring. V ocational trainin g leading to b e tte r skills, a m ore qualified jo b ,
a n d h ig h er pay was a n o th e r m atter. But that lay within existing working-
class no rm s o f expectation. T h e re w ere m o re incentives d u rin g the period
fo r skills c re a te d by the increase in white-collar jo b s , and the one-child fam
ily was in a b e tte r position to m ake sacrifices fo r the econom ic a dvancem ent
o f th e ir offspring. Ju d g in g fro m som e absenteeism record s in a typical work
ing-class district, schooling fo r its ow n sake, including enrich m en ts, was n o t
highly r e g a r d e d .182
W ho a m o n g th e w orkers in the socialist cam p were able to benefit from
ed ucation al reform s? T h e traditional answ er w ould be the single children o f
better-off skilled w orkers able to sh o u ld e r the financial b u rd e n o f m aintain
ing a n o n c o n trib u tin g youth past the age o f fo u rteen . But such families also
su ffered fro m insecurity caused by co n tin u o u s high levels o f un em p loy m en t
(am ong skilled w orkers in m etal trades, fo r instance). M ore likely, it was the
ch ild ren o f p aid party fu n ctio naries a n d socialist m unicipal employees with
secu re a n d b e tte r-p a id positions who could take advantage o f en rich m en t
a n d m o re equal access to h ig h er e d u c a tio n .183 This brings us to a central
q uestio n re g a rd in g m unicipal socialism a n d ultimately th e Socialist party
c u ltu re as well: which w orkers w ere the actual audience, who a n d how m any
p a rtic ip a te d o r w ere influenced indirectly? T hese questions a p p e a r n o t to
have tro u b le d socialist leaders at th e time. I f th e ir m unicipal refo rm
atte m p ts fell sh o rt o f setting the stage fo r creatin g “ n e u e M en sch en,” the
p a rty ’s own p ro g ra m o f B ildung was b eing devised a n d e x te n d e d daily to d o
j u s t th a t a n d in a c o n tex t th a t was securely socialist.
CHAPTER 4
I shall exam ine Socialist party c u ltu re from several perspectives: elite cul
tu re a n d c u ltu re theory; the pow er o f the w ritten a n d spoken work; and the
a tte m p ts to en ric h a n d e n n o b le th e w o rkers’ artistic taste. T he im pact o f
these was re stric te d to a m inority o f the ran k a n d file. Sports and w orker
festivals, my last subject fo r discussion, were th e most im p o rtan t cultural
fo rm s a tte m p tin g to eng ag e th e mass o f w orkers in activities th at w ere b o th
actual and symbolic.
fren zied belief th a t a g r e a te r cultural effort could som ehow safeguard the
re p u blic a n d the party as well. The p a rty ’s slogan “ against the idea o f force,
the force o f ideas” tu r n e d o u t to be a costly illusion.39
M agical P o w e rs o f th e W ord
In the SD A P’s a tte m p t to raise the w orkers to a h ig h er cultural level, a strat
egy in th e c reatio n o f a p role ta ria n c o u n te rc u ltu re , th e w ord and p articu
larly the p rin te d w ord played a central role. F o r the p a rty ’s ch ief educational
re fo rm e r, O tto Glöckel, “ th e book is th e strongest w eapon in the class stru g
gle. . . . It raises th e q u estio n o f why . . . a n d the why is th e means to intel
lectual dev elo pm ent a n d knowledge. . . . O n c e people have the cou rag e to
gain knowledge, they m ust becom e socialists.” 40 Such in n o cent idealism
echoes the special im p o rta n c e a ccord ed to the p rin te d w ord by G erm an lib
eralism. A n o th e r stro n g influence o n the socialists’ overevaluation o f the
p o w e r o f the book, it has be e n suggested, was th e b o o k ’s high valuation in
Jew ish trad itio n, given the p re d o m in a n c e o f Jew s am o n g original A ustro-
marxists a n d th eir p ra c titio n e r epigones in the repu b lic.41 We shall look
m o re closely at th e socialists’ intoxication with th e w ord a n d th eir ex pecta
tions a b o u t its magical pow ers o f tran sfo rm atio n in the c o ntext o f the party
press a n d publications, lectures a n d party ed ucation , a n d w orker libraries.
By 1930 th e SDAP, tra d e unions, a n d cooperative societies published
127 new spapers a n d jo u rn a ls with a total p rin t ru n o f 3 ,1 6 1,0 0 0 copies.
This included 7 dailies, 68 specialized periodicals (addressed to tenants,
consum ers, teeto talers, cadres, m oth ers, w om en, a n d those in terested in
culture, to m en tio n b u t a few), a n d 52 trad e u n io n weeklies.42 As Lange-
wiesche has p o in te d o u t, this avalanche o f socialist a n d associated publica
tions b e to k e n e d n o t r e a d e r interest b u t a lack o f co o rd in a tio n .43 A critic o f
this publication m ania hypothesized how many books o f 250 pages each
w ould be available to every m e m b e r o f a socialist organization based o n the
p rin t ru n o f 3.16 million ju s t cited, a n d c o n c lu d e d th at everyone would
receive forty books a year. T o illustrate how w orkers could n o t possibly deal
with this flood o f publications, h e c o n ju re d u p a typical periodical diet a
V iennese party cad re m ight be exp o sed to. Besides a subscription to Die
Arbeiter-Zeitung, h e w ould get two tra d e un io n publications, Der Vertrauens
mann, a n d the V iennese p arty organ, Der Sozialdemokrat, as well as o th e r
publications o f th e m unicipal party organization. H e m ight also receive
autom atically publications such as the te n a n ts ’ association organ, the
S c h u tz b u n d a n d crem a tio n society new sletters, as well as those o f any o f the
forty cultural o rganizations he belo n ged to. If he was m arried, his wife
received an equal pack o f m aterial.44
T h e p o in t is n o t to la m p o o n th e SD A P’s publishing efforts b u t to express
som e d o u b t a b o u t the relationship o f the huge publication figures given a n d
the actual n u m b e r o f w o rk er readers. A closer look at who read what leads
88 Red Vienna
local audiences with larger ones), the total yearly n u m b e r w ould be abo u t
160,000. Leaving aside the likelihood th at a large n u m b e r o f these were
repeaters atte n d in g several events, it is im perative to look at a tte n d a n c e fig
ures for p o p u la r leisure-tim e activities. In the same targ et year o f 1932 soc
cer matches on a weekly basis drew fro m 150,000 to 20 0 ,0 00 spectators, an d
cinemas 500,000 weekly viewers (see c h a p te r 5). No d o u b t th e lecture p ro
gram played an im p o rta n t p a rt in in teg ratin g a limited n u m b e r o f workers
into an aspect o f party life, b u t th e masses o f workers w ere n o t reach ed by
it, n o r could th e high socialist goals o f th e SDAP’s cultural p ro g ra m be really
advanced by it.
The SDAP’s co m m itm en t to th e p ow er o f the w ord was also evident in
the various special schools c re a te d to p re p a re its leadership fo r th e task o f
implem enting th e p a rty ’s p ro g ram s.69 T hese schools w ere given th e task o f
transm itting the essentials o f A ustrom arxist thought, o f s tre n g th e n in g the
loyalty o f lower-level leaders to the h ig h e r echelons, a n d o f inculcating a
revolutionary élan to be tran sm itte d th ro u g h the cultural an d o th e r p ro
grams o f the party. T hey re p re se n te d a specialized a n d very limited aspect
o f the B ildungszentrale’s cu ltu ral activities an d w ere only peripherally
related to its a ttem p ts to reach the masses o f work'-rs. T h e th re e types o f
schools, in ascending o rd e r, w ere A rbeiterschulen fo r party cadres, Partei-
schulen for functionaries, a n d an A rbeiterhochschule fo r fu tu re high-level
leaders. T he c u rriculu m in all o f th e m stressed socialist theory, party o rg a
nization, and c u rre n t politics, with a progressive increase in theory a nd dif
ficulty o f subjects. T h e cad re schools o ffered courses ru n n in g a b ou t ten eve
nings; the functionaries received evening instruction fo r a th ree-m o n th
period; an d the w ork ers’ college o ffered six m onth s o f instru ctio n in a res
ident cam pus setting.
T he n u m b ers involved at all th re e levels were small, accou n tin g for
about 12 p e rc e n t o f b o th cadres a n d functionaries fo r th e first two, an d a
total o f 114 p ersons in the fo u r years th e A rb eiterh o chsch ule was in o p e r
ation. T h e social d istrib ution in th e party schools says m u ch a b o u t the com
position o f the party leadership in general. W orkers w ere greatly u n d e r r e p
resented a m o n g th e stu den ts, while employees a n d civil servants were
greatly o v e rre p re se n te d .70 T hese varied attem pts to p re p a re the party lead
ership ideologically fo r its varied tasks w ere certainly co m m endable, b u t one
notices a decided absence in the cu rric u lu m o f any in stru ction a b o u t the
workers themselves, th e ir traditions, life-styles, com m unities, a n d general
sense o f milieu which would have b e e n crucial in translating the SD A P’s
heavy investm ent in c u ltu re into ways that might have fo u n d p o p u la r
response a n d acceptance.
F o r the socialist cultural leaders, n e ith e r periodicals n o r lectures
em bodied the magical pow ers o f th e w o rd as well as books. T he develop
m ent o f a large netw ork o f w orker libraries becam e th e central aim an d
crow ning achievem ent o f (he Bildungszentrale. Today, when we have
be com e som ew hat skeptical about the transfo rm in g pow er o f books, the
socialists’ long list o f exp ectatio ns seems refreshingly idealistic but also
Socialist Party Culture 93
naive.71 It was believed that th ro u g h books the w orker could be w eaned away
from ch eap am u sem en ts such as Gasthäuser, th a t his basic ignorance a bo u t
th e w orld could be re d u c e d , that he could gradually be guided along an
increm en tal pa th o f literary quality to a pp reciate the serious works o f social
science a n d Marxism, a n d that th ro u g h them h e would be m ade ready to
tra n sfo rm th e chaos o f capitalism into a rational socialist o rd e r. The p re
scribed pa th led from know ledge a ttained th ro u g h h a rd work an d diligence
to th e class struggle at a h ig h er level. It d e m a n d e d m u ch — too m uch, as we
shall see— from the w o rker who was not the ideal type imagined by the
S D A P’s experts.
T h e w orker libraries, like m any o th e r socialist cultural institutions, were
already well d eveloped b e fo re the war. In 1910 various dispersed libraries
were centralized o n a districtw ide basis. Two years later Joseph L uitpold
S tern took over the netw ork u n d e r the aegis o f the B ildungszentrale. In
1914 he published a h a n d b o o k fo r librarians which becam e the bible fo r the
o rganization o f w ork er libraries a n d the tasks o f librarians.72 In it h e p ro
po sed a m odel s tru c tu re fo r all cen ters a n d branches, an d fo r centralized
purchasing; a u n ifo rm system o f cataloguing; a n d a m an dato ry g atherin g o f
statistics by each u n it o n m em bership, titles received, an d books published.
S te r n ’s m ain c o n c e rn in p ro m o tin g the w orker libraries was to com bat the
trash a n d kitsch to which he believed the w orkers, m o re than others, were
e x p o se d .73
This q u est fo r the e n n o b le m e n t o f cultural p ro d u c ts to be consum ed by
th e w orkers becam e a m ain co m p o n e n t o f the SD A P’s cultural p ro g ra m .74
I f books w ere to play a c en tral role in re o rie n tin g the workers, Stern
insisted, libraries w ould have to u n d e rg o the same rationalization as that
b eing in tro d u c e d in in du stry .75 T he p u rp o se o f such centralization, aside
fro m savings to be gained, was con tro l by the B ildungszentrale over the
books m ade available as well as over the read ers themselves. “ T he worker-
lib ra ria n ,” he m ain tained, “ m ust act as the m oral confessor o f his w orker
c o m ra d e s.” 76 His c en tral task, accordingly, was to guide readers an d to
e n c o u ra g e th em to advance fro m simple belles lettres to m ore difficult and
valuable social a n d analytical texts o f socialism a n d science. Above all,
d etailed reco rd s w ere to be kept, a n d bran ch es w ere to be judged on the
basis o f “ th e m o re vigilance, th e m o re success.” 77 S te rn ’s m oralizing atti
tu d e in his cam paign against trash a n d kitsch a n d o n be h a lf o f cultural e n n o
b lem ent set the to n e fo r the SDA P’s ideological a p p ro a c h to the function
o f reading. In place o f an evaluation o f the needs o f re a d e rs and their
choices carried o u t by a Marxist analysis (which one m ight have expected,
given th e eq u a tio n o f M arxism with social science by the fo u n d in g A ustro-
marxists), we find sentim ental preaching.
D espite the prevalence o f such n arro w views am o n g the cultural d irec
to rate, the w orker libraries a p p e a re d to flourish.78 By 1927 m o re th a n a mil
lion books w ere loaned o u t annually. T h e com b in ation o f attractively
d esigned a n d fu rn ish e d b ran ch es (many o f th em located in the new m unic
ipal housing), 53 well-stocked central libraries, a n d 1,064 dedicated volun
94 Red Vien na
housew ife a n d th a t she should paint h e r walls in plain colors to attain a calm
ing effect.121 Only th e n should pictures be chosen carefully— a po rtrait o f
o n e o f the socialist leaders o r a familiar a n d pleasant landscape. “ In short,
a p ictu re th a t suits every m o o d a n d does n o t d istu rb any gu e st.”
I f this a p p ro a c h to a rt in th e w o rk e r’s private sp h ere was to substitute
o n e fo rm o f kitsch fo r a n o th e r, o th ers were c o n c e rn e d a b o ut e n han cing the
w o rk e r’s taste in art by ex p o su re to the very best. Can the c o n tem po rary
p ro le ta ria t achieve the tru e enjoym ent o f art? o n e c o m m e n ta to r asks.122The
bo urg eo is answ er w ould be no, because w orkers lack the trad ition a n d sen
sibility. But th e w orker can be b ro u g h t to full enjoym ent if he visits m use
ums. O n c e th e re , h e sh o uld avoid painters like R ubens a n d Raphael, whose
subjects are fa r rem ov ed from his own experience. H e m ust seek out
“ social, accusing, a n d rebellious art th at portrays his sorrows an d n e e d s,”
such as the work o f R odin, Millet, M eunier, Kollwitz, a n d Zille.
This a ttitud e, th at th e w o rk er will feel m ost com fortable with and most
a p p re c ia te reflections o f his own everyday h ardships a n d struggles— a kind
o f re in fo rc e m e n t o f misery— r a th e r th a n th e real a n d im agined w orld o u t
side his ken (invariably called escapist), p erm eates the SD AP’s orientation
tow ard books, music, th e a te r, a n d art. T he em phasis on social c o n ten t in
such realistic ren d itio n s as those o f Kollwitz o r Zille closely resem bles the
tu r n tow ard socialist realism accom panying th e rise o f Stalin in the Soviet
U nion. H ow ever well in te n tio n ed , asking the w orker to sit dow n to such a
m e a g e r a n d p re sc rib e d cu ltu ral meal, seasoned with adm onitions in p a te r
nalistic tones, d id n o t succeed in en largin g th e realm o f socialist party
culture.
D u rin g th e late 1920s th e Kunststelle a d d e d the m an agem en t o f w orker
feasts a n d festivals to its activities (to b e discussed in th e next section). W ith
th e increasing politicizing o f these as well as m ost o th e r cultural activities
th a t p u t pro p ag and istic values in the fo re fro n t, B ach’s Kunststelle with its
“ elitist a rt c h a tte r ” becam e r e d u n d a n t.123 L a te n t conflicts betw een Bach
a n d youthful critics in the organization came to a he a d a n d led to the d e p a r
tu re o f the Socialist P e rfo rm a n c e G rou p , co m m itted to a g itp ro p a n d caba
r e t .124 I n 1931 Kunst und Volk ceased publication, allegedly fo r financial re a
sons. T he an n u a l r e p o r t o f the national Bildungszentrale fo r that year n o
lo n g e r listed the Kunststelle as a m e m b e r organization.
O n e is fo rc e d to agee with O tto L eichter that the K unststelle failed in
its mission— no t, as h e insists, because it did n o t live u p to its potential, b u t
because it p u rsu e d false a n d hopeless goals. Most o f its artistic p ro g ra m was
based o n tu rn in g the w o rk er into a passive consum er. W hatever active artis
tic reso u rces existed in working-class com m unities w ere reje c te d o r ignored
as petty b o urg eo is a n d th e re fo re in b a d taste a n d subversive o f class in te r
ests. Ultimately, th e K unststelle’s m ain goal was to en n o b le th e a rt a p p re
ciated by th e w orkers by brin g in g th em in c on tact with elite c u ltu re .125 T he
p re su m p tio n u nd erly in g that e n n o b lem en t was th at a p articu lar socialist
o rie n ta tio n to elite art c o uld be devised, so that the w orker c o n su m e r would
be set on th e path o f socialist values in h is tran sform ation .
102 Red Vienna
T o C ulture T h r o u g h A ction:
S p orts an d F estiv a ls as S y m b ols o f P o w er
T h e Socialist p arty c u ltu re discussed so far was based o n th e intellectual
tra n sfo rm a tio n o f w orkers th ro u g h education. N ew spapers a n d jo u rn a ls,
lectures a n d libraries, th e a te r a n d c o n cert p erform an ces, vocal a n d instru
m ental practices, a n d artistic initiations, th o u g h aim ed at all th e workers,
re a c h e d only a varied m inority. Two closely related aspects o f th at party cul
tu re , o rganized sp orts a n d mass festivals, w ere able to a ttract a larg er n u m
b e r o f V iennese w orkers. T hey succeeded mainly because they o ffered an
easy fo rm o f association with mass experience, cate re d to psychological
n eeds o f w orkers fo r relaxation a n d expressions o f self-worth in c o m p e n
sation fo r the increasing te m p o a n d d epersonalization at the w orkplace, a nd
pro v id ed symbolic assurances o f collective strength.
A re c e n t assessm ent o f th e SDAP sp orts p ro g ra m e xaggerates in calling
it “ a fo rm o f cultural revolution . . . that c o n trib u te d m o re to creatin g a
socialist consciousness an d c o n d u c t th an the best-inten tio ned ex p erim ents
o f socialist e d u c a tio n .” 127 Yet th e re is som e tru th to this assertion. H istori
ans o f w orker spo rts have fo r som e lime a ttrib u te d mass participation to the
sh o rte n e d workweek, allowing for m o re leisure lime, and to the intensity,
Socialist Party Culture 103
was devised by the SDAP, were they grudgingly accepted as p a rt o f the cul
tural p ro gram . Even th en, sports w ere never co n sid ered on a p a r with o th e r
activities which com m itted party m em bers o r cadres with political m aturity
w ere ex p ected to engage in.
Politicizing w orker sports m ean t first o f all to differentiate th em from
th eir b o urg eo is c o u n te rp a rts, a n d m u ch ink was spilled on this p oint. B o u r
geois sports, it was charged, laid claim to a neutrality which deflected work
ers from th eir class interests, o rie n te d th em tow ard b ourgeois morals, and
tu rn e d them into glad iato rs.136 Bourgeois sports, m orevoer, were based 011
an individual sta r system a n d re c o rd p e rfo rm a n c e reflecting th e capitalist
o rd e r, w here the stro n g triu m p h e d over the w eak.137 T h e ir g reatest sin was
the conversion o f th e playing field in to an im m oral stage on which p e rfo rm
ers e n te rta in e d passive sp e c ta to rs.138
S u p p o rte rs o f w orker sports m aintain ed th at their fu n d am en tal differ
en ce fro m bo u rg eois sports, which ap p ealed to the lowest instincts and
in d e e d to M am m on, consisted o f th e ir progressive ed u catio n in socialism.
T h e body a n d its physical d evelopm ent, it was arg ued, was the n a tu ra l start
ing place fo r o th e r cultural a n d ed ucational advancem ent, a n d the unity o f
body a n d m ind was m o re p roductive th a n purely m ental activity. But such
physical d ev elo pm en t was n o t to be con sid ered an e n d in itself; it had to be
associated with e d u catio n aim ed at the socialist goal. Every sports o r gym
nastics leader was d ire c te d to becom e an “ ap o stle” o f that id e a .139
Above all, th e arg u m e n t ran, w orker spo rts were a collective experience.
In distinction to art, which was the w ork o f e xp erts a n d d e m a n d e d specta
tors, spo rts could be p a rticip ated in by everyone a n d w ere the dom ain o f
am ateu rs. S p e c ta to r sports w ere at best a private p leasu re,140 bu t even they
could b e given a socialist c o n ten t. I f a w orker soccer team played an d w ork
ers w atched passively, A n to n Tesarek, h e a d o f the R ote Falken, claimed, an
educational process was taking place.141 C om petitio n which’tested the w ork
e rs ’ stre n g th a n d increased th e ir p e rfo rm a n c e was co nsidered natural, so
long as it did n o t becom e excessive a n d h in d e r the com plete developm ent
o f th e individual.142 H ans Gastgeb, secretary o f ASKO, sum m arized the
SD A P’s expectations: a com bin ation o f mass sports with political enlight
en m e n t. This m ea n t sp orts n o t simply fo r distraction o r recreatio n b u t for
the c re a tio n o f a pro le ta ria t m entally a n d physically p re p a re d fo r struggles
to overco m e th e reactionry capitalist system .143
I f o n e co m pares the SD A P’s antibo u rgeois adm onitions with the p ro
po sed socialist distinctions o f w orker sports, the vagueness o f th e fo rm ula
tions becom es a p p a re n t. In p ractice these alleged differences m ust have
largely disap peared . H ow could co m petition in team sports really be kept
w ithin b o u n d s, a n d victors n o t b e acclaim ed?144 Even in individual sports
such as gymnastics a n d cycling, w ere th e re n o t excellent a n d in ferio r a th
letes, a n d c ou ld the losers o f a race be really satisfied with “ having do n e
th eir b e st” ? O n e looks in vain fo r the insights o f A dlerian individual psy
chology allegedly a b so rb e d by p arty fu nction aries (but m o re o f th at later).
The distinction between good p roletarian participant an d d ecad en t b o u t-
Socialist Party Culture 105
Mass calisthenics in the P rater during the International W orker Olympics, 1931
(VGA)
Mass festival in the new stadium, with participants shown toppling the symbolic gilt
idol o f capitalism, 1931 (VGA)
W orker Leisure:
Commercial and Mass Culture
In the SDAP's qu est fo r a total w ork er culture, party leaders used their
p o w er base in th e V ienna m unicipal adm inistration to tra n sfo rm the work
e rs ’ public sph ere. As we have seen, r e fo rm efforts in housing, public health,
e d ucatio n, a n d welfare w ere aim ed at p ro d u c in g a new, orderly, a n d class
conscious w orking class.1 T hese efforts, a n d especially th e p a rty ’s large cul
tural p ro g ra m , w ent b ey on d a tte m p tin g to establish a m o re favorable
w orker en v iro nm ent; they w ere clearly aim ed at ch anging w ork er behavior
as well. In seeking to alter the public sp here, party re fo rm e rs e n c o u n te re d
a traditional political op p o sitio n fro m th e C hristian Social party, the C a th
olic ch u rch , a n d e conom ic p ressu re gro up s. In a tte m p tin g to d o m in ate the
w orkers’ private sp h e re as well, fa r m o re elusive obstacles a n d o p p o n e n ts
were arrayed against the party: w o rker subcultures; the d o m in a n t bourgeois
c u ltu re, a b o u t which the socialists’ position was am biguous; a n d an em erg
ing mass cu ltu re. Mass cu ltu re, particularly in its ability to com mercially p e r
m eate everyday life, was a pow erful adversary to th e p a rty ’s a tte m p t to shape
the w o rkers’ leisure tim e a n d private space. Its m ost u n iq u e quality, p e r
haps, was its ability to tra n sfe r th e mass p ro d u c tio n o f th e w orking w orld to
the a re n a o f leisure tim e.2 As we shall see, party leaders wavered between
rejectin g a n d w anting to e n n o b le what they co n sid ered vulgar influences in
e n te rta in m e n t a n d co n su m p tio n , a n d struggled against this newest m ani
festation o f pleasu re fo r its own sake.
In th e p e rio d u n d e r co n sid eratio n it w ould be a mistake to draw a sharp
distinction betw een com m ercial a n d mass culture. T h e la tter may be seen to
em erg e in A ustria a n d elsew here in E u ro p e a fte r th e tu rn o f the centu ry and
to begin to replace o ld e r form s o f com m ercial culture. We c a n n o t lose sight
o f the fact that mass c u ltu re is com m ercial. But it involves co m m erce o f a
m o re advanced type, ge a re d to the p ro d u c tio n a n d co n su m p tio n o f large
quantities, reach in g various ta rg e te d m arkets, b ut aim ing at a c o m p re h e n
sive one. It clearly parallels the most advanced techniques and aims o f the
most advanced industry at the tim e.'
Worker Leisure: Commercial and Mass Culture 115
C om m ercia l C ulture
O n e o f th e m ost im p o rta n t com m ercial institutions in the life o f the V ien
nese w orking class was th e Gasthaus o r Wirtshaus. T hese establishm ents p ro
vided meals a n d snacks, alcoholic beverages, lodgings, a n d m eeting rooms.
O n S atu rd ay n ig ht a n d Sundays p o p u la r singers e n te rta in e d a n d Schram
meln q u a rte ts (two violins, a bass, a n d a clarinet) played d ance music. In the
last q u a r te r o f th e n in e te e n th century, w hen h a lf the Viennese work force
was still artisanal a n d h a lf the w orkers did n o t live in their own hom es, Gast
häuser w ere a virtual h o m e away fro m h o m e a n d th e m ost im p o rta n t c e n te r
o f w ork er sociability.10 As c o m m u n ication cen ters they also h a d a sexual,
political, a n d a ccu ltu ratin g function: o n w eekends male jo u rn e y m e n an d
fem ale w orkers were able to enjoy th e erotic am bience; jo u rn e y m e n estab
lished bases th e re fo r th eir p articu lar tra d e (Gesellenherbergen), tu rn in g them
into hirin g halls, a locale fo r the settlem ent o f conflicts at the workplace,
a n d strike c enters; a n d the m ajority o f jo u rn e y m e n , who w ere o f Bohemian
a n d M oravian origin a n d spoke Czech at th e w orkplace, a tte m p te d assimi
lation by speaking G erm an.
By 1919 the Gasthaus h a d lost m any o f its prein d ustrial social a n d polit
ical functions. T h e e n o rm o u s increase in m arriages a n d m o re stable w orker
families, a n d the m ain ten an ce o f w artim e re n t co ntro l by the municipal
adm inistratio n , m ade th e su rro g a te dom icile fun ctio n o f the Gasthaus obso
lete. Similarly, th e full-scale d ev elo p m en t o f tra d e unions a n d the Socialist
party largely replaced the Gasthaus as a prim itive c e n te r o f w orker econom ic
a n d political activities. Yet Gasthäuser c o n tin u e d to play a significant role in
the working-class com m unities o f Vienna. T h eir proxim ity to the growing
n u m b e r o f industi ial e n te rp i ises m ade Ihem the lmu hlim e c e n te r o f male
Worker Leisure: Commercial and Mass Culture 117
300 artists w ere still playing to full houses. But c o m petition fro m mass cul
tu re h a d taken its toll: som e o f the m ost fam ous Variétés had b e e n converted
into movie houses in the previous five years (Colosseum, Apollo, J o h a n n
Strauss, N eues O rp h e u m , L u stspieltheater).32 T he Variété as truly p o p u la r
e n te rta in m e n t survived best in the small w ooden stru c tu re s dispersed
th r o u g h o u t th e working-class districts o f Favoriten, O ttakring, an d Brigit
te n a u .33 W ith 200 to 300 seats, a n d prices in the 50 G ro sch en to on e Schil
ling range, they offered alte rn a tin g p rog ram s o f theater, revues, peasant
com edies, a n d Varieté to a loyal public. T o these m ust be a d d e d n u m ero u s
Gasthäuser which prov ided Varieté o n a m uch re d u c e d scale as an e n te rta in
m en t su p p lem en tary to the foo d a n d d rin k consu m ed by th eir custom ers.
T h e smallest establishm ents with less th a n fifty seats, offering Varieté o f
sorts, w ere e x clu ded fro m the m unicipal luxury tax a n d license re q u ire m e n t
a n d c ou ld offer m o re o r less a m a te u r e n te rta in m e n t at very low prices.34
Like th e circus, Varieté was a declining fo rm o f com m ercial e n te rta in m e n t
th at strug g led to m aintain its past popularity. Given the diversity o f estab
lishm ents, the size o f its public is difficult to estimate. It is d o u b tfu l w h eth er
w eekend audiences ever exceeded 2 0 - 3 0 ,0 0 0 . In all likelihood working-
class co nsu m ers fo rm e d less th a n h a lf th a t num b er.
Tw o o th e r com m ercial e n te rta in m e n ts attractive to w orkers deserve
m ention: d a n c in g a n d balls. In the p ostw ar p e rio d the sp o n ta n e o u s d ancing
at Gasthäuser a n d Heurigen was increasingly su p e rse d e d am o n g the y oung
by d a n c in g at com m ercial d a ncin g schools. T hese establishm ents provided
n o t only in stru ctio n b u t also a place fo r the initiated to take th eir pleasure
by exercising th eir skill.35 A Sunday a fte rn o o n enjoyed by you ng w orkers in
this am bience o f p r o p e r dress a n d c o m p o rtm e n t b ro u g h t them into contact
with an unfam iliar b u t attractive world. N o d o u b t dancin g schools also
played an im p o rta n t role in prov id ing a setting fo r the cou rtsh ip o f young
w orkers. T he n a tu re o f this individualistic e n te rta in m e n t particularly dis
tu rb e d Socialist party ed u c a to rs a n d y ou th leaders. T h eir d en u n c ia tio n o f
couple d a n cin g as senseless plesasure-seeking a n d sensuality (a sign o f false
consciousness), a n d th eir c h am p ion ing o f folk dan cin g — in which the circle
symbolized equality, purity o f spirit, a n d the collectivity— will be discussed
later. R elated occasions fo r yo ung w orkers to enjoy couple d an cin g w ere the
public balls o rg an ized — usually annually a ro u n d nationally observed holi
days— by various trades (laundresses, tram waym en, firem en, seamstresses,
etc.). At these festivities d a n cing to live bands, food, alcohol, prizes, a n d spe
cial events w ere a g reat a ttractio n, draw ing large n u m b e rs o f participants.
P o p u la r C ulture C o n d e m n e d
T h e Socialist party viewed p o p u la r culture, the wide array o f com m ercial
a n d noncom m ercial leisure-tim e activities in which th e w orkers partici
124 Red Vienna
tightly fitting dresses, stiff collars, a n d ties. Socialist youth choose the folk
d an ce because it c o rre sp o n d s to th eir ideology o f freedom . But this claim is
d e n ie d by a n o th e r discussant w ho insists that folk dancing has failed to hold
the interest o f yo u th even in the SAJ, a n d th at com m ercial dan cing schools
are h e re to stay.51 I f th e party wants to attract pro le ta ria n youth, it m ust
c o m p ete with social d a ncing en te rta in m e n ts o f its own a n d use them as a
m eans o f agitation. Only th e n will it be able to ed u c a te those who come. A
su b seq u en t critic finds such views a n tiq u a te d a n d unrealistic.52 People are
a ttra c te d to th e SAJ because it provides conviviality: the opposite sex,
sports, a n d trips. F o r th e overw helm ing majority, conviction, c u rre n t poli
tics, a n d th e desire fo r know ledge a n d e d u catio n are th e last reasons for
jo in ing .
T h e final w ord is spoken by a party eld er who has little patience with the
am biguities a n d confusions o f the previous you ng discussants.53 H e rejects
the suggestion that d an cin g can be u sed as a m eans o f a ttracting the u n o r
ganized p ro le ta ria n youth, because social dancing simply can n ot be sepa
ra te d fro m its b ou rg eo is milieu: im m oral smoking, drinking, clothing
m ania, flirtatiousness, a n d m ock gallantry. The values o f abstinence from
sm oking a n d d rin k in g — c en tral to the creation o f “ n e u e M ensch en ” — can
n o t be c o m p ro m ise d even in building a mass organization. Besides, h e adds,
the SAJ could n ev er c o m p ete in a ttractin g seventeen-year-olds who have so
far kept th e ir distance fro m the party, by offering dancing cleansed o f its
b ou rgeo is detritus. Any atte m p t in that direction would n o t only fail b u t also
u n d e rm in e the existing cohesiveness o f SAJ y o uth a n d functionaries.
It com es as n o surprise th at the SDAP ex p ected a g reat deal from the
V iennese w orking masses in whose nam e it spoke. T h e som ew hat ragged dis
cussion above illustrates how the message o f self-denial h a d reach ed certain
echelons o f the SAJ. A t th e same tim e it suggests th a t th e n o rm al desire for
a leisure tim e o f jo y a n d pleasure am o n g the y o u n g c o n tin u e d to be associ
a te d with aspects o f th e p o p u la r culture. T he c on trad ictio n betw een an o u t
right co n d e m n a tio n o f com m ercial leisure, a n d y earning fo r the same on the
p a rt o f th e discussants, could n o t be resolved by the party leadership. It
seems that th e re was a g o o d deal o f wishful thinking in the belief th at the
socialist y o uth w ere such single-m inded a n d fu tu re -o rie n te d zealots as to
deny themselves pleasures outside those de e m e d to serve th e collective
g o o d .54 H e re , as in o th e r aspects o f th e socialists’ cultural p ro gram , th ere is
considerable ig n o ran ce o f b o th th e existing sociocultural c o n tex t in which
w orkers w ere socialized a n d o f the psychological m echanism s constituting
a n d shaping behavior. D espite the SD A P’s alleged a d h e re n c e to A lfred
A d le r’s ego psychology, th e re is little evidence o f it, save a som ew hat vulgar
environm entalist behaviorism , in the p a rty ’s a p p ro a c h to the workers
them selves.55
T h e a p p lic a tio n o f p a rty d o g m a o n p o p u la r c u ltu re to y o u n g w o rk e rs
s t r u g g lin g w ith p r o b l e m s o f id e n tity a n d c a u g h t u p in t h e c o n f u s i n g d e s ire s
f o r c o n f o r m i t y a n d s e l f h o o d is b u t a n o t h e r e x a m p l e o f a p e r s i s t e n t s o c i a l i s t
in se n sitiv ity to t h e w o r k e r s as th e y really w e re . In a t t e m p t i n g to c o m b a t th e
126 Red Vienna
1926 1 2 .4 2 m illio n 2 3 8 ,8 4 6 3 4 ,1 2 0
1928 2 9 .3 9 m illio n 5 6 5 ,2 3 4 8 0 ,7 4 7
1933 2 8 .0 3 m illio n 5 3 9 ,1 6 3 7 7 ,0 2 3
By 1926, which was an off year because o f the reorganization o f the film
industry, th e re w ere already 170 movie th eaters in V ienna, 160 o f which had
daily showings. By 1933 the n u m b e r o f th eaters h a d grow n to 179, with 99
p e rc e n t show ing so u n d films, a n d 7 with over 1,000 seats. As the above fig
u res re p re se n t averages o n a weekly a n d daily basis, certain co rrectio ns must
be m ade so as to arrive at a tte n d a n c e o n days w hen V iennese w orkers were
at leisure. A cco rdin g to th e a te r ow ners an d m anagers, the m ost p o p u la r
days w ere S aturday a n d Sunday, followed by Friday a n d M onday, with a
sh a rp d r o p in ticket sales in midweek. A ttend ance was re d u c e d in general
d u rin g th e five w arm -w eather m o n th s.65 I f we adjust the above figures in the
light o f this in fo rm atio n, th e n u m b e r o f w eekend admissions would m ore
than do u b le the daily averages, yielding a total o f 35 0 ,0 00 filmgoers.
By w hatever yardstick we use— 5 6 0,00 0 weekly filmgoers o r 3 50,000 on
w eekends— th e film h a d b ecom e th e m ost p o p u la r e n te rta in m e n t am o n g
th e V iennese by th e late 1920s. H ow m any o f these w ere workers? U n fo r
tunately, the official film statistics lack the necessary refinem ent, and an
answ er can be given only by ap proxim ation. Accordingly, if we use SDAP
1‘2 8 Red Vienna
escape fro m th e e v er-p resen t reality o f th eir ong o in g struggle in ilio work
place a n d dom estic sp here, was the ability o f film to in c o rp o ra te and even
surpass the m o re traditional a n d still c o nsu m ed form s o f comm ercial <111
ture: m o re spectacular rep re se n ta tio n s o f exotic places and people, sliai pei
images o f daily life, a g re a te r immediacy o f feeling, and a b ro a d e r scope Idi
em pathy than the circus o r Varieté could provide. W hat may have “ sed uced "
w orkers to pay f re q u e n t visits to the cinem a is a new kind o f seeing, and laici
seeing a n d hearing, which allowed them to perceive the subjects o f onlei
ta in m en t in a new and dynam ic way. Even bad a n d trivial films contained
th a t novel charm , which may well acco u n t fo r the success o f some o f the
m ost soporific examples.
But even the very best exam ples o f cinem atic art, with the greatest co m
plexity a n d suggestiveness, such as D erblaueEngel, could be enjoyed in some
o f its dim ensions by w orkers with u nsophisticated taste. T h e same was not
tr u e fo r exam ples o f elite art, such as T hom as M a n n ’s novel The Magìe
M ountain, whose prolix style a n d com plicated p lo tting preclu d ed the pos
sibility o f being enjoyed on a sim pler level. T he visual dynamics o f lilm.
allowing fo r grow th o f p e rc e p tio n with experience, lent a democratic aspect
to cinem a which very few co n te m p o ra rie s were able to a pp reciate.7'
Was the quality o f films viewed by Viennese w orkers really as bad as
socialist critics m ad e it o u t to be? Was it really an ocean o f kitsch in which
an occasional p earl cam e to light? It is well to re m e m b e r that th e re is a wide
sp e c tru m o f quality in all a rt a n d e n te rta in m e n t forms. It is rem arkable that
hardly any o f the c in e m a ’s m ost o u tsp o k e n critics ever asked how many o f
th e plays b ro k e re d by the Kunststelle o r th e n u m e ro u s books serialized in
socialist publications were kitsch as they d efined it.
A b o u t 400 to 500 films were exhibited in Viennese cinemas each year.7:1
O f these, n o d o u b t, th e m ajority w ere o f limited artistic o r intellectual
m e rit— light com edies, historical pageants, musicals, adventures in bizarre
settings, p edestrian tragedies, a n d tales o f m iraculous salvation o r success
m ost o fte n routinely b u t som etim es well crafted, fe a tu rin g well-known stars
a n d negligible screenplays which freq u ently c o n tain ed imaginative scenes.
S om e 20 p e rc e n t p e rh a p s w ere dow nright kitsch— ren ditio n s o f the "fallen
w o m e n ,” the “ c h arm in g crow n p rin c e ,” “ happ y p easan ts,” “ flowers o f the
h a re m ,” a n d “ju n g le a d v e n tu re s” — generally o f low technical qualiiy and
g e a re d to diverting the m ost passive viewers.
T h e weekly diet o f the film public, however, was e n rich ed by the best
films on the in te rn a tio n a l m arket at the time, a n d they w ere frequently being
show n at ten o r m o re th e a te rs at once. A very incom plete sam pling o f these
w ould include Anna Christie, Der letzte M ann, Sacco und Vanzetti, Metropolis,
Berlin Alexanderplatz, Em il m id die Detektive, (Wand Hotel, The Hunchback oj
Notre Dame, M arius, Resurrection, A n American Tragedy, Charley's Aunt, Cas,
Der H auptmann von Kopenick, Huckleberry Finn, Kameradschaft, A nous la lib
erté, a n d Twenty-Four Hours. T h e mix in quality o f films shown in Vienna
a p p e a rs to have been a b o u t the same as in Berlin, Paris, L on d on , an d New
York.74 A look at I he films with the- leading box oil ice sale's for I OîiO/l (.)31
130 Red Vienna
rep lace th e a te r a n d o p e ra was answ ered with the derisive rem ark that the
ability o f d irecto rs to exercise artistic ju d g m e n t was questionable. N o r was
Bela Balazs sp a re d w hen he d e m a n d e d th at critics focus th eir a tten tio n o n
th e visual. Until films b ecom e tru e art, plots will con tin u e to be the critics’
m ain interest, he was told.
A lthough th e c o n fe re n c e exposed the fu n dam ental difference betw een
cinem a p ractitio n ers a n d socialist critics a n d functionaries, it did m ark a
w atersh ed in the SD A P’s actual intervention. It had b een suggested earlier
th a t th e party create a viewers’ organization, p ro d u c e its own films, an d
establish a leasing com pany, all o f which could assure th at films would be
m ade a n d shown that c o rre sp o n d e d to the p a rty ’s aims.80 Plans w ere set in
m otion to realize the last o f these proposals. But the c o n feren ce did not
greatly alte r the te n o r o r im prove the quality o f film reviews.
A lth o ug h Die Arbeiter-Zeitung an d Bildungsarbeit b egan to carry reg u lar
reviews in 1924, a n d Das kleine Blatt and o th e r socialist publications fol
lowed suit late in the decade, films co n tin u e d to be ju d g e d o n th eir literary
m erits above all. O n e leafs in vain th ro u g h the weekly colum n o f Fritz
R osenfeld, th e socialists’ best reviewer, in search o f a deviation from p o tte d
reviews that use pejoratives to ju d g e films o n the basis o f their c o n ten t, with
g ru d g in g asides a b o u t g o o d acting o r w ell-rendered scenery.81 T he cinem a
as a visual ex p erien ce, as a distinct a rt fo rm p re se n t even in average films, is
missing o r at best m e a su re d against the deficiencies o f the plot. Only in the
Soviet film, b ro u g h t to V ienna at the behest o f d istribu tors an d th e a te r ow n
ers, does R osenfeld co m bin e aesthetics a n d c o n te n t in lauditory reviews.82
Even th e best films o f the p e rio d are c o m p a re d unfavorably to the lit
e r a tu r e on which they are based. Der blaue Engel is a case in point. J o h a n n
H irsch, in a long review fo r Das kleine Blatt, th e widest-read socialist daily,
c o n sid e re d the film a d e g ra d e d version o f H ein rich M a n n ’s novel.83 T he
right-w ing views o f A lfred H u g e n b e rg (ow ner o f UFA) h a d prevailed,
H irsch charged, in re d u c in g the novel’s critical sharpness. A lthough he
praises th e cinem atic force o f th e film, he entirely misses the sadom asoch
istic d estru c tio n o f the central ch aracter, re p re se n tin g a way o f life; th e pres
ence o f o bservant b u t passive bystanders d u rin g acts o f brutality; an d the
wolf-pack c h a ra c te r o f th e y o u n g students-—all o f which reflected reality in
W eim ar G erm any far b e tte r th a n th e novel’s attack o n auth oritarian ism in
im perial G erm any. H irsch simply fails to see, o r discounts, these new d im en
sions. H e c oncludes th a t o n e will be able to see this film with pleasure, a d d
ing: “ B ut o n e will benefit intellectually only afterw ard w hen on e reads Pro
fessor Unrat, th e novel o f H ein rich M ann . . . a n d learns fro m it w hat aspects
o f G erm an lite ra tu re may be in clu d ed in the G erm an film a n d what the mas
ters o f the film industry ex clu d e.”
W hile socialist film reviewing a p p e a re d to be stuck in a predictable
groove, a lively exposition o f fu n d am en tal problem s c o n c e rn in g the work
ing class’s a p p ro a c h to cinem a a p p e a re d in leading publications— Der
Jugendliche Arbeiter, Bildungsarbeit, Der Karnpf— a n d was aired on the radio.
A d om inan t th em e o f this discussion, re p e a te d year a lte r year by the SD A P’s
film ex p e rt R osenberg, was ilie imm ense pow er <>l film as e n te rta in m e n t in
com p ariso n to books, theaters, and o th e r cultural forms. lint films re p r e
sen ted the values o f th e bourgeoisie a n d used subtle m eans to make w ork
ing-class audiences believe in the imm utability o f the p re se n t social o rd e r.
T h e first step in tu rn in g the film into a w eapon o f the w orking class was to
demystify it by exposing its class bias.84
T h e q u estio n was how? If the w orkers escaped from the hardships o f
daily life in to th e c in em a’s make-believe w orld o f class deception , what steps
sh o uld th e SDAP take to alter th a t— to b rin g its own cultural politics to
bear?85 Logically, the party ou g h t to p ro d u c e films o f its own b u t, Rosenfeld
insisted, th at was impossible because o f the cost. H e arg u ed that co n tro l o f
movie th e a te rs a n d, th ro u g h them , o f distrib u tio n was feasible. Such social
ist cinem as could draw u p o n G erm an socialist films, Russian films, an d artis
tic films o n the in tern ation al m arket to provide a rich diet fo r proletarian
audiences. T h e profits fro m such an e n te rp rise could be used in c o n ju n c
tion with similar socialist cinem a chains in o th e r cou n tries to create an in te r
n ational socialist p ro d u c tio n com pany w hose films would have a so u n d and
secu re m arket in th e cinem a chains.86
R osen feld ’s p ro p osal was imaginative a n d far-reaching; fu rth e rm o re , as
we shall see, som e practical steps in th a t directio n h a d already be e n taken
by the party. Rosenfeld failed to m en tio n that the difficulties in establishing
a socialist film policy stem m ed fro m differences betw een a small g ro u p o f
yo un g er, m o re politically d a rin g fun ctio n aries o f th e Bildungszentrale,
struggling to c reate the SD A P’s cultural p ro gram , a n d the o lder, m o re cau
tious party leaders who held the pu rse strings. T h e conflict was fought out
b e h in d th e scenes; w hen it surfaced fro m time to time, it revealed how
divided the perc e p tio n s re g a rd in g the po tential o f film really were.
An article by a youn g B ildungszentrale functionary, fo r example,
accused th e party o f no t having re sp o n d e d sufficiently to the p o tential o f
film.87 F o r th e y o u n g e r g en e ra tio n th e tu rb u le n c e o f the war a n d postw ar
w orld was c a p tu re d by the film an d n eglected by the theater. T h e film was
n o t only developing in to a worthy art fo rm b u t also becom ing the perfect
reflection o f th e ra p id te m p o o f co n te m p o ra ry life, a n d th us o f the ex p e ri
ence o f th e masses. Party leaders, h e charg ed , who w ere socialized thirty
years ago, clung to th e a te r a n d c o n c e rt hall as th e pillars o f c u ltu re an d
looked dow n o n film, by which they felt th re a te n e d , as a d eg ra d in g com
mercial p ro d u c t. Until now, he con cluded, the p a rty ’s a p p ro a c h to the film
h a d b e e n half-hearted; th e tim e had com e to u n d e rta k e th e struggle fo r an
A ustrian socialist film.88
It is difficult to explain th e c o n tin u e d d e m a n d until 1933 by socialist film
critics a n d m em bers o f the B ildungszentrale that the SDAP intervene in the
d istrib u tio n a n d exhibition o f films, w hen th e party h a d initiated ju s t such
a pro g ram . O n e can only c o nclud e th at these persisten t critical voices w ere
d ire c te d at the p a rty ’s efforts themselves. H ow far had the party gone in
seeking to influence com m ercial film viewed by working-class audiences,
a n d w hat o p p o rtu n itie s h a d it missed?
T h e Viennese party leadership com m issioned several elec tion campaign
films as early as 1923.H” T h e ex p erim en t proved so successful that additional
films w ere p ro d u c e d f o r the election o f 1927. T hese were exhibited in party-
o w n ed th e a te rs as well as a n u m b e r o f o th ers re n te d specifically fo r special
showings. An o p en -air p ro je c tio n in the N aschm arkt (central market) was
said to have reach ed an audien ce o f 10,000.'"’ In 1930 th e party began the
p ro d u c tio n a n d d istribu tio n o f eight-m illim eter films, which could be shown
anyw here a simple screen could be m o u nted. All these films had an ed u ca
tional aim and pro pag an distic focus on such subjects as May Day celebra
tions, th e accom plishm ents o f th e socialist m unicipal adm inistration, an d
the working-class O lympics o f 1931. Lest only the already converted be
reach ed , th e p arty also e n te re d the a re n a o f com m ercial e n te rta in m e n t
films.
In May 1926 the Kino-Betriebsgesellschaft m .b.H (Kiba) was fo u n d e d
by the A rb e ite rb a n k 91 with the blessing o f the SDAP secretary R obert Dan-
neb erg , the city councillor fo r finances H u g o Breitner, a n d the socialist
m ayor Karl Seitz.92 T h e in te n d e d p u rp o se o f Kiba was to organize and
increase socialist movie th eaters a n d to supply th em with worthy films. T he
tim e f o r such an e n te rp rise was propitious, because a new Viennese cinem a
law taking effect th at year, recalling all fo rm e r th e a te r licenses an d issuing
new ones, m ad e it possible fo r Kiba to buy o r lease additional theaters.
D espite this u n iq u e o p p o rtu n ity , n e ith e r the A rbeiterban k n o r th e party
leaders show ed m u ch interest in exp an sio n .93
O nly a year later, w hen the b ro th e rs E d m u n d an d Philip H a m b e r, ow n
ers o f the p ro d u c tio n /e x h ib itio n firm O ela a n d the distribution com pany
Allianz, b egan to take a leading role in Kiba, did it begin to grow .94 As m an
ag e r o f Kiba, E d m u n d H a m b e r co n v erted five movie houses into first-run
so u n d theaters. By 1931 Kiba m anaged nine theaters in Vienna; by 1932,
twelve. Beginning in 1930, this expansion was c o u p led with profits sufficient
to cover Kiba’s losses d u rin g its first th re e years. T he am bitions o f the H a m
b e r b ro th e rs w ent m u c h fu rth e r. In 1930 th e ir Allianz a n d two fu rth e r dis
trib u tio n firms w ere associated with Kiba, which also p u rch ased th e e x te n
sive Vita film studio at the e n d o f 1 9 3 1.95 T h e following y ear th e H am b ers
e n g aged in a public controversy with B re itn e r over th e increase o f luxury
taxes f o r Kiba th e a te rs.96 A n appeal by th e H am b ers to th e party leadership
fell on d e a f ears, a n d a personal scandal involving th e b ro th e rs served as
g r o u n d fo r th eir dismissal. In view o f Kiba’s overextension, particularly
th ro u g h th e purch ase o f the Vita studio, an d a general loss o f confidence,
b o th the A rb eiterb an k a n d party leadership were anxious to get rid o f Kiba.
N egotiations w ere be g u n with a n u m b e r o f prospective buyers, principal o f
w hich was UFA, the b ê te n o ire o f socialist criticism o f reactionary capitalist
film politics. But Kiba rem ain ed , unsold, only to m eet th e fate o f o th e r party
ente rp rise s a fter F eb ru ary 1934.
As a business Kiba was rem arkably successful. By 1932 the H a m b e r
b ro th e rs had tu rn e d a simple movie th e a te r association into a com plex th e
a te r chain a n d d istrib ution e n te rp rise which supplied 15 p e rc e n t o f V ien
134 Red Vienna
nese cinemas with films.97 Did the quality o f films d istrib u ted a n d shown by
Kiba reflect the long-expressed aim o f the SDAP fo r a socially conscious film
as an a n tid o te to the typical illusions o f the capitalist d re a m factory? They
did not. F ro m the b e g in nin g E d m u n d H a m b e r retain ed co n tro l over film
program m ing, an d his only c o n c e rn was to show a profit. From the late
1920s on, m em bers o f the B ildungszentrale a n d socialist film critics com
plained a b o u t Kiba’s unsocialist a n d antisocialist program m ing. Rosenfeld
particularly lam basted the Kiba m an ag em en t fo r exhibiting films in its th e
aters far w orse— m o re reactionary, m o re trivial, a n d less artistic— th an
could be fo u n d in com m ercial th e a te rs.98 E d m u n d H a m b e r d e fe n d e d his
p rog ram m ing policy b e fo re the SDAP executive: the V iennese public was
n o t interested in political films; Russian films played to smaller audiences;
the middle-class film audience in th eaters supplied by Kiba h a d to be taken
into consideration as well as the w orkers. A pparently, the party executive
agreed with H a m b e r.99Julius D eutsch was sent to make it clear to Rosenfeld
how m uch m oney was at stake; film criticism o f Kiba p rog ram s in Die Arbei-
ter-Zeitung was p u t into o th e r h a n d s .100
Kiba was a com m erical success to the end; as a socialist cultural e x peri
m ent it was a failure fro m the beginning. In 1925 th e Bildungszentrale had
p etitio n ed the party executive to create a V olks-Kino-Verband, an associa
tion o f all the socialist-owned a n d c o n tro lled theaters, with an eye tow ard
im proved block program m in g , only to b e told th at the u n d e rta k in g was too
risky. R osenfeld’s suggestion th at an association o f working-class film view
ers be fo rm e d also failed to get serious consideration. A nd the o p p o rtu n ity
to buy o r lease additional theaters, m ade possible by the cinem a law o f 1926,
was allowed to pass, as was the possibility o f co o p e ra tin g in film p ro d u c tio n
with the G erm an P ro m e th e u s co m p any .101 In stead the SDAP executive,
socialist municipal officials, trad e unions, a n d the A rb eiterb an k gam bled on
the creation o f Kiba. H aving tu rn e d dow n all o th e r suggestions fo r im ple
m en tin g a socialist film policy as to o risky, they took the biggest risk o f all
by p u ttin g themselves into the han d s o f the H a m b e r b ro th e rs, two skillful
practition ers in a new, volatile, a n d ruthless ind u stry .102
T h e failure o f Kiba to b rin g a socialist influence to b e a r o n the mass
m edia revealed a fu n d a m e n ta l split betw een functionaries o f th e Bildung
szentrale, who w anted th e distrib ution a n d exhibition o f films to reflect the
p a rty ’s d e m a n d fo r socially relevant a n d artistically well-made films, and
party bosses in the executive a n d m unicipal g ov ern m en t, who w ere c o n ten t
with com m ercial success. T he socialist notables were tra p p e d by the n arrow
ness o f th e ir cultural perspective. O n the o n e hand, they w anted to raise
films to the level o f elite culture; o n the o th e r, they w anted it to be func
tional— to ed u cate the w orkers a n d aid th em in th e ong o in g class strug
gle.103 Film m ade th em u n co m fo rtab le. Its novelty and experim ental
aspects, its lack o f a long a n d venerable tradition, m ade it as unreliable as
m o d e rn art in the eyes o f party doyens, w ho clung to the established elite
cultu re they had b een taught to respect.
T h e s o c i a l i s t s w e r e n o t a l o n e in f a i l i n g l o u n d e r s t a n d t h e u n i q u e q u a l i
Worker Leisure: Commercial and Mass Culture 135
R adio: P u lp it o f th e P eo p le?
F ro m its origins as a mass m ed iu m in A ustria, radio was a public en te rp rise
p roviding e n te rta in m e n t a n d in fo rm ation but w ithout the com m ercial
im perative o f o th e r mass cultural fo rm s.106 Unlike the privately ow ned film
industry, whose m arket was intern ation al, radio was largely aim ed at the
national public. T hat lim ited focus, to g e th e r with ra d io ’s u n iq u e ability to
p e n e tra te the private sp h e re o f a grow ing listening public, m ade it part o f
th e political b a ttle g ro u n d betw een th e socialists an d th eir Christian Social
a n d o th e r political o p p o n e n ts. As we shall see, the socialists’ single-m inded
c o n c e rn with the c o n te n t o f radio p ro g ra m m in g — as part o f the K ultur-
kam pf— led them to overlook the special qualities o f radio to e n tertain
136 Red Vienna
Listening to the radio with a crystal set also became a communal experience.
(Bilderarchiv, Die W iener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek)
138 Red Vienna
example) was th e re such a relationship betw een the passive a n d the active
p articipant.
It raises the q uestion o f why w orkers ceased to be satisfied with partici
p ation alone. W hat was th e re in soccer as a mass sp o rt th at a ttra c te d tens o f
tho u san ds as spectators? Ju liu s D eutsch, an im p o rta n t sports functionary o f
the SDAP, allegedly h a d the answ er.141 T h e w o rker-spectator was a victim
o f his own desire fo r ch eap distractions, which in th e guise o f political n e u
trality estra n g e d him fro m his own class. Capitalist sports, D eutsch intoned,
seduced the sp e c ta to r with the achievem ents o f stars; socialist sp o rt aim ed
collectively to develop th e physical c o m p eten ce a n d grace o f the w o rker’s
body. In o th e r words, the low motives o f mass sp o rt w ere po sed against the
lofty goals o f the p a rty ’s spo rts activities; the primitive enjoym ents o f sports
fans against the hig her strivings o f the collectivity. Aside from the fact that
D eutsch neglected th e overdisciplined a n d almost militaristic quality o f
ASKO org an ization a n d activities, he simply sidestepped th e question o f
mass sp o rt popularity.
H e n d rik d e M a n ’s earlier critical observations a b o u t the needs and
motives o f w orker spectators cam e m uch closer to the mark. T he workers,
h e observed, a tta in e d a heig h te n e d sense o f self fro m the alternative tension
c re a te d by th e sports c o n te st.142 Present-day sports historians have sug
gested th at the accum u lated em otions a n d aggressions o f the m o n o to n o u s
w orkday c o uld n o lo n g er be co m p e n sa te d f o r by sp o rt p articipation, which
n o lo n g er sufficed to am eliorate feelings o f social inferiority an d give
expression to th e n a tu ra l desire fo r personal recognition. 14'!
B eginning with the late 1920s, b o th socialist a n d mass sp e c ta to r sports
w ere given enthusiastic coverage in the p o p u la r party publications DerKuck-
uck a n d Das kleine Blatt. This is hardly surprisin g w hen we consider that,
fro m the early 1920s on, V ienna was a soccer city. As early as 1926, in te r
national games with 40,0 0 0 spectators w ere high points o f th e season. The
stadium at the H o h e W arte in the n o r th e r n outskirts o f the city, with an
overflow capacity o f u p to 70,000 spectators, was on e o f the largest in
E u r o p e .144 In 1931 the m unicipality built a m o d e rn stadium in the P rater
with a capacity o f 60,000. A lthough the socialist city fathers h a d cre a te d this
facility to h o u se p arty sp o rt activities as well as socialist mass festivals, soccer
m atches w ere a co n sta n t attraction. In the early 1930s, with two large sta
dium s a n d n u m e ro u s district soccer fields, w eekend crowds o f 150,000 to
2 0 0 ,0 0 0 w ere u n e x c e p tio n a l.145 T o these m ust be a d d e d the tens o f
th o u sand s o f rad io fans who tu n e d in to occasional direct broadcasts o f
im p o rta n t games.
In view o f such large a tte n d a n c e figures, the draw ing p o w er o f mass
s p e c ta to r spo rts can hardly be disputed. It rem ains to place these in p e r
spective in relation to noncom m ercial a n d com m erical sports a n d the great
variety o f o th e r leisure-tim e activities in which Viennese w orkers partici
p a te d so enthusiastically a n d in such large num bers.
T h e S D A P ’s d e s i r e t o p e r m e a t e t h e w o r k e r s ' p r i v a t e s p h e r e a n d t o till t h a t
willi a lig h l n e t w o r k o f p a r t y - o r g a n i z e d a n d p a r t y - d i r e c t e d < iillu i.il a c tiv itie s
Worker Leisure: Commercial and Mass Culture 143
sam e time. Friends, new spapers, o r previous films with the same actors
could d e te rm in e th e choice. O r no a p p a re n t choice n eed ed to be made
beyo n d im m ediate im pulse o r convenience. R adio could be kept playing as
a b a c k g ro u n d d istractio n to which the listener tu n e d in and out, o r specific
p ro g ra m s could be selected. In e ith e r case, the m en u o f choices was p re
d e te rm in e d a n d th e same fo r everyone, co n tro l was private an d com plete,
a n d the social c o n tex t was the domicile. Such flexibility o f choice was a lib
e ra tin g experience, in co n tra st to the discipline a n d restrictions o f the work
place. M oreover, th e p rice differentials in movie theaters w ere m uch smaller
th a n in o p e ra o r the a te r, a n d radio fees w ere the same fo r everyone. Enjoy
m e n t o f rad io a n d film re q u ire d little effort a n d at th e same time gave a sense
o f belonging, o f being e qu al to others.
W ere the audiences o f th e mass m edia really as passive as the socialists
believed— ready victims o f bad taste a n d hostile ideologies? Until recently
o n e simply assum ed th a t audience rece p tio n a n d p e rc e p tio n w ere the same.
This w ent fo r mass e n te rta in m e n t as well as mass con su m p tio n products.
But the process o f p e rc e p tio n ap pears to be very com plex, involving the p e r
sonality o f viewers as d ifferen tiated in various ways: by age, gen der, form al
a n d in fo rm al e d u catio n , political experience, a n d so on. Studies o f A m eri
can film audiences in th e early silent era have revealed that th ere was c o n
siderable verbal a n d physical audience reaction to what a p p e a re d on the
s c re e n .149 In a similar way, fascination with a p a rtic u la r radio p ro g ram , fol
lowing it weekly a n d with co m m entary a n d discussion o r later reference
a m o n g peers, as well as leaving the radio on a n d using it as a kind o f envi
ro n m e n ta l b a ck grou n d, are exam ples o f in teractio n with the mass media.
O n e should n o t castigate the socialists fo r b eing no m o re sophisticated
a b o u t mass c u ltu re th a n anyone else at the time, o r fo r failing to recognize
that the relationship b etw een p ro d u c tio n , con sum p tio n , and use was n o t a
linear process o p e n to simplistic co rrection s based o n party dogm a. But
th e ir lack o f psychological insight into the life-styles a n d daily pressures on
th e w orking class fo r w hom they claimed to speak, a n d th eir unsubtlety in
a rg u in g against the “ o t h e r ” cultures an d fo r th eir own, suggest why their
p ro le ta ria n c o u n te rc u ltu re failed to a ttra c t a m ajority o f workers. U n fo r
tunately fo r the SDAP, the purveyors o f mass cu ltu re w ere far m ore adept
in a ttra c tin g th eir audience.
CHAPTER 6
T h e “ N e w W om a n ” an d th e “T r ip le B u r d e n ”
W hat actual place was acc o rd e d to w om en in th e cultural ex p erim en t to
tra n sfo rm working-class life? Socialist party publications were silent o r at
best o b tu se o n the subject o f w om en p e r se o r o f female consciousness and
identity. This subject was generally su bsum ed u n d e r various h ig h er social
goals: th e creatio n o f ordentliche7 (orderly, d ecen t, respectable, a n d disci
plined) w orker families; the n e e d fo r rational a n d co n tro lled re p ro d u c tio n ,
leading to a “ healthy ” new g e neratio n ; a n d the desire to make a varied party
life c entral to th e lives o f workers. Since fem ale w orkers a c c o u n te d for
alm ost 40 p e rc e n t o f th e total labo r force, a n d since 80 p e rc e n t o f m arried
w om en w ere in som e way em ployed,8 the party lite ra tu re devoted consid
erab le space to th e plight o f w om en com pelled to b e a r the triple b u rd e n o f
work, h ousehold, a n d child rearin g .9 In a tte m p tin g to rescue working-class
w om en fro m this plight, th e socialist re fo rm e rs hypostatized th e “ new
w o m an ” as the female pa rt o f the “ ne u e M ensch en ” they were in the p r o
cess o f creating. As we shall see, h e re as elsew here in the socialists' (rails-
148 Red Vienna
Utilitarian clothing contrasted with bourgeois I.oose-fitting clothing, sensible shoes, and
linery. (Die Unzufriedene) bobbed hair (VGA)
2.&ahr♦ ÎVp.îO
if*. M a t tÇJC
l!l\l> ANNIT
tum
mality, som eth in g exp ected o f them , a n d that only 21.7 p e rc e n t o f the
w om en trad e unionists in L e ic h te r’s study ever a tte n d e d u n io n meetings
a n d only 3 p ercen t re a d the un io n p a p e rs.62
Why, then, did wom en w ork in factories? L eichter concludes that it was
o u t o f p u re econom ic necessity.63 W ould they have c o n tin u e d to work, if
th eir h u sband s o r fath ers h a d be e n able to su p p o rt them ? Eighty-five p e r
cent answ ered no .64 T h e im peratives fo r such a choice are n o t difficult to
u n d e rsta n d . A re tre a t from work into the h o usehold was th e only way o pen
fo r w om en w orkers to re d u c e the triple b u rd e n . N eith er the city fathers n o r
the socialist re fo rm e rs had be e n able to create sufficient a n d a p p ro p ria te
social services to re d u c e th eir la b o r in the dom estic sp here, n o r h a d they
seriously b ro a c h e d th e traditional sexual division o f la b o r there, which
w ould have m ade a g re a te r d ifference th a n all th e labor-saving devices and
rationalization schemes. Yet th e re are indications that w om en derived cer
tain psychological benefits fro m w ork outside the ho m e in the form o f
female solidarity.65
I f we look at th e b a re facts o ffered in L eic h te r’s study, we n e e d hardly
w o n d e r th a t w orking w om en w ere light years rem oved from th at attractive
image o f the new w om an p ro je c te d in the socialist literature. How could a
w orking w om an tra n sfo rm h e r body in to the figure o f a garçon, w hen h e r
diet c onsisted largely o f b read , starchy grains, a n d fat; w hen coffee was h e r
mainstay m o rning, n oo n , a n d night; an d sugar was th e cheapest source o f
calories?66 W hat tim e o r energy was th e re in the w orking w o m an ’s day for
sports, m eetings, cinem a, concerts, theaters, o r even reading?67 Given the
stress o f m eetin g h e r daily responsibilities, what o p p o rtu n ity was th e re fo r
h e r to be “ fearless, o p en , a n d relax ed ,” to becom e “ a c o m ra d e to h e r h u s
b a n d a n d frien d to h e r c h ild re n ” ?
A w o rd o r two a b o u t the great variety o f helpful hints to th e hou sew ife/
m o th e r served u p by th e socialist re fo rm e rs should suffice. Labor-saving
im plem ents w ere simply bey on d th e m eans o f all b u t a few w orking women.
N o r did they have th e time to organize the collective use, o r even th e small
change necessary f o r th e collective pu rch ase, o f the same. H ow could the
typical k itch en-and -roo m o r ro om -and-a-half w orker a p a rtm e n t be ratio
nalized, given th e density o f h abitation, multiple use o f all space, a n d fre
q u e n t absence o f basic amenities? T h e p ro b lem was n o t fu r th e r o r b e tte r
o rganization b u t m o re space. F o r m ost w om en, the daily ablutions called fo r
w ould have m ea n t strip p in g in the kitchen in full view o f children a n d o th e r
adults, n o t to speak o f b rin g in g cold w ater from the hallway tap. T he ex e r
cise fo rced u p o n m ost w orking w om en consisted o f h ou seh o ld p reparatio n s
a fte r rising a n d a brisk walk to the workplace. Calisthenics, even fo r ten m in
utes, was fo r w om en with m uch m o re leisure in th eir daily routines. W orking
w om en w ho becam e p re g n a n t surely did not have to be told what was best
for th em a n d the infant to com e. It was not o ut o f ignorance that they cut
sh o rt th e ir legally g u a ra n te e d lying-in a n d p o stp a rtu m leaves but o u t o f fear
o f losing th e ir jobs.68 M oreover, how c ould th e average p regn ant o r nursing
w orking wom an avoid heavy work, as she was counseled to by tin1reform ers,
The Worker Family: Invasions of the Private Sphere
P o p u la tio n P olitics
Socialist periodical a n d pam ph let lite ra tu re was obsessed with the dangers
o f p ro stitu tio n , to which it claim ed working-class females were exposed. In
p a rt these fears w ere only a con tin u a tio n o f a m ajo r p reo ccup atio n o f mid
dle-class re fo rm e rs o f the 1880s an d 1890s.80 They also reflected the p o p
u la r a n d totally unreliable tracts on the d ang ers an d evils o f prostitu tio n and
pervasiveness o f venereal disease circulating in th e 1920s.81 But even the
increase o f p ro stitu tio n d u rin g w artim e and the im m ediate postw ar period,
a f u r th e r sou rce o f socialist anxiety, seems to have been exaggerated. In
1920 th e re w ere eight th o u sa n d arrests fo r p ro stitu tio n in Vienna, an d 40
p e rc e n t o f those a rre ste d w ere fro m the m iddle class.82 A later survey <>l
venereologists, gynecologists, a n d alienists p o in te d to the m arked decline ol
p ro stitu tio n in postw ar V ienna.83 A ttem p ts to lay the ghost o f decad ence to
rest a n d to situate sexual waywardness within the con tex t o f social neglect
in general w ere ra re a n d re a c h e d only a select audience o f specialists.84 For
p o p u la r c o n su m p tio n th e socialists provided cautionary and moralizing
articles a n d tracts.
Socialist party serm onizing against sexual decad en ce began early. An
article o f N ov em b er 1919, in th e biweekly fo r female SDAP m em bers, took
th e re a d e r rapidly th ro u g h the general evils o f capitalism to the dangers ol
fem ale prom iscuity, leading ultim ately to p ro stitu tio n .8"’ T he two, although
sequential, w ere different, th e anonym ous a u th o r insisted. Prom iscuous
w om en eng ag ed in sexual in terco u rse fo r its own sake because they desired
m en, w hereas p ro stitu tes sold themselves fo r money. But “ m o th e rs ” did
n eith er, because they d esired only o n e specific m an an d engaged in intei
c o urse only fo r the p u rp o s e o f p rocreatio n . F a r m o re influential were the
m arriage pam phlets o f J o h a n n Ferch, a p o p u la r socialist w riter o f romanli(
fiction a n d f o u n d e r o f the U nion Against F o rced M oth erho o d. O n e ol his
fre qu ently r e p rin te d p am phlets is a tre a su re trove o f m ale middle-class at 11
tud es o n m arriag e a n d sexuality.81’ H e begins by proclaim ing that the plat <■
o f sex in love a n d m arriage has b een exaggerated, fulm inates against those
who call fo r sexual fre e d o m fo r yo ung wom en as despoilers o f the ideal <>1
hom em aking, catalogs the evils o f prem arital sex, a n d w arns that casual love
will make a p e rso n incapable o f th e tru e love on which m arriage is built. Nor
does Ferch neglect th e d o u b le standard: the h o r r o r a m an m ight feel up o n
discovering th at his “ tru e love” h a d b e e n possessed by o th e r men. In view
o f the present difficulties in fo u n d in g a hom e, the prereq uisite o f a happy
m arriage, he advises w om en to be o n th eir g u a rd against sexual desire,
which generally stem s fro m men.
Both o f these p atro n izin g w arnings are reminiscent o f n in e te e n tlw en-
tury m oralizing in G erm any, France, England, an d Austria. A g re a te r irony
158 Red Vienna
lies in the fact that these socialist serm o n s— restricting th e conjugal act to
p ro c re a tio n by m arried w om en a n d d e n o u n c in g prem arital sex as the act o f
fallen angels— m ight have com e directly from the pastoral letters o f Aus
trian bishops in 1919 a n d virtually every year th e re a fte r.87
T h e above exam ples are typical o f the verbal sublim ation served u p in
th e party literatu re. O n e f u r th e r illustration is necessary to d e m o n stra te the
p re d o m in a n t eugenic strain in virtually all discussions o f the sexual ques
tion. A physician w riting in Die Unzufriedene, th e SD A P’s p o p u la r weekly
aim ed at u n afh liated w om en, p raised the virtues o f m arriage a n d building a
h om e, b u t strongly u rg e d w om en n o t to succum b to the prevalent n o tio n o f
love w ithout m arriage.88 Sexual relations b e fo re the age o f twenty w ere p a r
ticularly dan g ero u s, the d o c to r insisted, because the fem ale sexual organs,
as yet im m ature, w ould be p e rm an en tly d am aged an d fu tu re offspring
might be h arm e d . M oreover, n o w om an should e n te r the state o f m atrim ony
w ithout o b tain in g a certificate o f h ealth from h e r prospective spouse, since
th e well-being o f the n ext g en e ra tio n was at stake.8“
In a la te r attack o n sexual abstinence literatu re, Wilhelm Reich singled
o u t the h arm fu lness o f designating an arbitrary age— twenty o r even
tw enty-four— as medically a p p ro p ria te fo r the onset o f sexual intercourse.
In his ex p erien ce as a sex counselor, he m aintained, those who h a d no t
m ad e the transitio n fro m m a stu rbatio n to in terco u rse by the age o f twenty
e x p e rie n c e d difficulties in d o in g so later.90
As early as 1922, u n d e r the gu idan ce o f the anatom ist Julius T andler,
th e m unicipal council c re a te d a m arriag e co nsultation clinic to certify to the
health o f prospective sexual p a rtn e rs. Its directo r, the gynecologist Karl
Kautsky, J r ., m ade it clear that the central p u rp o se o f the clinic was to p re
vent the in h eritan ce o f disabilities a n d to im prove th e “ quality” o f the p o p
ulation. In his publicity fo r the clinic Kautsky assured the public th at n o co n
traceptives w ould be provided. By 1927 T a n d le r a n d Kautsky w ere forced
to a dm it th a t th e clinic was a failure f o r lack o f clients. In G erm any, by c o n
trast, o n e h u n d r e d such clinics h a d b e e n c re a te d by 1928, providing in fo r
m ation o n c o n tra c e p tio n a n d sexual te c h n iq u e .91
T h e subject o f sexual prom iscuity was also aired in th e m o re scientific
setting o f an in tern atio n al congress o f the W orld League fo r Sexual R eform
in 1931. T h e re T an d ler, a socialist m e m b e r o f the m unicipal council and
h e a d o f its Public W elfare Office, p re s e n te d the official SDAP view.92 Sexual
pro b lem s arising fro m sexual pathology, he asserted, were one o f th e p rin
cipal sources o f m o ral decay a n d social disintegration. T he c h ief cause o f
this misery, he insisted, was the overcrow ding o f habitations; th e re fo re the
basis o f sexual re fo rm m ust be a public p ro g ra m to create new housin g for
the w orking class.93 In th e en su in g discussion T a n d le r was criticized fo r link
ing sexuality essentially with p ro c re a tio n , fo r failing to recognize it as a spe
cial co n d itio n o f h u m a n existence, a n d fo r avoiding the reality that p ro m
iscuity in th e w orking class had its origins in the repression o f w om en by
m e n ." A f u r th e r interpellatio n challenged the right o f society to punish the
I'he Worker Family: Invasions of the Private Sphere 159
Vienna, also served to e n h a n c e the passivity o f the rank a n d file. A fter all,
w hat n e e d was th e re fo r p o p u la r expression on a b o rtio n (or o n o th e r
issues), w hen th e party claim ed to be taking care o f all o f th e w orkers’ needs
a n d pro b lem s th ro u g h its netw o rk o f social a n d cultural organizations?
Such criticism m ust n o t overlook the fact th at th e SDAP h a d genuine
reasons fo r fearin g th e op p o sitio n o f the C hristian Socials on the abo rtio n
a n d b irth c o n tro l issues. In no E u ro p e a n c o u ntry did the Catholic church
advance m o re conservative views o r play a m o re d irect political ro le .124
Every a tte m p t by the socialists to red u c e the public influence o f the church,
such as th e abolition o f com pulsory religious instruction in the schools,
resu lted in a b itte r struggle in p arliam en t with the C hristian Socials, an d in
the streets with a ho st o f Catholic A ction g ro u p s .125 Since the church
e q u a te d m orality with Christianity, o f which it was the sole g u ardian an d
only spokesm an, it fo u g h t m ost vigorously any a ttem p ts to ta m p e r with what
it d efin ed loosely as m oral conduct. It e q u a te d a b o rtio n with m u r d e r and
th re a te n e d transgressors with excom m unication, d e n o u n c e d the artificial
restrictio n o f th e n u m b e r o f children in families as blasphemy, o p po sed
coed ucatio n a n d sex e d u catio n in th e schools as invitations to lust, and
b lam ed all these “ signs o f m o d e rn d e g en eracy ” on socialist im m orality.126
Several pastoral letters w ere specifically addressed to the m oral co n du ct
o f girls a n d w om en in the form o f a d m o n itio n s.127 Girls w ere to be segre
g ated a n d closely g u a rd e d d u rin g gymnastics a n d swimming; d u rin g medical
exam inations in the schools th eir m odesty was to be assured by fem ale phy
sicians; a n d they w ere to be re stra in e d from m ixed activities such as hiking
a n d d a ncin g o r else be closely c h a p e ro n e d . W om en, as guardians o f “ p u re
m orality,” w ere c a u tio n e d against w earing revealing m o d e rn clothing an d
in stru c te d to b ath e only at sex-segregated pools an d beaches. A ttem pts by
th e ch u rch to convert its m o ral dicta into secular law were narrow ly p r e
v e n te d by th e SDAP o n constitutional g r o u n d s .128
D u rin g the 1920s several incidents b ro u g h t th e K ulturkam pf to the p oint
o f explosion, all o f th em involving sexuality a n d public morality. T h e first
o f these revolved a r o u n d th e V ienna p re m ie re in 1921 o f A rth u r Schnitz-
le r’s play Der Reigen and p itte d the C hristian Social federal governm ent
against th e socialist V iennese municipal a n d provincial g o v e rn m e n t.129 At
issue was the central the m e o f the play in ten scenes linking heterosexual
couples in an u n e n d in g chain o f coital relations. T hese, c u ttin g across class
lines, re p re se n te d a seamless web o f lies a n d desire, deceit a n d misery, cal
culation a n d feeling. T he C hristian Social press waged a cam paign o f d e n u n
ciation against Schnitzler a n d his socialist s u p p o rte rs in vicious anti-Semitic
epithets, an d various C atholic A ction g ro u p s p re p a re d fo r physical in te r
vention to prevent th e play’s p e rfo rm a n c e beyond a trial period. T h e SDAP
chose to fight the issue o f p o rn o g ra p h y a n d censorship o n the constitutional
g ro u n d s th at the V iennese g o vernm en t was legally e m p o w ered to make a
decision in the case. T h e party refu sed to d e fe n d the artistic m erits o f
Schnitzler’s reflections o n sexuality o r to answ er the Christian Social
charges o f sexual degeneracy. T h e m ayor o f Vienna, J a k o b K cum ann,
164 Red Vienna
Y o u th : A b s tin e n c e , D is c i p li n e , a n d S u b li m a t io n
I
166 Red Vienna
ings re g a rd in g a m inim um age w hen such activities m ight com m ence. But-
tin g e r believed this to b e seventeen! His girlfriend was far from happy a bo u t
this delay, a n d la te r o n a b o u t the lim ited satisfaction affo rded by coitus
in te rru p tu s (because o f the unavailability o f contraceptives). A fter several
years o f this relationship the girl m oved to Vienna; B u tting er rem ained
faithful to h e r a n d p racticed abstinence fo r m o re than th re e years. W hat is
revealing a b o u t this a cco u n t is the coexistence o f traditional practices (ini
tiation age) a n d socialist prescription s o n sexuality.
T h a t the party was n o t u naw are o f the limited effectiveness o f its stric
tu re s on sexual pu rity a n d sublim ation can be seen from the disciplinary
m easures taken against party m em bers, especially th e Socialist W o rker
Y outh, f o r unsocialist sexual b e h a v io r.155T h e m ain rem edy fo r such possible
transgressions by socialist y outh was sublim ation th ro u g h body c u ltu re an d
sports, o ffered in the b elief that physical health w ould lead to m ental health
as well.150 In d e e d , nearly m iraculous pow ers were a ttrib u te d to socialist
sports, which w ould n o t build cham pions o r fo ster aggressive com petition
like those o f the bourgeoisie, b u t w ould fu r th e r the d evelopm ent o f collec
tive effort, class solidarity, a n d com rad esh ip a n d at th e same time en co urage
individual physical fulfillm ent (see c h a p te r 5). H ow successful such “ cold
sh o w erin g ” was in p re v e n tin g im p u re th o u g h ts a n d deeds we shall see
presently.
T h e socialists’ p ro m ised liberation o f youth th ro u g h the netw ork o f
party organizations did n o t include sexuality. T h e sexes p articipated
to g e th e r in all the p ro ffe re d activities, b u t n o sexual in teraction was
ex p e c te d to take place. Naivete, puritanism , a n d a d o g ged dete rm in a tio n to
keep all p ow er in th eir own han d s prevailed at the highest level o f party lead
e rs h ip .157 M ino r fu n ctio n aries in d irect contact with adolescent yo u th som e
times dealt with th e palpable sexuality o f th eir charges with toleratio n bu t
m o re generally re m a in e d blind to such tensions in th e ir g ro u p s .158 T h e p a r
ty’s resp o n se to sexuality in its yo u th organizations, offering “ m o re o f the
sam e,” finally led to a fierce critique o f the whole y ou th p ro g ra m an d p a r
ticularly its avoidance o f th e problem s o f sexuality. F o r a sh o rt time (1 9 3 0 -
33) “ the crisis o f y o u th ” becam e a catchw ord in party circles. W ilhelm Reich
a n d E rn st Fischer w ere the m ain protagonists.
W hat was the n a tu r e o f these critiques o f socialist youth policy? A c o n
stan t in all o f R eich’s writings betw een 1929 a n d 1931 was a class analysis
o f th e p ro b le m o f working-class sexuality that w ent as follows159: the d o m i
n a n t b o urg eo is c u ltu re has u sed sexual rep ressio n o f th e w orkers as a m eans
o f subjugation; the poverty o f w orker sexuality (from abstinence to b ru ta l
ity) is m aintain ed by th e conditions u n d e r which w orkers are fo rced to live;
fo r youth, sexual d ep riv atio n has led to a crisis which socialist organizations
have continually evaded; a ttem p ts to sublim ate youthful sexuality th ro u g h
sp o rts a n d o th e r activities have left youth with sexual conflicts that fre
q uently lead to psychological disturbances.
F i s c h e r ’s a t t a c k o n t h e S D A I * w a s m o r e p o i n t e d . 1110 T h e s o c i a l i s t y o u t h
o r g a n i z a t i o n s , lie c h a r g e d , h a d i n t r o d u c e d r e p r e s s i v e m e c h a n i s m s a g a in s t
17 0 Red Vienna
P u r i t a n i s m a n d S e x u a l R e a li ti e s
A fte r this som ew hat heady ex p lo ratio n o f Socialist party concep tio n s and
practices, it becom es necessary to tu r n to th e w orkers’ everyday life. It is a
w orld which the socialist re fo rm e rs claim ed to u n d e rsta n d b e tte r th a n its
d enizens a n d which, they w ere sure, only they could transform . But in reality
th e w ell-m eaning socialist leaders knew little from firsthand exp erience
about w orkers’ daily lives. T he following attem p t to recon stru ct w orkers’
sexual lives as seen fro m below is b o u n d lo be liau m e n ia rv and to rely in
The Worker Family: Invasions of the Private Sphere 171
W ithout exception, R ada maintains, it cam e fro m the daily ex perience in the
hom e: the p a re n ta l act in the sh ared b e d ro o m , the b irth o f y o u n g er siblings,
the “ m isfo rtu n e ” o f an o ld e r sister, discussions am o n g fem ale family m em
bers a n d neighbors. F o r a small p e rc e n ta g e o f girls, this know ledge was su p
p le m e n te d by sexual e x perim en tation .
F o r th e girls in h e r charge, R ada observes, sexuality was n o t som ething
mysterious a n d fo rb id d e n to be w hispered a b ou t. It was talked a b o u t only
rarely and th e n w ithout any sense o f reserve o r sham e (as o n e would find
a m o n g middle-class girls o f th at age). In short, fo r working-class girls sex
uality was a m atter-of-fact p a rt o f th e ir daily lives, which was a cumulative
p a rt o f th eir ex p erien ce fro m the earliest years. O n e o th e r finding deserves
m en tio n . Away fro m school the girls h a d little supervision, with b o th p a r
ents freq u en tly w orking a n d nearly h a lf o f th e girls spen din g even Sundays
o n th eir o w n .171 But, as Sieder makes clear, even in hom es w here th e re was
p a re n ta l supervision— the c o n tro l o f hom ew ork by the father, for
instan ce— the co m m o n d ete rm in a n ts o f scarcity a n d crow ding prevailed.172
H ild eg ard H e tz e r seconds the findings o f R ada in h e r study o f working-
class children a n d y o u th .171 But she draw s a distinction betw een the cared-
fo r a n d u nca re d -fo r. It is am o ng th e latte r th at she finds n o t only ready
conversance with sexual subjects b u t also a variety o f sexual experiences
including in te rc o u rse (fourteen- to sixteen-year-old girls). T he cared-for,
she claims, have m o re self-control over th e ir drives a n d are m o re given to
intellectual a n d cultural p u rsu its.174 But h e r categories are vague: by “ cared-
f o r ” she m eans b ou rgeo is o r skilled elite workers; by “ u n c a re d -fo r” she sug
gests the w orking class as a whole. Both H e tz e r a n d Rada, following the lead
o f th eir m e n to r, C h arlo tte Biihler, re g a rd sexual precocity— early knowl
ed g e a n d early c o n fro n ta tio n with p ractice— as the cause o f intellectual and
cultural im poverishm ent an d o f generally low expectations am o n g working-
class youth and, m ost im p o rta n t, as th e so u rce o f “ u n c o n tro lle d ” sexual
e x p re ssio n .175 At th e sam e tim e b o th observed th a t these same yo u th lived
u p to th eir responsibilities at work (school-leaving age was fo u rte e n ) a n d at
ho m e. Both singled o u t precocio us sexuality as a social disability o n the o ne
h an d , yet d e m o n s tra te d o n the o th e r th at the girls gave n o special im p o r
tan ce to sexuality in th eir conversations o r interactions bu t in teg rated the
subject in to th e ir daily lives.
C o uld it be that H e tz e r a n d R ada failed to see that working-class child
h o o d a n d yo u th d e m a n d e d a precocity in all things because ad u lth o o d , o r
at least its heaviest responsibilities, cam e so early? T hey did adm it th a t co n
tro l over drives by th e c a re d -fo r (who c o u ld co n tin u e th eir studies) also went
with childishness a n d d epen den cy . O n e gets th e im pression that these two
studies c re a te d a p ro b le m viewed o u t o f context fo r which only the “ ideal
ism ” o f th e SDAP a n d its p ro g ra m s o ffered the solution. A n o th e r way o f
looking at con d ition s in th e p ro le ta ria n h o m e would have b een to c o n fro n t
th e general d ep riv ation am o n g working-class y outh, fo r which n e ith e r psy
chological theories n o r socialist play g ro u p s a n d youth organizations could
offer an alternative.
The Worker Family: Invasions of the Private Sphere 173
organ ization , it was restricted to the out-of-doors d u rin g the tem p erate sea
sons. A cco rd ing to Safrian a n d Sieder, the first genital e n c o u n te rs o f SA)
to o k place a fte r th e age o f e ig h te e n .190 Even th en, fear o f pregnancy was
ever p re se n t am o n g th e you ng w om en, giving a sense o f reality to the d a n
gers o f sexuality p re a c h e d by the socialist le a d e rs.191
N o d o u b t th e socialists’ in tro d u c tio n o f sex ed ucation in their org an i
zations is praisew orthy, b u t the c o n te n t a n d p u rp o se o f their actual efforts
raise serious d o u b ts a b o u t w h e th e r th eir inten tio ns were to enlighten their
y oung m em bers. In a seminal statem ent o n sexual edu catio n , O tto Kanitz
m ad e it clear that, aside from im p artin g know ledge a b o u t re p ro d u c tio n , sex
e d ucatio n should p re p a re the young fo r the necessary sub o rd inatio n o f
th e ir sex drive to the laws o f socialist ethics.192 A fo rm e r m em b er o f the
C o op erativ e o f Socialist T each ers explains what this m eant in practice: four-
teen-year-olds w ere im pressed with the responsibility to be assum ed in later
sexual relations, a n d o ld e r youth w ere le c tu re d on new theories o f child
h o o d sexuality, the O e d ip u s com plex, a n d sexual taboos; bu t “ in general,
th e re was little advance bey on d the birds a n d th e b ees.” ' 98 Similarly, in a
p am p h let in te n d e d fo r socialist teachers a n d youth leaders, the child psy
chologist J o s e p h F rie d ju n g did not go beyond the tim e-w orn animal anal
ogies in rec o m m e n d in g w hat teachers should tell th eir pupils. H e was
extrem ely vague a b o u t what m ight be said to adolescents o th e r th an the
usual cautions a b o u t p ro stitu tio n a n d the responsibilities o f p a r e n th o o d .194
In the SD A P’s a p p ro a c h to the w orkers’ intim ate sp here as in o th e r
aspects o f the p a rty ’s cultural p rog ram , th e re is little evidence o f the fre
quently claim ed close relationship to A dlerian individual psychology (see
also c h a p te r 4 ).195 N o d o u b t the idea o f h u m a n malleability subject to in te r
vention a n d im p ro v em en t was attractive to socialist leaders a n d experts
em b ark ed o n creatin g “ n e u e M en sch en .” But if on e looks over the p apers
delivered at the C ongress o f Marxist Individual Psychology held in V ienna
in 1927, o n e is h a rd p u t to find d escriptions o f actual application a n d p ra c
tice.195 Instead, th e re is a pervasive confidence th a t individual psychology
will solve th e sexual p ro blem s o f working-class m en a n d w omen. Such bald
assertions a re s e co n ded by intellectual o bfuscation that can hardly be taken
fo r A dlerian practice. In a p a m ph let o n m arriage d irected at teachers,
Sophie L azersfeld (a leading individual psychologist) discusses the ambiva
lence o f wom en overcom e by the choice betw een being a c om rade o r
m a d o n n a to th eir m ates a n d the d an g ers fo r w om en o f becom ing G alatea
to P ygm alion.197As in terestin g as such subjects m ight have been in th eir own
right, particularly to a small g ro u p o f e d u c a te d female professionals, one
finds it difficult to relate th em to the e d u catio n o f working-class w omen, the
realities o f working-class m arriages, a n d the n arro w g e n d e r roles assigned
to w omen.
W hat clues are th e re to the sex life o f adult Viennese workers? In view
o f the early sexual m a tu ra tio n a n d onset o f adu lt responsibilities, it is not
su rp risin g that sexual in te rc o u rse and cohabitation b efo re m arriage (often
fo r many years) seem s to have been widely p ra c tic e d .198 From the point o f
176 Red Vienna
view o f socialist reform ers, this b ehavior was exem plary o f th e “ disorderly
living” a m o n g w orkers they aim ed to correct. In working-class n e ig h b o r
h oo d s it was a c cep ted as p a rt o f the co u rtsh ip p a tte rn leading to m arriage.
A n u m b e r o f oral-history subjects r e p o r te d th at th eir p a re n ts gave their
tacit c o n sent to th e ir sexual relationship by allowing the couple to live on
the prem ises. T h e choice o f m arriage p a rtn e rs was largely in th e han d s o f
the y o u n g people. A m on g the desirable characteristics looked fo r in their
prospective m ate, w om en o ften m e n tio n e d safe em ploym ent a n d fidelity.199
It was custom ary fo r c o u rtin g couples to get m arried w hen th e woman
becam e p re g n a n t. T h e cerem ony itself an d the w edding night seldom
a ttain ed th e im p o rta n c e given to th e m by the middle class.200
T h e best so u rce o f indirect in fo rm atio n a b o u t sexuality can be fo u n d in
studies o f the b irth ra te in the w orking class.201 In th e g en e ra tio n o f women
b o rn a fte r 1900, th e m ajority h a d only o n e child a n d virtually n o n e m ore
th a n two.202 This feat was accom plished— w ithout the assistance o f the
municipality o r socialist re fo rm e rs— by the couples a n d especially by the
w om en themselves. It stem m ed from the recognition by w orkers that their
aspirations to o r m aintainance o f a h ig h e r sta n d a rd o f living d e p e n d e d on
a sm aller family size.203 M oreover, V iennese pro le ta ria n w om en, m ost o f
w hom w ere em ployed fo r wages, app arently recognized that the only pos
sible re d u c tio n in the triple b u rd e n o f work, housew ork, a n d child care
could be achieved th ro u g h red u cin g the n u m b e r o f c h ild ren .204
It is in the d o m ain o f b irth co n tro l, w here p ro letarian couples needed
the m ost assistance, th at th e SDAP failed them m ost abysmally. T h e m ethods
o f c o n tra c e p tio n available to w orkers were primitive, unreliable, im pover
ishing o f the coital act, a n d d an gerou s. W orkers w ho had served in the army
h a d e x p e rie n c e d com m ercial sex a n d beco m e acq u ain ted with condom s.
B ut th e re is little evidence th a t these o r o th e r ru b b e r contraceptives were
used, partly because o f inconvenience (the absence o f privacy to apply these
im plem ents) b u t mainly because o f cost.205 C oitus in te rru p tu s is the form al
tech n iq u e m ost freq uen tly m e n tio n e d in m em oirs a n d oral histories.206 N ot
only was this fo rm o f p revention unreliable, it also d e p e n d e d o n th e skill and
g oo d will o f the male p a rtn e r. C o n tro l a n d re d u c tio n o f births probably
d e p e n d e d at least as m uch on ab o rtio n s re so rte d to by w om en regardless o f
the d a n g e r to th eir h ealth a n d o f falling foul o f the law. It was a m ethod
totally co n tro lle d by the w om en themselves. In a n u m b e r o f cases o f a b o r
tions by m a rrie d w om en th a t cam e to c o u rt, the p ro c e d u re h a d been carried
o u t w ith o ut th e h u sb a n d even know ing th a t his wife was p re g n a n t.207
T h o u g h a b o rtio n was practiced widely as a form o f b irth con tro l, it was
a th re a t to w o m e n ’s h ealth a n d a bre a c h o f th e law. But th ere are indications
th at p a ra g ra p h 144 was fully subscribed to mainly by the Catholic clergy and
d ie h a rd leaders o f the C hristian Social party. Both the n u m b e r and n o to ri
ety o f a b o rtio n trials a p p e a r to have declined sharply in th e fifteen years
a fte r the war.208 In the sixteen case files fo r the 1 9 2 1 -3 2 that I fo u n d in the
m unicipal archives, n o n e o f the w om en was actually p u nish ed for having
a tte m p te d o r c arried ou t an a bo rtio n. In all o f diem actual sentences were
The Worker Family: Invasions of the Private Sphere 177
Conclusion
Against the idea o f force, the force o f ideas.
A u stro m a rx isl a p h o rism
P o litic a l L im its
T h e SDAP e m e rg e d as a mass party a fte r the collapse o f th e old regim e at
th e e n d o f the war. Its fu tu re pow er a n d role w ere largely shaped d u rin g
1 9 1 8 -1 9 , w hen politics w ere in flux a n d th e n a tu re o f the new republic was
yet to be d ete rm in e d . T he m ost dynamic political force at the time was the
w o rkers’ councils, a partly org an ized mass m ovem ent o f w orkers a nd d e m o
bilized soldiers with revolutionary aims that w ent beyond establishing a
republic o n a capitalist base. T h e councils w ere influenced by the Bolshevik
Revolution a n d th e b rie f revolutionary regim es in Bavaria and H ungary. In
V ienna, particularly, w h ere a fledgling C om m unist party was newly active,
th e councils th re a te n d e d to b ecom e the directin g force o f th e masses o f
w orkers, who w ere largely politically u n o rg a n iz e d .1 The SDAP, thus th re a t
e n e d fro m th e left, adroitly m an euv ered the V ienna w orkers council into
accepting the principle o f p ro le ta ria n dem ocracy, which allowed the social
ists to b in d the com m unists a n d o th e r radical g ro u p s to decisions by m a jo r
ity rule. By th e a u tu m n o f 1919, with the co u n te rre v o lu tio n successful in
H un g ary , th e councils w ere p u sh e d to the sidelines. T h e C o n stitu en t Assem
bly, which h a d b e e n elected in F ebruary, was able to function a n d secure the
new republic w ithout f u r th e r th re a t o f an alternative so urce o f power.
T h e socialists h a d su cceed ed in keeping revolution fro m the gates o f
Vienna. H a d they gain ed by it, a n d if so, what? T h e SDAP succeeded in mak
ing itself the sole spokesm an fo r the w orkers o f A ustria, able to fo rm u late
its p ro g ram s and to navigate the parliam entary w aters w ithout being seri
ously challenged by th e C om m un ist party (KPO), which rem ain ed a sect
th ro u g h o u t th e p e rio d .2 But the w ithering away o f the w orkers councils also
h a d its costs fo r the socialists. Until th e a d o p tio n o f th e constitution in 1920,
the councils served as a p ow erful re m in d e r to the C hristian Social a n d Pan-
G erm an parties o f a revolution that th re a te n e d to c reate a social o rd e r
totally u n a ccep tab le to them . T h e SDAP h a d gained 43.4% o f the seats in
th e C on stitution al Assembly, c o m p a re d to 54.7% fo r the com b in ed o p p o
sition, yet re m a in e d th e d o m in a n t p a r tn e r in th e coalition fo rm e d with the
C hristian Socials. This short-lived advantage m ust be a ttrib u te d to the c o u n
cils’ dem o nstrative presen ce in Vienna.
N o d o u b t th e SDAP played this radical ca rd to its advantage in pushing
th ro u g h fu n d a m e n ta l social and econom ic legislation at the time. But
should it have p ressed fo r m o re — d e m a n d e d stru c tu ra l refo rm s an d c o n
stitutional g u a ra n te e s th at would have served its long-range socialist goals
a n d put th e republic on a s o u n d e r fo u nd atio n? T h e re is n o easy answer. O n
th e whole, th e SDAP leadership was u n p re p a re d for the rapidly moving
events su rro u n d in g the collapse o f the old o r d e r a n d the party's em erging
182 Red Vienna
G erm ans, H eim w ehr, a n d Nazis) w ere im pervious to the SD A P’s symbols o f
stren g th a n d re jected its em blem s o f republicanism : dem ocracy an d n e u
trality o f th e state.8 They fo ug h t with raised visors in all arenas to liquidate
the socialist enemy.
Cultural L im its
T h e specific shortcom ings o f the socialists’ cultural p ro ject have b een th o r
oughly discussed in the body o f this work. T h e re are, however, a n u m b e r o f
questions raised by the ex p e rim e n t which deserve fu r th e r com m ent. W hat
is a “ socialist” c u ltu re a n d who d eterm ines its content? W hat d an g ers are
in h e re n t in the discipline by which such a c ultural p ro g ra m is im plem ented
an d in the o rderliness tow ard which it strives? In w hat sense was th e A ustro-
marxist ex p e rim e n t b o th a m odel a n d a d e a d end?
L eaders o f the SDAP were vague a b o u t th e socialist c o n te n t o r quality
o f the varied facets o f th eir cultural p rog ram . T o be sure, th e w orkers were
to be e d u c a te d a n d th ereb y b ro u g h t to a hig h er level o f consciousness and
provided with the facilities a n d necessities o f a m o re dignified life. It
rem ain ed u n c le a r how such an individual a n d collective im provem ent was
different from old-fashioned liberal ideals which h a d b ecom e platitudinous.
Similarly, m o re a n d b e tte r housing, kindergartens, a n d libraries were c e r
tainly desirable, b u t did these im provem ents differ from th e goals o f the
reform ist socialism th e A ustrom arxists w ere com m itted to surpassing? T he
socialists essence so ug h t a fte r by the SDAP becom es m ost illusive in the
arts.9 Did a sym phony by B eethoven becom e socialist if it was played by the
W o rk e rs’ S ym phony O rc h e stra fo r an audience o f w orkers, as was suggested
at the time? W hat m ade Jack L o n d o n an acceptable a u th o r a n d Karl May a
pu rvey o r o f kitsch in the eyes o f socialist c u ltu re experts? Why were Käthe
Kollwitz’s paintings o f lower-class misery p re fe rre d to a m a d o n n a by R aph
ael? W hat w ere the c riteria used to d ete rm in e a p p ro p ria te n e ss o r desirabil
ity from a socialist perspective o f ho m e furnishings, decorations, books,
dress, radio pro gram s, a n d so on?
I am n o t d efe n d in g th e im poverished taste prevalent in w orker subcul
tures. T he knickknacks, antim acassars, fra m e d proverbs, a n d o th e r items
which a d o rn e d w o rkers’ ho m es speak fo r a w idespread deprivation o f taste,
lack o f o p p o rtu n ity to com e in contact with the w ider world, and c o n
strain ed h o u se h o ld budgets. But, how ever p o o r an d deficient the w orkers’
taste was, it could n o t simply be co m m a n d e d away by p eop le outside the
su b cultures a n d rep laced by items alien to them . T he edu cation o f taste has
b e e n fo u n d to be a slow a n d long-term process.
All questions a b o u t th e socialist c o n te n t o r essence o f c u ltu re lead us
back to the valuers who d e te rm in e d what should be included and excluded
in th e m en u o f c u ltu re set b e fo re the workers. It was a small elite o f party
leaders a n d d ire c to rs o f cultural p rog ram s who m ade such decisions. T h eir
values a n d tastes reflet ted th eir own generally middle-class a n d G erm an-/#/-
Conclusion
D espite all shortcom ings, the b rie f V ienna ex p erim en t has left a lasting
afterglow o f nostalgia fo r its prom ise, which could n o t be fulfilled.1* T he
desire to c re a te “ a revolution in th e soul o f m a n ” re a c h e d fa r beyo n d tra
ditional socialist aspirations into th e realm o f h u m a n yearning fo r a fu tu re
in which individual dev elo pm ent a n d th e com m unity b ecom e a h a rm o n io u s
whole. As th e V iennese w ork er song p u t it so well:
Chapter 1
1. By the early 1930s the Heimwehr was a formidable paramilitary organization
with a small delegation in parliament (Heimatblock) on which Chancellor Engelbert
Dollfuss depended in dismantling the republican structure. Its politics was a mixture
o f nostalgic monarchism, pan-Germanism, and fascism given coherence by a violent
antisocialism. U nder the leadership o f Prince Ernst Rudiger von Starhemberg, it
p ursued a putschist policy and played a vital role in the February events. See C. Earl
Edmondson, “The Heimwehr and February 1934: Reflections and Questions,” in
Anson Rabinbach, ed., The Austrian Socialist Experiment: Social Democracy and Austro-
marxism, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 4 (Boulder, Colo., 1985); idem, The Heimwehr and Austrian Pol
itics, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 6 (Athens, Ga., 1978); F. L. Carsten, Fascist Movements in Austria
(London, 1977); and Ludwig Jedlicka, “ The Austrian Heimwehr,” in Walter
L aqueur and George L. Mosse, eds., International Fascism, 1 9 2 0 -1 9 4 5 (New York,
1966).
2. Le Populaire, Feb. 14 and 15, 1934. In the latter issue the Trade Union Inter
national (IFTU), meeting in Paris, issued a statement o f solidarity with the Austrian
workers.
3. Daily Herald, Feb. 14, 1934. In the same issue the TUC announced the crea
tion o f a Fund to Aid Austrian Workers and on the following day rep orted that sub
stantial monies already had been pledged.
4. Le Populaire, Feb. 16, 1934. All translations are my own unless otherwise
noted.
5. Daily Herald, Feb. 17, 1934.
6. See Marcel Cachin on Feb. 16 and 19, 1934. His claim that the policy o f
accommodation had led both the German and Austrian Socialist parties to defeat
had a certain credibility. H e o f course failed to mention the considerable responsi
bility o f the German Communist party for the collapse o f the German left.
7. See Rundschau liber Politik, Wirtschaft und Arheiterbewegung, March 1, 1934,
663.
8. See James Donnadieu, Le Temps, Feb. 14, 1934. He also blamed the Heim
wehr, but considered the socialists more responsible for the crisis.
9. S e e W l a d i m i r D ’O r m e s s o n , Le Figaro, F e b . I 7, 1934. A u s t r i a n so cialism in its
V i e n n e s e en c la v e , lie c la i m e d , s u l f e r e d f r o m e x h a u s t i o n : a n inability t o f u r l h e r a n i
m a t e t h e m asses save f o r " d a n g e r o u s inc ite m e n t » to class w a r f a r e , "
188 Notes to Pages 4 -7
tie u n d Rätesystem,” Der Kam pf 14 (1921). See also the analysis in Raimond Löw,
Otto Hauer und die russische Revolution (Vienna, 1980), 4 2 -5 5 , and Marramao, “ Zum
Problem d er Demokratie.”
23. See Helmut G ruber, Léon Blum, French Socialism, and the Popular Front: A Case
of Internal Contradictions (Ithaca, N.Y., 1986); idem, “The German Socialist Execu
tive in Exile, 1933-1939: Democracy as Internal Contradiction,” in Wolfgang Mad-
erth an er and H elm ut G ruber eds., Chance und Illusion— Labor in Retreat (Vienna,
1988).
24. See the brilliant exposition o f this dilemma by George Orwell in The Road to
Wigan Pier (New York, 1958), 135-36, 160—69.
25. This tendency o f organic leaders to abandon their milieu for the values of the
dom inant culture prevailed in o ther interwar socialist parties. Fredrich Ebert and
O tto Weis, successive heads of the German SPD, are clear examples.
26. See Quintin H oare and Geoffrey N. Smith, eds., Selections from the Prison
Notebooks o f Antonio Gramsci (New York, 1971), and the perceptive analysis in Jerom e
Karabel, “ Revolutionary Contradictions: Antonio Gramsci and the Problem o f Intel
lectuals,” Politics & Society 6:2 (1976). Ultimately, Gramsci questioned whether the
proletariat could creat its own stratum o f intellectuals before the conquest of state
power. See Antonio Gramsci, The Modern Prince and Other Writings (London, 1957),
49 -5 0.
27. See J. Robert Wegs, “Working-Class Respectability: The Viennese Experi
ence, "Journal o f Social History 15:4 (Summer 1982).
28. The controversy about mass culture continues to rage today. For an inter
esting exposition, see the position paper by Michael Denning entitled “The End of
Mass C ulture” and the critical commentaries by Janice Radway, Luisa Passerini, Wil
liam Taylor, and Adelheid von Saldern in International Labor and Working-Class His
tory 37 (Spring 1990). See also D enning’s response in the same journal, “The Ends
o f Ending Mass C ulture,” ibid., 38 (Fall 1990).
29. Unfortunately a history o f the Catholic church during the First Republic has
not yet been written. Considering the continued prominence o f the church in public
life, (Sunday Mass on the national radio station, for instance), there is little likelihood
that someone will dare to puncture the gentle self-criticism the church has used to
cover its true past.
30. William J. McGrath calls this substitution of culture for politics, whose roots
lay in prewar Austria, “ the politics o f m etap h or” o r “ politics o f illusion.” See his
Dionysian Art and Populist Politics in Austria (New Haven, Conn., 1974). The concept
originated with Carl E. Schorske in “ Politics in a New Key: An Austrian Triptych,”
The Journal of Modern Histoiy 39 (1967).
31. For an excellent summary of economic conditions, see Hans K ernbauer and
Fritz Weber, “ Von der Inflation zur Depression: Österreichs Wirtschaft, 1918-
1934,” in E. Talos and W. N eugebauer, eds., “Austrofaschismus’’: Beiträge über Politik,
Ökonomie und Kultur, 1 9 3 4 -1 9 3 8 (V ienna, 1984).
32. Most authorities list 557,000 unemployed, o r 26 percent o f the potential
labor force, for 1933. See for instance Dieter Stiefel, Arbeitslosigkeit: Soziale, poli
tische und wirtschaftliche Auswirkungen am Beispiel Österreichs, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 8 (Berlin,
1979), 2 8 -2 9 . But official statistics left out large groups such as the long-term unem
ployed and the young, who had been prevented f rom entering the labor market. An
upward revision might increase the n um ber o f unemployed by 200,000, bringing the
total to 38 percent. See Ernst Bruckmüller, Sozialgeschichte Österreichs (Vienna,
19 8 5 ), 5 0 0 .
Notes to Pages 10-15
33. The decline was from 896,763 in 1923 to 520,162 in 1932. See Fritz Klen-
ner, Die österreichischen Gewerkschaften (Vienna, 1953), I: 657; II: 960.
C h a p te r 2
1. Carl E. Schorske, Fin-de-siecle Vienna: Politics and Culture (New York, 1980).
Four o f Schorske’s seven chapters were published in essay form between 1961 and
1973 and exerted considerable influence on two works published before Schorske’s
magnum opus. See Allan Janik and Stephen Toulmin, Wittgenstein’s Vienna (New
York, 1973), and William McGrath, Dionysian Art and Populist Politics in Austria (New
Haven, Conn., 1974). In all three works the tendency is very strong to project elite
culture as all culture and to offer the form er as an emblem for society as a whole.
For a critique of this tendency, see Dieter Schräge, “ Klimt— Ikone und Waschbot
tich: Zum Traum und Wirklichkeit um 1900,” in H ubert Ehalt, et ai., Glücklich ist,
wer v e r g i s s t D a s andere Wien um 1 9 0 0 (Vienna, 1986).
2. The others were London, Paris, and Berlin.
3. The film (with the English subtitle The Joyless Street) was based on a novel by
the Austrian sexual reform er H ugo Bettauer, published in 1923 and serialized in
Neue Freie Presse. Before public screening the film underw ent considerable cutting
to reduce the unrelenting realism. Even so, in England public showings were p ro
hibited. See Siegfried Kracauer, From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological Study of the
German Film (New York, 1959), 167-70.
4. Walter R uttm ann’s film Berlin, die Symphonie einer Grossstadt (1927) attem pted
to present the farrago o f everyday life in the metropolis by using the technique of
montage. Ibid., 182-88.
5. The best source for the birth pains o f the new republic is still Charles A. Gulick,
Austria from Hahsburg to Hitler (Berkeley, Calif., 1948), I: 43-65.
6. See Klemens von Klemperer, “The H absburg Heritage: Some Pointers for a
Study of the First Austrian Republic,” in Anson Rabinbach, ed., The Austrian Social
ist Experiment: Social Democracy and Austromarxism, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 4 (Boulder, Colo.,
1985), 13.
7. Karl’s statement had been written by Ignaz Seipel, minister o f social welfare
in the last monarchical government, in such an ambiguous way as to leave open the
possibility o f a H absburg restoration. The word “abdicate” was never used. See Rob
ert Stöger, “ Der christliche F ü h rer und die ‘wahre Demokratie’: Zu den Demokra
tiekonzeptionen von Ignaz Seipel,” in Archiv: Jahrbuch des Vereins für Geschichte der
Arbeiterbewegung 2 (1986): 5 4 -6 7 , especially 55. Stöger places this and other
instances within the context o f Seipel’s passionate authoritarianism.
8. See Hans H autm ann, Die verlorene Räterepublik: Am Beispiel der Kommunis
tischen Partei Deutschösterreichs, 2nd enlarged ed. (Vienna, 1971), 71-80.
9. Jo h n Bunzel, “Arbeiterbewegung, ‘Judenfrage’ und Antisemitismus am Beis
piel des Weiner Bezirks Leopoldstadt,” in G erhard Botz et al., Bewegung und Klasse:
Studien zur österreichischen Arbeitergeschichte (Vienna, 1978), 744; and Karl M. Brou-
sek, Wien und seine Tschechen: Integration und Assimilation einer Minderheit im 20. Jahr
hundert (Vienna, 1980), 31-35.
10. Felix Czeike, Geschichte der Stadt Wien (Vienna, 1981), ch. 8.
11. Renate Benik-Schweitzer and G erhard Meissl, Industriestadt Wien: Die Durch
setzung der industriellen Marktproduktion in der Habsburgerresidenz (Vienna, 1983), 35,
38, 4 6 -4 7 , 135, 111.
12. A m o n g lliose w hic h r e m a i n e d w e r e T a h a k r e g i e ( ) t t a k r i n g K.- F a v o r i te n will)
1,000 w o r k e r s ; L. R ö s c h e r He Co. ( D u n l o p ) with 1,800 w o r k e r s a n d e m p lo y e e s ;
Notes to Pages 16-19 191
sought to control and contain the mass movement. See Österreichische Revolution,
84ff. O n the danger to democracy posed by soviet-styled experiments, see O tto
Bauer, “ Rätediktatur oder Demokratie?,” Die Arbeiter-Zeitung, March 28, 1919. For
the reaction o f the Austrian workers’ councils to the Hungarian Soviet Republic, see
Julius Braunthal, Die Arbeiterräte in Deutschösterreich (Vienna, 1919).
26. See Rolf Reventlow, Zwischen Alliierten und Bolschewiken: Arbeiterräte in Öster
reich, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 2 3 (Vienna, 1969), 69ff, 124; Botz, Gewalt Politik, 72-80.
27. For attitudes toward proletarian dictatorship in the SDAP see Raimond Low,
Otto Bauer und die russische Revolution (Vienna, 1980), 42 -5 5.
28. See Gruber, International Communism Lenin, 177-78.
29. An example o f the rationalizing role o f theory is Bauer’s explanation o f the
elections to the Constituent Assembly in 1919. The socialists had received 40.76%
o f the vote and had the largest num ber o f seats, but could not govern alone and had
to share power with their sworn opponents, who shattered the coalition one year
later. Characterizing the election results several years later, Bauer said that the
socialists had captured “ predom inant power in the Republic.” See Anson Rabin-
bach, The Crisis of Austrian Socialism: From Red Vienna to C ivil War, 1 9 2 7 -1 9 3 4 (Chi
cago, 1983), 22.
30. Virtually every socialist party in the interwar years was in the hands o f an oli
garchical leadership which spoke in the name o f the party but had little use for inter
nal democracy, alternate views, factions, o r grass-roots initiatives. See Helmut
G ruber, Léon Blum, French Socialism, and the Popular Front: A Case of Internal Contra
dictions (Ithaca, N.Y., 1986), 1-3 and idem., “The German Socialist Executive in
Exile, 1933-1939: Democracy as Internal. Contradiction,” in Wolfgang Madertha-
n er and Helmut G ruber, eds., Chance und Illusion: Labor in Retreat (Vienna, 1988),
185-89 and preface.
31. See Fritz Klenner, Die Österreichischen Gewerkschaften (Vienna, 1953), I: 520;
Gulick, Austria, I: xi, 258-59. Membership by Viennese workers in the Catholic
W orkers’ Association am ounted to only 7% o f the total socialist union membership.
Ibid., 2 7 -2 8 , 266-67.
32. See Alfred G. Frei, Rotes Wien: Austromarxismus und Arbeiterkultur (Berlin,
1984), 5 8 -5 9 ; Hans H autm ann and Rudolf Hautm ann, Die Wohnbautender Gemeinde
Wien (Vienna, 1980), 31-32.
33. See P eter Kulemann, Am Beispiel Austromarxismus: Sozialdemokratische Arbei
terbewegung in Österreich von Hainfeld bis zur Dollfuss-Diktatur (Hamburg, 1979),
304-7.
34. By 1927 the socialist vote in Vienna reached 60.3%. In the same year 55.5%
o f the votes cast for the SDAP came from party members, as com pared to 21.5% in
1919. See Frei, Rotes Wien, 60.
35. Gulick, Austria, I: 690.
36. A second coalition government was formed in O ctober 1919. But conserva
tive resistance to the socialists’ reform demands led to the breakup o f the coalition
in Ju n e 1920. From then on the SDAP behaved very much like a social democratic
oppositon in refusing to consider participation in coalition governments.
37. For the reform legislation, see Gulick, Austria, I: 175ff; Julius Braunthal, Die
Sozialpolitik der Republik (Vienna, 1919); and O tto Bauer, Der Weg zum Sozialismus
(Vienna, 1919).
38. It was actually a euphemism for the forty-eight-hour week usually involving
live full days and a Saturday o f half-day work. W om en’s weekly hours un d er the law
were reduced to forty-four.
Notes to Pages 21-23
dislocations after 1918 erased most o f these gains. Thus the drastic rent reductions
in the worker budget mainly com pensated for other losses. See Michael John,
“ Wohnpolitische A useinandersetzungen in d e r Ersten Republik insbesondere aus
serhalb des Parlam ents,” in Konrad and M aderthaner, eds., Neuere Studien, I: 2 4 7 -
54.
50. See Österreichische Revolution, introduction.
51. My list o f titles in use during the First Republic is by no means complete (or
even perfectly accurate), being derived from the memory o f elderly Viennese
acquaintances. Title mania is even m ore p ronounced in the Second Republic, espe
cially am ong socialists. O ne well-known form er director of a principal Viennese
archive had seven titles before his name, all o f which had to be included in any cor
respondence with him if one expected a favorable response.
52. With one exception, Austrian socialist rituals and their relation to older cul
tural forms have not been studied. See the excellent Ph.D dissertation by Béla Rasky,
“ Arbeiterfesttage: Die F’est- und Feierkultur d er sozialdemokratischen Bewegung in
d er Ersten Republik Österreich, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 4 ,” (University o f Vienna, 1985), espe
cially 3 8 6 -9 5 . For an interesting introduction to the symbolism o f German worker
rituals, see G ottfried Korff, “ Rofe Fahnen und geballte Faust: Zur Symbolik der
A rbeiterbewegung in d e r W eimarer Republic,” in Dietman Petina, Fahnen, Fäuste,
Körper: Symbolic und K ultur der Arbeiterbewegung (Essen, 1986).
53. See Reinhard Sieder, “Gassenkinder,” Aufrisse: Zeitschrift fü r politische B il
dung 5:4 (1984): 8-11 .
54. See Bruckmüller, Sozialgeschichte, 504 -5 .
55. O n the question o f viability and Anschluss, see the excellent succinct article
by Bruce F. Pauley, “The Social and Economic Background o f Austria’s ‘Lebensun
fähigkeit,’” in Rabinback, ed., Austrian Socialist Experiment, 21 -3 7 . See also O tto
Bauer, Acht Monate Auswärtige Politik (Vienna, 1919); K. W. Rothschild, Austria ’s Eco
nomic Development Between Two Wars (London, 1947); Lajos Kerekes, “ Wirtschaf
tliche und soziale Lage Österreichs nach dem Zerfall der D oppelm onarchie,” in
Rudolf Neck and Adam Wandruska, eds., Beiträge zur Zeitgeschichte (St. Pölten,
1976); and Guliek, Austria, I: 52-55.
56. Pauley, “ Lebensunfähigkeit,” 29-30.
57. Klemens von Klemperer, Ignaz Seipel: Christian Statesman in a Time of Crisis
(Princeton, N.J., 1972), 177ff.
58. But in 1900 Germ an was the language spoken at home by only 36% of the
Viennese: 23% spoke Czech, 17% spoke Polish, and 13% spoke Ruthenian, while the
rest were divided am ong Slovenian, Serbo-Croation, Italian, Rumanian, and H u n
garian. See F,va Viethen, “ Wiener Arbeiterinnen: Leben zwischen Familie, L ohn
arbeit und politischem Engagement” (Ph.D diss., University o f Vienna, 1984), 168.
59. C. A. Macartney, The Social Revolution in Austria (Cambridge, 1926), 98.
60. In 1923 there were 112,000 Czechoslovakian citizens resident in Vienna.
Com bined with the 100,000 to 120,000 Czechs with Austrian citizenship, the total
community was a significant enclave within the Viennese population. See Albert
Lichtblau, “ Česká Vjden: Von d er tschechischen Grossstadt zum tschechischen
D orf,” Archiv: Jahrbuch des Vereins fü r Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung 3 (1987): 3 4 -
41, 45, n. 18.
61. Ibid., 4 1 -4 4 .
62. For the racial anti-Semitism o f G eorg von Schönerer and Karl Leuger, see
Schorske, Fin-de-Siecle Vienna, 126-32, 138 43.
Notes to Pages 25-27 195
63. See Jo h n W. Boyer, Political Radicalism in Late Imperial Vienna: Origins of the
Christian Social Movement (Chicago, 1981), ch. 6.
64. Joseph Roth, “Ju d e n a u f Wanderschaft— Wien,” in Ruth Beckermann, ed.,
Die Mazzesinsel: Juden in der Wiener Leopoldstadt, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 8 (Vienna, 1984), 35.
Rotli ends by observing: “ But they are unemployed proletarians. A peddler is a
proletarian.”
65. See Staudinger, “Christlichsoziale Judenpolitik,” 39. Staudinger points out
that these concentration camps o f 1920 cannot be confused with the brutal Nazi
institutions. Yet, he argues, the notion o f internm ent of Jews was not without influ
ence on later Nazi anti-Semitism.
66. The most visible o f these include the writers Jakob Wasserman, Richard
Beer-Hofmann, A rthu r Schnitzler, Stefan Zweig, Franz Werfel; the theater director
Max Reinhardt; the film directors Michael Kertesz and Alexander Korda; the social
scientists Emil L ederer and Paul Lazersfeld; the psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud,
O tto Fenichel, and Wilhelm Reich; the scientists Rudolf Carnap and Moritz Schlick;
fo u r Nobel laureates in medicine; the businessm enjulius Meindl and Gustav Heller;
and the banker Louis Nathanial Rothschild. This list merely skims the surface o f Jews
prom inent and visible in the public life o f Vienna.
67. The second echelon o f SDAP functionaries who were Jews included David
Joseph Bach, Paul Federn, O tto Leichter, Käthe Leichter, O tto Felix Kanitz, Bene
dikt Kautsky, Edgar Zilsel, Zoltán Ronai, Fritz Rosenfeld, Paul Speiser, Oskar Pollak,
Marianne Pollak, Karl Kautsky, Jr., Leopold Thaller, and Margarete Hilferding.
Lists like this one tend to be haphazard in the absence o f a biographical dictionary
o f Austrian socialism. The nearest thing, though lacking in rigor o f data and unifor
mity, is Georges H aupt, et al., Dictionnaire biographique due movement ouvrier inter
national: Autriche (Paris, 1971).
68. Die Reichspost, Dec. 24, 1918.
69. Cited in P eter G. J. Pulzer, The Rise o f Political Anti-Semitism in Germany and
Austria (New York, 1964), 318.
70. Staudinger, “ Christlichsoziale Judenpolitik,” 19.
71. Ibid., 3 6 -4 2 . Seipel saw several versions o f the proposed laws’ text and con
sidered a final version as “juridically and politically acceptable” but not timely. See
also A nton Pelinka, Stand oder Klasse? Die Christliche Arbeiterbewegung Österreichs
(Vienna, 1972), 297-300.
72. Like Karl Lueger, Seipel was prepared to admit that there were some decent
Jews. See Alfred Pfoser, “ Der Wiener ‘Reigen’ Skandal: Sexualangst als politisches
Syndrom d er Ersten Republik,” in Konrad and M aderthaner, eds., Neuere Studien,
III: 684 -8 6 .
73. The fear that social democracy would be identified with Jewry goes back to
the SDAP’s founder, Victor Adler, who at the time o f the Dreyfus Affair distanced
himself from the controversy. By contrast, Leon Blum became a leading Dreyfusard.
See Jack Jacobs, “ Austrian Social Democracy and the Jewish Question in the First
Republic,” in Rabinbach, ed., Austrian Experiment, 158.
74. See the pamphlets Der Judenschwindel, (Vienna, 1923) Wenn Judenblut vom
Messer spritzt, (Vienna, [1932?]) Der Ju d ist schuld, (Vienna, n.d.) and D anneberg’s
important tract Die Schiebergeschäfte der Regierungsparteien: Der Antisemitismus im
Lichte der Tatsachen (Vienna, 1926). All these were published by the SDAP publishing
house. The same tactic o f lighting fire with fire, but also o f using anti-Semitic ste
reotypes to show up llu' anti-Semites, was used in articles appearing in Die Arbeiter-
196 Notes to Pages 2 7-28
Zeitung and Der Kampf. For the above, see Ibid., 158-60, 165-66. See also Bunzel,
“Arbeiterbewegung ‘Ju den frage,’ ” 760-6 1, and Beckermann, Mazzes-insel, 20. For
citations o f anti-Semitic election posters o f the SDAP and the use o f a Yiddish dialect
parody by a socialist in parliament, see George E. Berkley, Vienna and Its Jews: The
Tragedy of Success, 1 8 8 0 s-1 9 8 0 s (Cambridge, Mass., 1988), 160-61, 166-67.
75. In Weimar Germany the Socialist party (SPD) regularly defended German
Jews from the rising anti-Semitism. Jacobs, “Austrian Social Democracy,” 163.
76. Cited in Joel Colton, Léon Blum: Humanist in Politics (Durham, N.C.,
1987), 6.
77. See Pierre Birnbaum, Un mythe politique: La “République ju iv e ” de Léon Blum
à Pierre Mendès-France (Paris, 1988), 6 1 -8 5 . It has been generally assumed that Aus-
tromarxism became the theoretical means o f providing Austrian socialism with the
ideals o f the Enlightenment so largely absent from the intellectual environment o f
the old Dual Monarchy. The relationship between Enlightenment and German cul
ture on the part o f Austromarxism is one o f the subjects o f the second part o f this
chapter.
78. See Wiener Diözesanblatt (Vienna, 1919), 1-3, and St. Pöltner Diözensanblatt
(Vienna, 1919), 5-7.
79. O ne afternoon a week was set aside for religious instruction in the schools.
Since a majority o f the pupils were Catholic, a priest came to the classroom, and
children o f other faiths had to take their instruction elsewhere. Marriage ceremonies
had to be religious as well as o f secular record. Only those who had legally established
themselves as having no religion (Konfessionslos) were entitled to a strictly secular
marriage.
80. It would be difficult to find another republic in Europe at that time where
religious officials could hold any public office, least o f all as head o f government.
81. In France, by comparison, leading Catholic intellectuals such as François
Mauriac and Jacques Maritain, the Catholic youth, and even Cardinal Verdier, the
archbishop o f Paris, considered collaboration on social issues with working-class
organizations during the early 1930s. In Catholic publications such as Esprit and
Vendredi, a strong anticapitalist cu rrent prevailed. See James Stell, “ ‘La main ten-
du e,’ the French Communist Party and the Catholic Church, 1 9 3 5 -3 7,” in Martin
S. Alexander and Helen Graham, eds., The French and Spanish Popular Fronts: Com
parative Perspectives (Cambridge, 1989), 97-100.
82. See “ ‘Aus christlicher Verantwortung am Schicksal d er sozialistischen Be
wegung teilnehm e’: Gespräch mit O tto Bauer, dem Vorsitzenden d er Religiösen
Sozialisten, über die Entwicklung zum 12. Februar 1934,” Mitbestimmung 13:5
(1984); 26-29.
83. See Wolfgang M aderthaner, “ Kirche u n d Sozialdemokratie: Aspekte des
Verhältnisses von politischen Klerikalismus u n d sozialistischer Arbeiterschaft bis
zum Ja h re 1938,” in Konrad and M aderthander, eds., Neuere Studien, III: 538-41.
84. Although the Catholic majority in Vienna was 87%, only 10% o f these Cath
olics attended Sunday church service. See Ernst Hanish, “ Der politische Katholizis
mus als ideologischer Träger des ‘Austrofaschismus,’” in E. Talos and W. Neuge
bauer,eds., “Austrofaschismus: Beiträge über Politik, Ökonomie und Kultur, 1 9 3 4 -1 9 3 8
(Vienna, 1984), 55 -5 6 .
85. See Der Pionier: Mitteilungsblatt des Landesvereines Wien des “Freidenkerbund
Österreichs” 4:9 (Sept. 1929): 5—6. Resignations in 1927 reached 120,000, or every
fiftieth Catholic. More than 80% of these were in Vienna, and 94% o f those were
workers. See Anion Burghardt, “ Kirche und Arbeiterschaft," in Ferdinand Kloster
Notes to Pages 28-30 197
to "th e inherited conviction that East Europe was about to en ter a revolutionary
era. . . . Vienna thus became a centre o f political radicalism as well as theoretical
Marxism.” Marxism, 303.
104. “ In the context o f the fin de siècle’," H. Stuart Hughes reminds us, “ the
thought o f the eighteenth century seldom figured in its pure o r original form: it
appeared overlaid with the late nineteenth-century accretions that had deform ed
it— materialism, positivism, and the more vulgar forms o f humanitarianism.” Con
sciousness and Society: The Reorientation of European Social Thought, 1 8 9 0 -1 9 3 0 (New
York, 1958), 97.
105. Bottomore, Auslro-Marxism, 8-10.
106. For the influence o f Mach on Austromarxism directly and indirectly
through the Vienna Circle, See Friedrich Stadler, Vom Positivismus zur “ Wissenschaft
lichen Weltauffassung'’: Am Beispiel der Wirkungsgeschichte von Ernst Mach in Österreich
von 1895 bis 1934 (Vienna, 1982).
107. It is at the Café Central that Trotsky met the Austromarxists. The postwar
Austromarxists, led by Bauer, made the Central their home away from home.
108. See Siegfried Mattl, “ Einleitung,” in Löw, Mattl, Pfabigan, Autopsie, 5.
109. O n Friedrich Adler, see Braunthal, V. and F. Adler, chs. 17-19. O n the
councils o f 1 918-1919 and the revolutionary climate, see G ruber, Communism Era
o f Lenin, 175-81. For A dler’s abortive attem pt to unify the socialist parties, see Julius
Braunthal, History o f the International (New York), 1967), II: chs. 9—11. Though Adler
was largely absent from the Austrian scene, he continued to play a role as a staunch
su p po rter o f O tto Bauer in his interpretation of Austromarxism as well as on purely
tactical questions.
110. But Renner was already an outsider in relation to the new so-called left
which gained prom inence in the SDAP during the war. At that time, Friedrich Adler
had attacked R enner for his patriotic position on the war, calling him the “ Leuger
o f social democracy.”
111. See H anno Dreschler, Die Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands (SADP):
Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung am Ende der Weimarer Repub
lik (Meisenheim am Glan, 1965), 21-23.
112.1 apologize to those who enjoy a full presentation o f complicated ideas for
riding roughshod over philosophic elegances and even essences in my attem pt to
extract only those themes pertinent to the subject o f this book.
113. See Pfabigan, Adler, ch. 7, which has a section entitled “ Kant becomes a
social democrat. ’’ This chapter gives the best critical reading o f A dler’s philosophical
Marxist excursions.
114. The following works o f Adler, in addition to Kausalität, are particularly use
ful here: “ Die sozialistische Idee d er Befreiung,” Der Kam pf 11 (1918); Der Sozial
ismus und die Intellektuellen (Vienna, 1910); Der soziologische Sinn der Lehre von Karl
Marx (Leipzig, 1914); and Kant und der Marxismus (Berlin, 1925).
115. Rabinbach’s characterization o f the contradiction is telling: “ a permanent
tension between automatic and teleological laws o f history and the practical efforts
o f the hum an subject.” In other words, a contradiction between preparatory cul
tural strategy and “ objective” reality. Crisis, 125—26.
I 16. See Hilferding, Finanzkapital (Berlin, 1955), I 74-75; Lichtheim, Marxism,
31 0-14 ; Bottomore, Austro-Marxism, 33—34.
1 17. S e e Pfabigan, Max Adler, 3 14 - 2 3 .
I 18. Mattl suggests that the Ausl l omarxisl founders were intellectually old-fash
ioned in clinging to Ihe already outm oded nineteenth cenlm y philosophic ideas, and
200 Notes to Pages 36-39
that they were unfamiliar with the newest work in positivism, econometrics, and psy
choanalysis, all o f which were were very current in the Vienna o f their time. See ‘‘Ein
leitung, ” in Löw, Mattl, Pfabigan, Autopsie, 7.
119. No do ubt Germ an culture was more developed than the others in the Dual
Monarchy. But the issue went beyond the question o f the quality of ideas. In the
Vienna o f 1914, with a 2.1 million population o f which non-Germans represented
more than a third, 1,475 German-language newspapers and periodicals were pub
lished as com pared to 60 in all other languages. Statistiches Jahrbuch der Stadt Wien
(Vienna, 1918), 32 (1914): 482—83. By the outbreak o f World War I, R enner’s philo-
Germanism had tu rn ed into chauvinism. See Blum, Austro-Marxists, 172-74.
120. Crisis, 7.
121. Even as late as 1924, when Max Adler tried to provide the theoretical ju s
tification for the SDAP Bildung program already put into practice, he insisted that
education for the proletariat must come from “ the book” and not from experience.
See Neue Menschen: Gedanken über sozialisistische Erziehung (Berlin, 1924), 109-10.
Part o f the working-class culture being developed in Vienna, involving the largest
n um ber o f participants, had little or nothing to do with book learning (sports and
festivals, for instance).
122. See Kulmann, Austromarxismus, 3 4 -3 8 ; Bottomore, Austro-Marxism, 1 5-
22; and P eter Heintel, System und Ideologie: Der Austromarxismus im Spiegel der Phi
losophie Max Adlers (Vienna, 1967), 15ff .
123. Hughes, Consciousness, 107-8.
124. For the following discussion of this key concept underlying the socialist cul
tural experiment, see especially the sophisticated analysis in Rabinbach, Crisis, 3 9 -
45, 6 0 -6 3 , 119-20. See also Bauer, Österreichische Revolution, 132-40, 175-84, 228,
259, 2 5 8-60 ; Bauer, “ Das Gleichgewicht d er Klassenkräfte,” Der K am pf 17 (Jan.
1924): 5 7 -6 7 ; as well as Kulemann, Beispiel, 238 -4 2 , and Pfoser, Literatur, 18-21.
125. Particularly a balance o f classes leading to a pause in history. See “ Ruhe
pausen d e r Geschichte,” Der Kam pf 3 (Sept. 1910), and “Volksverm ehrungund sozi
ale Entwicklung,” ibid., 7 (April 1914).
126. At virtually the same time Trotsky wrote about the contradictory relation
ship between culture and revolution. In Western Europe, he argued, the richer the
history o f the working class— the more education, tradition, and accomplish
ments— the more difficult it would be to gather it into a revolutionary unity, because
the privileges o f bourgeois democracy and freedoms would tie them to the bourgeois
order. Leon Trotsky, Fragen des Alltaglebens: Die Epoche der “Kulturarbeit” und ihre
Aufgaben (Hamburg, 1923), 24.
127. The “ inheritor party role,” to which the SDAP subscribed, hewed to the
orthodox Marxist evolutionary position that in some dim future when the bo ur
geoisie would be unable to rule, social democracy would assume power with a min
imum o f resistance. See Peter Nettl, “The G erm an Social Democratic Party as a
Political Model, 1 8 9 0 -1 9 14 ,” Past and Present 30 (1965): 67.
128. Lowenberg calls Bauer’s ambivalence and doubt leading to the avoidance
o f decisions and actions “ obsessing.” See Decoding, 181. Bauer’s cultural optimism
and political immobility were sustained in the SDAP by conceptions o f “ loyalty”
which, by reducing criticism to a ritual, foreclosed inner-party democracy. See
Leser, Zwischen, 350-51.
129. Dieter G roh, Negative Integration und revolutionärer Attentismus: Die deutsche
Sozialdemokratie am Vorabend des Ersten Weltkrieges (Frankfurt/M ain, 1973). G roh ’s
characterization o f German prewar social democracy is well suited to (he postwar
SDAP, espec ially its subslilulion ol Bildung fin political action.
Notes to Pages 39-41 201
130. See Adler, Neue Menschen, 2 2 -2 4 , 92, 109, and Pfabigan, Adler, 198-213.
131. Hans Kelsen, “ Dr. O tto Bauer’s politische Theorie,” Der Kam pf 17 (Feb.
1924): 50 -5 6 . Kelsen put his finger on a major weakness in the Bauerian Austro-
marxist formulation adopted by the SDAP: its lack o f influence in the workplace,
where the trade unions were largely ineffectual.
132. O tto Leichter, “ Zum Problem d er sozialen Gleichgewichtzustände,” Der
Kam pf 17 (May 1924): 184.
133. See “ Das ‘Linzer Program m ’ d er Sozialdemokratischen Arbeiterpartei
Österreichs, 1926,” in Albert Kadan and Anton Pelinka, eds., Die Grundsatzpro
gramme der österreichischen Parteien: Dokumentation und Analyse (Vienna, 1979), 8 1 -
88, for the social and cultural program. See also Gulick, Austria, II: 1389-1400.
134. It was the most im portant right-wing paramilitary organization, initially
organized in 1 918-19 to defend the as-yet-undetermined Austrian borders. It
became the param ount provincial armed force poised against Vienna during the
republic. It was supported by big business and finance, large landowners such as
Ernst Rüdiger Stahrenberg, Catholic political leaders like Seipel, Dollfuss, and
Schuschnigg, Catholic priests, petty bourgeois, and peasants. It was strongly m on
archist and used force and te rro r to oppose socialism and any idea o r act contrary
to Catholic teaching. As the principal exponent o f Austrofascism before 1934, it was
overtaken by the Nazi SA after 1930. See Bruce F. Pauley, Hahnenschwanz und Hack
enkreuz: Steirischer Heimatschutz und österreichischer Nationalsozialismus (Vienna,
1972), and C. Earl Edmondson, The Heimwehr and, Austrian Politics, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 6 (Ath
ens, Ga., 1978).
135. Point III o f the program entitled “The Struggle for Control o f the State.”
“Das Linzer Programm, ” 78-81.
136. Adler had been a m em ber o f the program committee. See Dreschler, Sozial
istische Arbeiterpartei, 30 -3 2. For Adler’s position as well as his intervention in the
debates, see Protokoll des sozialdemokratischen Parteitages, 1 92 6 (Vienna, 1926), 19 9-
200, 286, 292, and 3 1 0 -1 4 , and Leser, Zwischen, 3 8 2 -9 8 , for the debates in general.
The congress accepted the program unanimously.
137. Protokoll, 1926, 272.
138. In reading “ Das Programm d er Christlichsozialen Partei, 1926” one gets
the impression that open confrontation was not so unexpected in the opposition
camp. Kadan and Pelinka, eds., Grundsatzprogramme, 115-16. The program takes as
its guidelines the principles o f Christianity, that is, the ethics and morals o f the Cath
olic church. It decisively rejects every attem pt to create the dictatorship o f a class,
dem ands the cultivation o f “German behavior,” and “ combats the predominance o f
the dem oralizingjewish influence on intellectual and economic life.”
139. For the events surrounding July 15 and its implications, see G erhard Botz,
Die Ereignisse des 15. Ju li 1927: Protokoll des Symposiums in Wien am 15 Juni 1977
(Vienna, 1979), 17-59; Botz, Gewalt, 141-60; Rabinbach, Crisis, 3 2 -3 4 , 4 8-50 ;
O tto Leichter, Glanz und Elend der Ersten Republik: Wie es zum österreichische Bür
gerkrieg kam (Vienna, 1964), 4 5 -6 8 ; Leser, Zwischen, 199-428; Gulick, Austria, I:
71 7-71 ; Pfoser, Literatur, 24-26.
140. Botz, Gewalt, 144. Aside from the inflammatory article by Friedrich Aus
terlitz, editor-in-chief o f Die Arbeiter-Zeitung, no socialist leader o r trade union offi
cial o r Schutzbund functionary gave the workers any guidance or leadership during
the crucial hours before the outbreak o f violence. Only when the Palace o f Justice
was already on fire and the workers prevented the fire trucks from getting through,
did Mayor Seitz intervene to secure a passage for the vehii les.
I I I . Foi a o n e - s i d e d d e f e n s e of S e i p e l ’s a c tio n s, »ec K l e m p c r e i , Seipel, 2 6 2 6 9
202 Notes to Pages 42-46
142. See Frei, Rotes Wien, 60, and Gulick, Austria, I: 712-13.
143. See Protokoll des sozialdemokratischen Parteitages, 1927 (Vienna, 1927), 13811.
144. See Alfred Pfabigan, “ Revolutionärer Geist: Max Adler (1873-1937) und
d er Austromarxismus,” Archiv: Jahrbuch des Vereins fü r Geschichte der Arbeiterbewe
gung 3 (1987): 6 1 -6 2 . Adler’s attack on the party caused a scandal. H enceforth he
was isolated in the party, was no longer delegated to congresses, and had difficulty
being published in Austria. As a result, his activity shifted more to Berlin.
145. Cited by Pfoser, Literatur, 25.
146. Gulick, Austria, 1:717—71. He concludes this chapter with the thought that
Austrian labor and democracy had begun the slow descent to defeat.
147. That such absolute loyalty to the idol of unity could no longer be relied on
is exposed in Rabinbach’s Crisis, where the ultimately ineffectual opposition to
Bauer from the party’s left is the major theme.
148. That the S1)AP succeeded in receiving 59 percent o f the vote in Viennese
municipal elections to the very end o f the republic suggests that the voter confidence
o f the workers continued to be strong despite the setback o f July 15.
C h a p te r 3
1. When the socialist mayor Jakob Reum ann assumed olfice in May 1919, he
promised no less than a quantitive and qualitative improvement in the social net and
asserted that the well-to-do would have to shoulder a large part o f the cost. Arbeiter
zeitu ng, May 23, 1919, cited in Franz Patzer, Streiflichter a u f die Wiener Kom m unal
politik, 1 9 1 9 -1 9 3 4 (Vienna, 1978), 11-12.
2. See Julius Bunzel, “ Der Wohnungsmarkt und die Wohnungspolitik,” in Julius
Bunzel, Beiträge zur städtischen Wohn- und Siedelwirtschaft: III. Wohnungsfragen in
Österreich (Leipzig, 1930), 107; Felix Czeike, Wirtschafts- und Sozialpolitik der Gei-
meitule Wien, 1 9 1 9 -1 9 3 4 (Vienna, 1959), 16-17. The reader is alerted to the fact
that the numerical figures and related statistics on virtually all aspects o f municipal
socialism vary, at times considerably. This is due in large part to the use of diff erent
statistical yearbooks with varying systems o f notation to provide comparative and
long-range information. I will indicate those instances where the differences become
significant.
3. The soundest analysis o f socialist communal policies is still to be found in Rai
n er Bauböck, Wohnungspolitik im sozialdemokratischen Wien, 1 9 1 9 -1 9 3 4 (Salzburg,
1979), and Maren Seliger, Sozialdemokratie und Kommunalpolitik in Wien: Zu einigen
Aspekten sozialdemokratischer Politik in der Vor- und Zwischenkiriegszeit (Vienna, 1980).
4. Czeike, Wirtschafts/Sozialpolitik, 55 -5 6 .
5. For the origins and development o f the concept o f “ ordentliche Arbeiterfa
milie,” see Joseph Ehmer, “ Familie und Klasse: Zur Entstehung der Arbeiterfamilie
in Wien,” in Michael M itterauer and Reinhard Sieder, eds., Historische Familienfor
schung (Frankfurt/M ain, 1982).
6. See Karl Sablik, Julius Tandler: M ediziner und Sozialreformer (Vienna, 1983),
70 -7 4. Environmentalism also led the socialists to embrace the ego psychology o f
Alfred Adler, with its promise o f personality restructuring, in preference to the more
pessimistic psychoanalysis o f Siegmund F'reud.
7. T h a t i n c l u d e s s o m e 3 , 6 0 4 d w e llin g s c r e a t e d with m o r t g a g e f u n d s b e t w e e n
1 9 1 9 a n d 1 9 2 3 ( b e f o r e t h e first in n o v a t i v e h o u s i n g p r o g r a m b a s e d o n a n e w sy ste m
o f t a x a t io n ) , as well as t h o s e still u n d e r c o n s t r u c t i o n in 1 934. S e e C h a r l e s A. Gulick,
A ustria: From 1labslturg to H itler (B erk eley, Calif., 19 4 8 ), I: 4 3 4 , 4 5 0 . B a u h ö c k , W ohn-
Notes tt>Pages 46-49 203
ungspolitik, 152, gives a total o f 63,071 domiciles built, and o ther sources fluctuate
by as much as 3,000 for reasons not discernable.
8. The new municipal housing accounted for 10.4% of all Viennese housing in
1934. Density o f domicile occupation had declined from 4.14 in 1910 to 3.03 in
1934. Bauböck, Wohnungspolitik, 152.
9. See Karl Honay, “A ufbauarbeit in Krisenzeiten. Der Wiener Stadthaushalt im
Ja h re 1932,” Der Sozialdemokrat 1 (1932): 6 -8 . For similar self-congratulation, see
Robert D anneberg, Zehn Jahre Neues Wien (Vienna, 1929), 50-56 . Both were mem
bers o f the city council.
10. Bauböck, Wohnungspolitik, 154, and Käthe Leichter, So leben w ir . . . 1320
Industrie-arbeiterinnen berichten über ihr Leben (Vienna, 1932), 84.
11. For examples, see Klaus Novy, “ Der Wiener Gemeindewohnungsbau:
‘Sozialisierung von u n te n ,’ ” ARCH: Zeitschrift für Architekten, Sozialarbeiter und kom
munalpolitische (Wuppen 45 (July 1979); Hans H autm ann and Rudolf H autm ann,
“ H ubert Gessner und das Konzept des Volkswohnungspalasts,” Austriaca: Cahiers
universitaires d ’information sur l ’Autriche 12 (May 1981); Wolfgang Speiser, Paul
Speiser und das rote Wien (Munich, 1979), 5 0 -5 2 ; and Hans H autm ann and Rudolf
Kropf, Die österreichische Arbeiterbewegung vom Vormärz bis 1945 (Vienna, 1974), 146-
48. A refreshing contrast to the tendency to heroize and celebrate a mythic socialist
Vienna is Helmut W eihsm ann’s Das Rote Wien: Sozialdemokratische Architektur und
Kommunalpolitik, 1 9 1 9 -1 9 3 4 (Vienna, 1985).
12. Bunzel, “ W ohnungsm arkt/W ohnungspolitik,” lists 9,720 such accommo
dations still existing in 1923 (109-10). H e also indicates that in 1919 16.9% o f all
apartm ents still harb o red subtenants and bed renters (107).
13. See J. Robert Wegs, Growing Up Working Class: Continuity and Change Among
Viennese Youth, 1 8 9 0 -1 9 3 8 (Pennsylvania, 1989), 39 -4 2 ; Peter Feldbauer, Stadt
wachstum und Wohnungsnot: Determinanten unzureichender Wohnungsversorgung in
Wien, 1 8 4 8 -1 9 1 4 (Vienna, 1977), 202-4.
14. For previous tenant insecurity, the power o f landlords, and tenant nom ad
ism, see Michael Jo h n , Hausherrenmacht und Mieterelend: Wohnverhältnisse und Wohn-
erfahrung der Unterschichten in Wien, 1 8 9 0 -1 9 2 3 (Vienna, 1982), 29—67.
15. Czeike, Wirtschafts/Sozialpolitik, 16-17.
16. See Wilfred Posch, Die Wiener Gartenstadt Bewegung: Reformversuch zwischen
Erster und Zweiter Gründerzeit (Vienna, 1981), and Klaus Novy, “ Selbsthilfe als
Reformbewegung: Der K ampf der Wiener Siedler nach dem 1. Weltkrieg,” ARCH
55 (March 1981).
17. Czeike, Wirtschafts/Sozialpolitik, 30—31.
18. See Bauböck, Wohnungspolitik, 91—99; Seliger, Sozialdemokratie und Kommun
alpolitik, 9 9 -1 02 ; Czeike, Wirtschafts/Sozialpolitik, 7 8 -8 3 , 89-90 .
19. See Alfred G eorg Frei, Rotes Wien: Austromarxismus und Arbeiterkultur —
Sozialdemokratische Wohnungs- und Kommunalpolitik, 1 9 1 9 -1 9 3 4 (Berlin, 1984), 8 3 -
84.
20. Czeike, Wirtschafts/Sozialpolitik, 3 9-41 ; Bauböck, Wohnungspolitik, 123-38;
Seliger, Sozialdemokratie/Kommunalpolitik, 115-36; Frei, Rotes Wien, 83—84; Gulick,
Austria, I: 449—59.
21. The right-wing press went into a frenzy over this tax, calling it pure expro
priation. Breitner was smeared with anti-Semitic slurs, to which the SDAP failed to
respond forcefully. Ironically, even the wealthiest tenants were the beneficiaries o f
the rent-control law and, despite the allegedly unbearable lax, paid no more than
37% of prewar rents. Czeike, Wirlscha/ls/Soiialpolitik, 40.
204 Notes to Pages 49-51
22. At the time the socialist press made much o f the champagne and caviar, race
horses and sports cars o f the rich being taxed for the benefit of the “ Viennese little
m an.” They neglected to mention that even the little m an’s entertainm ent, especially
admissions to cinema, Varieté, circus, and football matches were somehow also clas
sified as “ luxuries.”
23. See Adelheid von Saldern, “ Sozialdemokratie und kommunale Wohnungs
baupolitik in den 20er Ja h re n — am Beispiel von H am burg und Wien,” Archiv fü r
Sozialgeschichte 25 (1985): 195-97. Von Saldern uses 1925 as a sample year to indi
cate that the housing tax brought in 23% and luxury taxes 20% o f the budget for the
building fund. I would increase this income by 10-15% for the years through 1929.
Czeike points out that part o f the compromise by which the rent-control law was
weakened in 1929 included specific federal subvention o f Viennese housing projects
u n d er construction. In all likelihood this assistance was marginal. See Czeike, Wirt
schafts/Sozialpolitik, 44, 91.
24. The Christian Socials applied pressure in parliament against rent control in
1925 in o rd er to defeat the renewal of the housing requisitioning law as part o f a
compromise. For this and oth er attacks on rent control and the housing program,
see the detailed presentation in Gulick, Austria, I: 466-503.
25. Seliger, Sozialdemokratie und Kommunalpolitik, 137-39.
26. Bauböck, Wohnungspolitik, 108-14.
27. Peter Feldbauer and Wolfgang Hösl, “ Die Wohnungsverhaltnisse der Wie
n er Unterschichten und die Anfänge des genossenschaftlichen Wohn- und Sied
lungswesens,” in G erhard Botz, Hans H autm ann, Helmut Konrad, Joseph Weiden
holzer, eds., Bewegung und Klasse: Studien zur österreichischen Arbeitergeschichte
(Vienna, 1978), 6 9 0 -9 1 . This plan o f E. H. Aigde was rejected by conservative indus
trialists who feared that such concentrated housing would lead to worker solidarity
and radicalism.
28. Feldbauer and Hösl, “Wohnungsverhältnisse,” 698-99.
29. See the excellent textual and photographic presentation o f the historical
precedents o f communal housing in Vienna in Weihsmann, Rote Wien, 67 -9 9 .
30. See O tto Bauer, Der Weg zum Sozialismus (Vienna, 1919), 116-21, for the
following.
31. See the photo essay in the exhibition catalog M it uns zieht die neue Zeit: Arbei
terkultur in Österreich, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 4 (Vienna, 1981), 70-72. The myth, created by
SDAP spokesmen in the 1920s, that the cost o f the building program was borne by
the rich paying the housing tax, is repeated there (68).
32. See Michael Jo h n , “The Im portance o f N eighborhood Relationships and
Grass Roots Movements in Red Vienna, 19 1 9 -1 93 4 ,” 8, 13. Unpublished paper
available at the Verein für Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung, Vienna. Jo h n col
lected some forty histories; Reinhard Sieder more than sixty; and Gottfried Pirhofer
and Peter Feldbauer considerable additional ones. Most are available on tape and
typed transcription at the Institut für Wirtschafts- u n d Sozialgeschichte o f the Uni
versity of Vienna.
33. See Franz Patzer, “ Zeittafel sämtlicher Sitzungen des Wiener Gemeinderates
von 1918 bis 1934 mit den wichtigsten V erhandlungspunkten, wie Kundgebungen,
Wahlen, Beschlüsse, Anfragen, Anträgen, usw.,” Streiflichter a u f die Wiener Kommun
alpolitik, 1 9 1 9 -1 9 3 4 (Vienna, 1978), 61-1 2 3.
34. The argument, for instance, dial the ulterior motive of the socialist building
program was to p repare strategically for c ivil war, was repeated ad nauseam. Ibid.,
46.
Notes to Pages 51-54 205
50. In view o f the 68,858 persons seeking apartments in 1924, the first building
program did little to alleviate the crisis. See Czeike, Wirtschafts/Sozialpolitik, 17. Not
all o f the apartm ent hunters needed a new o r diff erent apartment. In many instances
upgrading o f existing habitations would have been acceptable.
51. Such exaggerations are prevalent even am ong some younger Austrian his
torians. See for instance Michael Jo hn , Hausherrenmacht und Mieterelend, 1 8 9 0 -1 9 2 3
(Vienna, 1982). O ne leafs with fascination through the photographs in this book,
which illustrate only the most decrepit habitations and surroundings.
52. See Wegs, Growing Up Working Class, 25-27 .
53. For brief periods I have lived in two such form er tenements: in the 20th dis
trict in 1938-39 and in the 5th district in 1981. Both had a living room /kitchen,
bedroom , and a half room; both (originally) did not have a toilet, running water, or
gas. I would ju d g e the total space in both to be 50m2 (540 ft2). The ceilings were 3m
(10 ft) high and therefore gave a larger aspect to the rooms than their size would
suggest. In both apartments the kitchens faced a long interior building corridor but
had a window as well. In that corridor a water tap (Basena) and a toilet had served all
the apartments. The stairwells and corridors were wide and commodious. These
examples are not m eant to ennoble the far-from-ideal quality o f the tenements but
simply to indicate that the quality o f such housing conformed to a wide spectrum. I
would ju d g e that 25% o f such tenements were barely habitable; that 50% were just
adequate, considering the quality o f cheaper housing in Vienna in general; and that
25% were livable and even desirable as interior domicile and exterior structure.
54. See for example Anton Weber, Die Wohnungsprobleme und die Gemeinde Wien
(Vienna, 1927), and Die wohnungspolitik der Gemeinde Wien (Vienna, 1929). In addi
tion, num erous pamphlets rolled off the SDAP printing presses on the accomplish
ments o f the socialist municipality, with housing in the forefront. The formula of
presentation was quite simple: b efore/after, decaying/blooming, ugly/beautiful, suf
fering/rejuvenated, etc. Robert Danneberg, the party secretary, usually signed these
achievement reports.
55. In the hopeless postwar real estate market, housing stock as well as land was
a glut on the market. Landlords were happy to be rid o f their unprofitable houses at
one-quarter o f their prewar prices. See Fritz C. Wulz, Stadt in Veränderung: Eine
architektur-politische Studie von Wien inden Jahren 1 8 4 8 -1 9 3 4 (Stockholm, 1978), II:
439. It would have been possible for the municipality to acquire such tenements at
very low cost and to improve the apartm ents by introducing electricity, water, and
gas. W hether a p art o f the building funds invested in such renovation would have
improved the housing o f a larger num ber than could be satisfied by only new con
struction was never examined by the SDAP.
56. By 1928 the municipality owned 25% o f the total Viennese land surface, and
by 1933 over 30%. Ibid., II: 438; Bauböck, Wohnungspolitik, 14-43; Weihsmann,
Rote Wien, 63, n. 46; Gulick, Austria, I: 457.
57. See Bunzel, “ W ohnungsmarkt,” 128.
58. Seliger, Sozialdemokratie und Kommunalpolitik, 137-38.
59. See Leo Adler, ed., Neuzeitliche Miethäuser und Siedlungen (Leipzig, 1931),
with detailed photographs and drawings o f postwar architecture in Berlin and H am
burg as well as in Holland and Sweden. Von Saldern points out “ that between 1924
and 1930 Germany became the international center of the new architecture style.”
It was well received by the Socialist party, which sponsored il in public buildings and
housing in H amburg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Stuttgart, and o th er cities. See “ Sozialde
mokratie kommunale W ohmmgsbaupolilik," 208-9. For the positive response of
Notes to Pages 56-60 207
the French Popular Front government to functionalist architecture, see Jean-1, ouis
Cohen, “ Architectures du F ront populaire,” Le Mouvement Social 46 (Jan.-March
1989): 4 9 -5 9 .
60. The publication o f an exhibit, Rotes Wien, 1 9 1 9 -1 9 3 4 : Kommunaler Wohnbau
in der Zwischenkiregszeit (Vienna, 1980-84), is accompanied by an excellent slide p ro
gram (available at all Austrian cultural institutes) which highlights the traditional
adherence o f the municipal housing o f red Vienna to the basic Viennese courtyard
construction o f both public and private buildings, as well as illustrating the hodge
podge o f styles in structures and exterior decorations.
61. See Adelheid von Saldern, “ Die Neubausiedlungen d er Zwanziger Ja h re ,” in
Ulfert Herlyn, Adelheid von Saldern, Wulf Tessin, eds., Neubausiedlungen der 20er
und 60er Jahre (Frankfurt/M ain, 1987), 39-41.
62. Novy, “ Wiener Gem eindewohnungsbau,” 17-18; Bauböck, 145-48. Unlike
m ore sophisticated crafts, it was argued, bricklaying could be learned by the inex
perienced with relative ease.
63. See Barbara M. Lane, Architecture and Politics in Germany, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 4 5 (Cam
bridge, Mass., 1968), 83-1 0 7 .
64. See Ferdinand and Lore Kramer, “ Sozialer W ohnbau d er Stadt Frankfurt
am Main in den 20er Ja h re n ,” Ausstellung Kommunaler Wohnbau in Wien (Vienna,
1978). Despite the use o f rationalized materials and methods in Frankfurt and other
Germ an cities, the expected savings in building costs and low rents were not realized,
because mortgage rates were so high. The Viennese public housing was financed
without mortgages.
65. In Frankfurt it took five years to build new housing for 11% o f the popula
tion; in Vienna it took ten years to accommodate somewhat fewer people. See ibid.
66. See von Saldern, “ Sozialdemokratie kommunale Wohnungsbaupolitik,”
198.
67. Lane, Architecture, 103.
68. The ten largest projects, which I have inspected, contained 11,570 apart
ments: Sandleitn Hof, 1,587; Engelshof, 1,467; Karl-Marx-Hof, 1,325; Karl-Seitz-
Hof, 1,273; Mithlingerhof, 1,136; Rabenhof, 1,109; George-Washington-Hof,
1,084; Siedlung Freihof, 1,014; Am Laaer Berg, 846; Wildganshof, 829. These were
located in districts with existing concentrations o f workers: the 3rd, 10th, 12th, 16th,
19th, 20th, and 21st.
69. For the particulars o f municipal buildings as well as individual habitations
and communal facilities, see Czeike, Wirtschaft/Sozialpolitik, 5 9-78 ; Weihsmann,
Rote Wien, 9 2 -3 6 9 (a detailed walking tour through the city, stopping at each munic
ipal project for a detailed discussion); and Hans H autm ann and Rudolf H autm ann,
Die Gemeindebauten des Roten Wien, 1 9 1 9 -1 9 3 4 (Vienna, 1980), passim.
70. See for instance Richard Wagner, Der Klassenkampf um den Menschen (Berlin,
1927); Robert Danneberg, Das neue Wien (Vienna, 1930); Karl Honay, “ Sozialis
tische Arbeit in d er kapitalistischen Gesellschaft,” Der K am pf 5 (1929). See also the
latter-day sympathizers: Gulick, Austria, I: 50 3 -4 ; Austeilung Kommunaler Wohnbau
in Wien (Vienna, 1977).
71. See Reinhard Sieder, “ Housing Policy, Social Welfare and Family Life in
‘Red Vienna,’ 19 19 -1 9 34 ,” Oral History: Journal o f the Oral History Society 13:2
(1985): 35 -4 8 .
72. See Lane, Architecture, 103-14; von Saldern, “ Sozialdemokratie und W ohn
ungsbaupolitik,” 222—30; Das Wohnungswesen der Stadt Frankfurt A.M. (Frankfurt/
Main, 1930). But with the onset o f the depression, the size was reduced to 30 to 50
208 Notes to Pages 60-63
square meters. Even so, rents in German public housing were beyond the means of
the average worker family, because 60-70% o f it was due to high mortgages. Such
apartm ents were within the means o f skilled workers, employees, and functionaries.
See von Saldern, “ N eubausiedlungen,” 3 3 -3 7 , 53.
73. Between 1926 and 1930 ten thousand new apartments in Frankfurt were
equipped with these kitchens. See Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, “ Vienne—Francfort:
Construction de logements et rationalisation des travaux domestiques,” Austriaca:
Cahiers universitaires (¡’informations u r d ’Autriche 12 (May 1981), 129-38.
74. These are best enum erated and illustrated in H autm ann and Hautm ann,
“ H ubert Gessner,” 1 18-19, and the photographs in idem., Gemeindebauten.
75. H autm ann and Hautm ann, “ H ubert Gessner,” 118, list 33 central laundries
with a total o f 830 workplaces. That allows for 302,950 washdays for 63,000 tenants
o r 4.8 washdays p er tenant per year. Sieder, “ Housing Policy,” 10—11, cites
5,032,847 baths taken in municipal bathhouses (other than the three in the projects)
as a sign o f increased cleanliness. But even a conservative estimate o f use works out
to one bath in two weeks per person.
76. For the negative reaction of tenants to the communal facilities, see Dieter
I.angewiesche, “ Politische O rientierung und soziales Verhalten: Familienleben und
Wohnverhältnisse von Arbeitern im ‘ro te n ’ Wien d e r Ersten Republik,” in Lutz Nie
thammer, ed., Wohnen im Wandel: Beiträge zu r Geschichte des Alltags in der bürgerlichen
Gesellschaft (Wuppertal, 1979), 183-85.
77. Weihsmann, Rote Wien, 63, n. 61.
78. It was often young couples with one o r two children who were able to leave
the overcrowded quarters o f parents o r in-laws. In general they had waited from four
to eight years before being selected by the housing office. See Sieder, “ Housing Pol
icy,” 6 -9 .
79. See Dr. Ph. Vass, Die Wiener Wohnungswirtschaft von 1917 bis 19 2 7 (Jena,
1928), 38-39 .
80. Das neue Wien: Städtewerk (Vienna, 1926), I: 235. Those residing in Vienna
since birth received four points. Single persons and couples married less than a year
could not get into the first group o f needy, even if their points totaled ten.
81. The Austrian Communist party (KPÖ) criticized the SDAP and the whole
municipal reform program for having abandoned the weakest portion o f the work
ing class: the unemployed, those on relief, the homeless and evicted. See for instance
KPÖ, “ Waldhotel”: Die Geschichte einer Delogierung im sozialdemokratischen Wien
(Vienna, 1931). The attack was too vehement for the points made, but eviction had
increasingly become a problem after 1929, when the Christian Socials, using implicit
threats of violence, forced the SDAP to agree to a certain weakening o f the rent-
control law.
82. Nearby shops and Gasthäuser were also im portant sites o f spontaneous social
ization. See Jo h n , “ Im portance o f N eighborhood Relationships,” 3 -6.
83. See John, H ausherrenm acht, 108-16, and “Anhang: Interview mit H errn
Merinsky O ttokar, 18., Hildebrandgasse 21, am 3.7. 1981” ; Gottfried Pirhofer and
Reinhard Sieder, “ Zur Konstitution d er Arbeiterfamilie im Roten Wien: Familien
politik, Kulturreform, Alltag und Ästhetik,” in Michael Mitterauer and Reinhard
Sieder, ed., Familienforschung (Vienna, 1982), 351 -57 ; Wegs, Crowning Up Working
Class, 47-5 1.
84. Reinhard Sieder, “ Working-Class Family Life in Wartime Vienna,” in Rich
ard Wall and Jay Winter, eds., The Upheaval of War: Family, Work and Welfare in
Europe, 19 1 4 -I 9 I N (Cambridge, 1988), 126.
Notes to Pages 63-64 209
85. See Gottfried Pirhofer, “Ansichten zum Wiener kommunalen Wohnbau der
zwanziger und frühen dreissiger Jahre,” in Helmut Fielhauer and O laf Bockhorn,
eds., Die andere Kultur: Volkskunde, Sozialwissenschaften und Arbeiterkultur: Ein
Tagungsbericht (Vienna, 1982), 237-38.
86. Pirhofer and Sieder, “ Konstitution der Arbeiterfamilie,” 354.
87. As we shall see in the discussion o f the family in Ch. 6, every eff ort was made
by the administration o f the municipal houses to wean the workers away from their
fo rm er habits and life-styles: women were told to become active in the party culture
outside the home; local party meetings were removed from the neighborhood Gas
thaus to the project meeting rooms; children were discouraged from both free play
on the project grounds and street play; and various pressures were exerted to p ro
duce new norms o f cleanliness, public behavior, and housekeeping.
88. G ottfried Pirhofer and Reinhard Sieder, “ Familie und W ohnen im Roten
Wien,” in International C onference o f L abour Historians, ITH-Tagungsbericht 16
(Vienna, 1981), 190-91.
89. Pirhofer and Sieder, “Arbeiterfamilie,” 351-57. The feeling o f pressure
from the building management, complaints about the strict regimentation, and the
desire to escape from the controls o f municipal housing are a constant refrain in
virtually all oral history accounts.
90. T here were complaints in the anarchist press that tenants who protested
about the housing management were threatened with eviction. See “ Das ‘rote Para
dies’ in Wien: Ein offener Brief ü b er sozialdemokratische Auslandslügen,” Erkennt
nis und Befreiung: Organ des Herrschaftslosen Sozialismus 1 1:49 (1929): 3.
91. A rare find in the SDAP archives is an exchange of letters between a loyal
SDAP and trade union m em ber and the party executive. The member, Aegidius
P inker, complained that the district party representative had overturned the election
o f tenants’ representatives twice, because the official candidate had been rejected by
the community tenants. Some twenty members o f the Schutzbund present but out
o f uniform (and not from the district) threatened to break up the meeting. When
Finker and others present expressed outrage at the behavior o f the SDAP represen
tatives, they were threatened with loss o f their jobs and informed that they were p er
manently unqualified for apartm ents in the new municipal housing. Pinker minced
no words in charging the city council with donating 6 0 -7 0 percent o f all municipal
housing to their favorites. The SDAP’s reply dismissed Finker’s charges by instruct
ing him to make his complaint to the appropriate party organ. It further informed
him that the party was engaged in removing corrupt tenants’ representatives, a task
in which it would not be hindered. See Aegidius Finker, “ An den Parteivorstand der
S.D.A.P., Wien,” March 14, 1928, and “ H errn Aegidius Finker,” March 22, 1928,
Allgemeines Verwaltungsarchiv Wien (AVA), SD-Parteistellen, Karton 93.
92. The most com mon complaint was about the arbitrary behavior o f SDAP cad
res in acting like a police force in the housing projects, and about their tendency to
monopolize and dom inate tenants’ meetings, preventing complaints from being
aired. See Prolet im, Gemeindebau: Selbsthilfsorgan der Mieter des Schummeierhofes und
Umgebung, Dec. 1930 and Jan. 1931; Das Alsergrunder Arbeiterblatt, Jan. 1929; Pro
letarierviertel: Häuserzeitung der Mieter von Hernals oberhalb der Wattgasse, Oct. 1932;
Der Rote Sandleitner Prolet, Jan. 1933.
93. T here is nothing vaguely socialist about calling for experts to improve the
quality and management o f families and child rearing. I .iheral reform ers and statist
interventionists have made such <.ills for over a century, anil these demands have by
now been largely satisfied. See Christopher I .as« h, llaven in a Heartless World: The
‘2 1 0 Notes to Pages 64-65
Family Besieged, (New York, 1976). In the SDAP, the first o rd er o f experts were the
functionaries themselves. See Kuhlemann, Beispiel Marxismus, 313-24.
94. A celebratory parade initiated by the tenants on the eve o f the official open
ing o f the Karl-Marx-Hof was not perm itted to take place. See Frei, Rotes Wien, 110-
16.
95. See Langewiesche, “ Politische O rientierung,” 175, where he reports the tri
umphal speech o f a leading Austrian socialist at an SPD meeting in W ürzburg in
1933. The speaker clamined that the “world-renowned” municipal housing had
been paid for with the building tax alone.
96. See von Saldern, “ Sozialdemokratie kommunale Wohnungspolitik,” 194-
99; F. and L. Kramer, “ Sozialer W ohnbau F rankfurt” ; Weihsmann, Rote Wien, 1 59-
65; Marc Bonneville, Villeurbanne: naissante et métamorphose d ’une banlieue ouvrière
(Lyon, 1978); Jean-Paul Flammand, Loger le peuple: essai sur l ’histoire du logement
social en France (Paris, 1989), ch. 3; Annie Fourcaut, Bobigny: banlieue rouge (Paris,
1986),ch. 4 ;Jo h n Burnett, A Social History o f Housing, 1 8 1 5 -1 9 8 5 (London, 1986),
2 34 -4 7 ; and Sean Glynn and Jo h n Oxborrow, lnterwar Britain: A Social and Economic
History (London, 1976), ch. 8. The point made here is that these attempts to provide
public housing were not free of problems o f various sorts or necessarily better than
what the SDAP accomplished, but that the Viennese housing program was only one
example o f such social democratic reform efforts.
97. That these massive structures were indeed fortresses created by the socialists
to protect their worker denizens in case o f civil war was a popular charge among
Christian Social critics of the municipal housing program. The fragility o f these
brick-and-mortar buildings, dem onstrated by the destruction inllicted on them even
by the World War I artillery o f Dollfuss in 1934, should have put these allegations
to rest, but they linger on even in the work o f otherwise sound historians. For the
refutation o f the “ red fortress” theory, see G erhard Kapner, “ Der Wiener kom
munale Wohnbau: Urteilen d er Zwischen- u nd Nachkriegszeit,” in Franz
Kadrnoska, ed., Aufbruch und Untergang: Österreichische K ultur zwischen 1918 und
1938 (Vienna, 1981), passim, but especially 149-59.
98. It has been suggested that the municipal housing projects were enclaves on
the city’s periphery, leaving the urban power center untouched; that instead o f cre
ating a new “ ring” or proletarian belt o f housing near the city center, the municipal
socialists opted for a defensive position from the outset. See G ottfried Pirhofer and
Michael Tripes, Am Schöpfwerk neu Bewohnt: Ungewohntes vom Wiener Gemeindebau
(Vienna, 1981), 2 2 -2 5 , 35 -3 6 . For the danger o f the SDAP’s confusing cultural with
political power, see Anton Pelinka, “ Kommunalpolitik als Gegenmacht: Das ‘rote
Wien’ als Beispiel gesellschaftsverändernder Reformpolitik,” in K.-H. Nassmacher,
Kommunalpolitik und Sozialdemokratie: Der Beitrag des demokratischen Sozialismus zur
kommunalen Selbstverwaltung (Bonn, 1977), 63-77.
9 9 .1 am greatful to Peter Marcuse for having drawn my attention to this gestaltist
perspective. See his article “The H ousing Policy o f Social Democracy: Determinants
and Consequences,” in Rabinbach, ed., Austrian Experiment, 212-13.
100. See Gottfried Pirhofer, “ Wirtschaftspolitik,” and “ Politikám K örper,” Aus
stellungskatalog Zwischenkriegszeit— Wiener Kommunalpolitik, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 8 (Vienna,
1980), 21, 65 -6 7 .
101. U nfortunately the one detailed biography— Karl Sablik , Julius Tandler:
Mediziner und Sozialreformer: Fine Biography (Vienna, 1983)— although generally
informative, lacks any real insight into T andler’s social Darwinist and eugenic ori
entation on the “ population question." Sablik also fails to appreciate the consider
Notes to Pages 65-68 211
able courage with which T andler faced the virulent and rampant anti-Semitism in
the medical faculty and also am ong his Christian Social colleagues on the municipal
council, where he stood his ground against infamous slander without concerted or
decisive support from his own parly.
102. See Czeike, Wirtschafts/Sozialpolitik, 159-65. This remains the best source
on the detailed aspects o f health and welfare programs, their organization, extent,
cost, and accomplishments (153-211). It should be used in conjunction with Patzer,
Streiflichter, which provides both a chronological and subject index o f issues before
the municipal council, for which protocols can be found. Also informative on the
specifics o f health and welfare programs, but not very analytical, is Gulick, Austria,
I: 505-43.
103. Julius Tandler, “ Gemeinde und Gesundheitswesen,” Die Gemeinde: Halb-
monatschrift für sozialdemokratische Kommunalpolitik 8 (1920): 165-69.
104. See Julius Tandler, Wohltätigkeit oder Fürsorge? (Vienna, 1925). An excerpt
o f this pam phlet is reprinted in Junius, Sozialismus und persönliche Lebensgestaltung:
Texte aus der Zwischenkriegszeit (Vienna, 1981), 123-25, with a discussion o f socialist
caritas, which was not charity but spontaneous welfare actions not sponsored by the
municipality but by workers for workers at the grass roots and by initiatives from
below (122).
105. See Franz Karner, Aufbau der Wohlfahrtspflege der Stadt Wien (Vienna, 1926).
106. Das neue Wien: Städtewerk, I: 60 2 -5 . The official rep o rt credits the educa
tion o f m others to breast feeding and rational infant care fo r the sharp decline in
infants deaths.
107. O f some 10,000 first-grade schoolchildren tested for tuberculosis in 1925-
26, 39 percent o f the boys and 31 percent o f the girls were positive. See Wegs, Grow
ing Up Working Class, 19.
108. For the following, see H erm ann H ärtm ann, Die Wohlfahrtspflege Wiens
(Jena, 1929), 98—100; Speiser, Rote Wien, 49 -5 0 ; and Felix Czeike, Liberale, Chris-
tlichsoziale und Sozialdemokratische Kommunalpolitik (18 6 1- 1934): Dargestellt am Bei
spiel der Gemeinde Wien (Vienna, 1962), 99—101, 107—10.
109. See Philipp Frankowski and Dr. Karl Gottlieb, Die Kindergärten der Gemeinde
Wien (Vienna, 1927), 9, 11, 46-48 .
110. See David Crew, “ Germ an Socialism, the State and Family Policy, 1918-
1933,” Continuity and Change 1:2 (1986).
111. It was a major subject o f discussion at the socialist womens’ conference p re
ceding the im portant party congress o f 1926, at which the main guidelines o f social
ist policy, including the role o f women and the family, were promulgated. See
Frauenarbeit und Bevölkerungspolitik: Verhandlungen der sozialdemokratischen Frauen-
reichskonferenz, Oktober 2 9 -3 0 , ¡9 2 6 in Linz (Vienna, 1926), and Dr. Margarete Hil-
ferding, Geburtenregelung (Vienna, 1926), on the danger o f reproducing the eugen-
ically unfit. The socialists were not alone in their concern about the decline o f the
birth rate and quality o f future generations. These matters preoccupied most
national governments, racists, imperialists, as well as social reform ers o f every stripe.
See Michael Teitelbaum and Jay Winter, Fear o f Population Decline (Orlando, Fla.,
1985). In France, during the interwar period such concerns led to first steps toward
family allowances based on the num ber o f children. See Cicely Watson, “ Population
Policy in France: Family Allowances and O th er Benefits: 1,” Population Studies 7
(1953-54): 263-86.
1 12. See Doris Beyer, “Sexualität— Mac lit Wohlfahrt: /eitgemilsse Kriime-
rungcn an das ‘Role Wien,” ' Zeit Geschichte 14:1 1/12 (Aug./Sept 1987): 453. I am
212 Notes to Pages 6 8- 72
die W iener Schulreform ,” Archiv: Mitteilungsblatt des Vereins fü r Geschichte der Arbei
terbewegung 24:3 (July/Sept. 1984): 6.
155. For a clear Statement o f the original proposal, see O tto Glöckel, Die öster
reichische Schulreform: Einige Feststellungen im Kampfe gegen die Schulverderber
(Vienna, 1923), 11.
156. Glöckel, Drillschule , passim.
157. Achs, “ Glöckel,” 12-13.
158. M aderthaner, “ Schule d er Freiheit,” 9.
159. Ibid., 7 -8 , and especially Glaser, Umfeld, 309-16.
160. See Glöckel, Österreichische Schulreform, 18. Glöckel kept on the surplus
teachers and used them to reduce average class size to thirty pupils until 1929, and
thereafter to thirty-three. See Czeike, Wirtschafts/Sozialpolitik, 281-82.
161. See Viktor Belohoubek, Die ersten Zehn Jahre der österreichischen Bundeserzie-
hungsanstalten (Vienna, 1931).
162. See Felix F. Strauss, “ Schule u n d Heim in d er Bundeserziehungsanstalt
W iener Neustadt im Rahmen der österreichischen Reformpolitik,” Brenner Schriften
(Innsbruck, 1990).
163. See H enrietta Kotlan-Werner, Kunst und Volk: D avid Joseph Bach, 1 8 7 4 -
194 7 (Vienna, 1977), 174.
164. See Joseph T. Simon, Augenzeuge: Erinnerungen eines österreichischen Sozial
isten— Eine sehr persönliche Zeitgeschichte (Vienna, 1979), 3 1-33 .
165. Glöckel, Drillschule, 3. This publication o f 1928 was preceded five years ear
lier by a pam phlet in which he already listed with pride the many foreigners who
came to see the Viennese attem pts at educational reform. But the interwar period
was fertile in educational experiments everywhere and such interest or exchanges
were the rule rather than exceptional. Glöckel, Österreichische Schulreform, 51. Every
one o f D anneberg’s reports on the accomplishments o f the municipality, updated
every year, contained paeans to Vienna’s educational trailblazing. The socialist press
abounded in similar tributes, extolling Vienna as the Mecca o f innovation and
reform.
166. See for instance Speiser, Rote Wien, 75; Achs, “ Glöckel,” 15; Glaser, Umfeld,
301—2; Ralph Grossmann and Rudolk Wimmer, Schule und politische Bildung I: Die
historische Entwicklung der politischen B ildung in Österreich (Klagenfurt, 1979), 5 6 -
123.
167. See R. H. Samuel and R. H. Thomas, Education and Society in M odem Ger
many (London, 1949), chs. 2 - 3 and 7, and Peter Lundgreen, Sozialgeschichte der
deutschen Schule im Überblick, Teil II: 1 9 1 8 -1 9 8 0 (Göttingen, 1981).
168. See Jo h n Stevenson, British Society, 1 9 1 4 -1 9 4 5 (Harmondsworth, 1984),
2 50 -5 7 , and W alford Johnson, J o h n Whyman, George Wykes, A Short Economic and
Social History o f Twentieth Century Britain (New York, 1967), 168-76. These experi
ments in “ progressive” education were private undertakings aimed at the middle
class.
169. See Lawrence A. Cremin, The Transformation of the School: Progressivism in
American Education (New York, 1969), ch. 6, and Rush Welter, Popular Education and
Democratic Thought in America (New York, 1962), ch. 18.
170. See “ Das ‘Linzer Program m ’ d er Sozialdemokratischen Arbeiterpartei
Ö sterreichs,” in Albert Kadan and Anton Pelinka, eds., Die Grundsatzprogramme der
österreichischen Parteien: Dokumentation und Analyse (Vienna, 1979), 86.
171. W ilh e lm W e i n h ä u p l , P ädagogik vom K in de aus: Viktor E a d n is— E in Leben f ü r
d ie Schulreform ( V ie n n a , 1981), I 10.
172. F o r d i e follow ing, se e W o n d t a l s d i , " S c h u l r e f o r m , ” 9 3 - 9 4 ; P f e id le ,
Notes to Pages 78-81
Chapter 4
I. In r e c e n t ye ars G e r m a n h i s t o r ia n s in p artit niai have b e e n fix ate d o n t h e t h e
o r e ti c a l d i s t in c t io n s a m o n g w o rk in g -c la ss p a r t y c u l t u r e , w o r k e i ev ery da y c u lt u r e ,
216 Notes to Pages 81-82
elite o r dom inant culture, working-class subculture, and worker culture p er se.
Although their often brilliant dem onstrations o f the manipulation o f abstractions
have the quality o f a to u r de force, they do n o t appear to have greatly influenced
empirical work. For the best o f these studies related to our subject, see Adelheid von
Saldern, “A rbeiterkulturbew egung in Deutschland in d er Zwischenkriegszeit,” in
Friedhelm Boll, ed., Arbeiterkulturen zwischen A lltag und Politik: Beiträge zum euro
päischen Vergleich in der Zwischenkriegszeit (Vienna, 1986); Dieter Langewiesche,
“ Politik— Gessellschaft— Kultur: Zur Problematik von Arbeiterkultur und kultu
rellen A rbeiterorganisationen in Deutschland nach dem 1. Weltkrieg,” Archiv fü r
Sozialgeschichte 22 (1982); idem., “A rbeiterkultur in Österreich: Aspekte, T enden
zen u n d T hesen,” in G erhard A. Ritter, ed., Arbeiterkultur (Königstein, 1979);
H elene Maimann, “ Zum Stellenwert der Arbeiterkultur in Österreich, 1 91 8-19 34 ,”
in Internationale Tagung d er Historiker d er Arbeiterbewegung, Arbeiterkultur in
Österreich, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 4 (Vienna, 1981); and Gerd Strom, Michael Scholing, and
Armin Frohm ann, “A rbeiterkultur zwischen G egenkultur und Integration: Ein Lit
eraturb erich t,” Internationale wissenschaftliche Korrespondenz zur Geschichte der
deutschen Arbeiterbewegung 22:3 (Sept. 1986).
The concept “ Socialist Party culture” used here comprises the cultural activities
sponsored and directed by the SDAP on behalf o f the workers. Such activities
involved the workers’ private sphere and excluded both direct political activity and
life at the workplace. A m ore comprehensive view o f “worker cultu re” would include
these as well as various worker subcultures. The latter, originating largely in the pre
industrial period, were strongly marked by artisanal forms o f production and related
social structures and, more distantly, by an agrarian, Catholic-dominated milieu. The
notion that a distinct worker culture existed outside the dominant bourgeois cultural
mainstream is clearly rejected.
2. See Dieter Langewiesche, Zur Freizeit des Arbeiters: Bildungsbestrebungen und
Freizeitgestaltung österreichischer Arbeiter im Kaiserreich und in der Ersten Republik
(Stuttgart, 1979), 3 8 8-8 9 , and Joseph Weidenholzer, A u f dem Weg zum “Neuen
Menschen' Bildungs- und Kulturarbeit der österreichischen Sozialdemokratie in der Ersten
Republik (Vienna, 1981), 9 0 -9 1. Both the aggregate and individual organization
memberships lack precision, because the Jahrbuch der österreichischen Arbeiterbewe
gung (Vienna, 1926-31) on which they are based provides sketchy and sometimes
dubious data.
3. These are my adjustments from national figures which were 650,000,520,000,
and 260,000 respectively. Weidenholzer, A u f dem Weg, 91, and Langewiesche, Frei
zeit, 388.
4. For criticism o f such bureaucratic tendencies, see Walter Fischer, “ Der his
torische Materialismus als historische M ethode,” and Anni Farchy, “ Zum Problem
des Parteiapparates,” Der K am pf 21 (1928): 18-24, 170-75.
5. See Ferdinand Flossmann, “ Gegen die Zersplitterung der Kräfte,” Der Ver
trauensmann 2 :3 /4 (1926): 6.
6. Using capitalist production and the culture industry as examples, Joseph Luit
pold Stern suggested similar rationalization for the party’s cultural enterprises.
“ Rationalisierung der Arbeiterbildung,” Bildungsarbeit 15-10 (Oct. 1928): 189-92.
7. Its director from 1918 to 1922 and 1932 to 1934 was the powerful party cul
tural ideologue Joseph Luitpold Stern. From 1922 to 1932 the m ore pragmatic
party functionary Leopold Thaller was in charge. See Weidenholzer, A u f dem Weg,
100- 101 .
Notes to Pages 82-84 217
8. Its director (more appropriately boss) was David Joseph Bach. See H enrietta
Kotlan-Werner, Kunst und Volk: D avid Joseph Rach, 1 8 7 4 -1 9 4 7 (Vienna, 1977), 6 8 -
69.
9. See O skar Negt and Alexander Kluge, Öffentlichkeit und Erfahrung: Zur Organ
isationsanalyse von bürgerlicher und proletarischer Öffentlichkeit (Frankfurt/M ain,
1972), 375 -7 6.
10. See Viktor Adler, Aufsätze, Reden, Briefe (Vienna, 1902), XI: 21-23.
11. Englebert Pernerstorfer, “ Die Kunst und die A rbeiter,” Der Kam pf 1 (1907):
38.
12. The earliest w orker cultural organizations were virtually dominated by bour
geois liberalism. T hat influence extended into the republican period, with liberal
teachers exercising influence over worker cultural organizations. Worker choirs
often un der their direction, for instance, tended to keep perform ance of working-
class songs to a minimum. See Helm ut Konrad, “ Die Rezeption bürgerlicher Kultur
in d er österreichischen A rbeiterbew egung,” in Helmut Fielhauer and O laf Bock
horn, eds., Die andere Kultur: Volkskunde, Sozialwissenschaft und Arbeiterkultur
(Vienna, 1982), 5 1 -6 0.
13. See Kurt W. Rothschild, “ Bildung, Bildungspolitik und Arbeiterbewegung,”
in G erhard Botz, Hans H autm ann, Helm ut Konrad, eds., Geschichte und Gesellchaft
(Vienna, 1973), 3 3 7-43 .
14. O tto B auer’s own thoughts on the subject are dispersed marginally through
out his work, mainly as the Austromarxist abstraction about raising worker con
sciousness and sensibility (a “ revolution o f souls”) as part o f the revolutionary pro
cess. See ch. 2.
15. For the following, see Max Adler, Neue Menschen: Gedanken über sozialistische
Erziehung (Berlin, 1924), 29, 5 0 -5 3 , 66 -6 8 , 7 1 -7 3, 109-10.
16. Adler attem pted to clarify his ideas in a lecture delivered in Dresden in 1926,
but all that em erged was a restatement: worker culture must be revolutionary and
aim at a reform o f consciousness. See Ernst Glaser, Im Umfeld des Austromarxismus:
Ein Beitrag zur Geistesgeschichte des österreichischen Sozialismus (Vienna, 1981), 3 4 3 -
44.
17. Max Adler, Kulturbedeutung des Sozialismus (Vienna, 1924), 2-3.
18. O tto Neurath, “ M. Adler, Neue M enschen,” Der K am pf 18 (1925): 1 18-
19.
19. See Klaus-Dieter Mulley, “ Demokratisierung durch Visualisierung: Z ur Ges
chichte des Gesellschafts- u nd Wirtschaftsmuseums in W ien,” in Helm ut Konrad
and Wolfgang M aderthaner, eds., Neuere Studien zur Arbeitergeschichte (Vienna,
1984), III; Alfred Pfoser, “ Das Glück in der Vernunft: Überlegungen zur O tto N eu
raths Kulturtheorie und zur austromarxistischen Lebensform ,” in Friedrich Stadler,
ed., Arbeiterbildung in der Zwischenkriegszeit: Otto Neurath und Gerd Arntz (Vienna,
1982), 168-72; and Glaser, Umfeld, 58-59.
20. O tto Neurath, Lebensgestaltung und Klassenkampf, “ Schriftenreihe Neue
M enschen,” ed. Max Adler (Berlin, 1928), 5 -8 . His applauding o f the increasing
rationalization and concentration o f capitalism, as advantageous to a future socialist
society, resembled Kautskyan determinism on the one hand, and on the other
approached the C om intern’s position on fascism and capitalist concentration after
1928. See Gert Schäfer, Die Kommunistische Internationale und der Faschismus (Offen
bach, 1973), and T heo Pirker, Komintern und Faschismus: Dokumente zur Geschichte
und Theorie des Faschismus (Stuttgart, 1965).
218 Notes to Pages 84-86
im portant element o f truth. Until 1934 the SDAP clung to the legal protections of
the republic, which its opponents sought to dismantle by every means.
39. See the very suggestive analysis in Pfoser, Literatur, 113-14.
40. Arbeiter-Zeitung, Dec. 5, 1930, 8.
41. See Pfoser, “Joseph Luitpold Stern,” 17.
42. See Alois Jalkotzky, “ Die Parteipresse,” Der K am pf 23:10 (Oct. 1930): 406.
43. Freizeit des Arbeiters, 121.
44. Jalkotzky, “ Parteipresse,” 4 0 7-10 .
45. See Peter Kulemann, Am Beispiel des Austromarxismus: Sozialdemokratische
Arbeiterbewegung in Österreich von Hainfeld bis zur Dollfuss-Diktatur (Hamburg, 1979),
22.
46. Stephan Schreder, “ Der Zeitungsleser: Eine soziologische Studie mit beson
d erer Berücksichtigung der Zeitungsleser Wiens” (Ph.D. diss., University o f Basel,
1936), cited in Langewiesche, Freizeit, 123-24.
47. Kulemann, Beispiel, 23.
48. See Alexander Potyka, “ Das kleine Blatt (1927—1934): Ideologie und Tages
geschehen für den kleinen M ann” (Ph.D. diss., University o f Vienna, 1983), 1 0 -
11.
49. Although this was a publication for women by women, the SDAP made Max
W inter the editor-in-chief to supervise the female stall.
50. See Christina Kronaus, “ Zwischen Avantgarde und Gartenlaube: Literatur
und Politik am Beispiel des Fortsetzungsromans in den sozialdemokratischen
Medien, 1 9 20 -1 93 4 ” (Ph.D. diss., University o f Vienna, 1985), 190-95.
51. See Käthe Leichter, So leben w ir . . . 1320 Industriearbeiterinnen berichten über
ihr Leben (Vienna, 1932), 114.
52. Langewiesche, Freizeit, 121.
53. Helene Maimann, ed., Dei ersten 100 fahre: Österreichische Sozialdemokratie,
1 8 8 8 -1 9 8 8 (Vienna, 1988), 351.
54. Leichter, So leben wir, 116.
55. “ Das geistige Leben d er A rbeiterjugend,” Bildungsarbeit 20:9 (Sept. 1933):
172-73. Some respondents obviously listed more than one publication as the total
is m ore than 100%.
56. For the following, see the Schreder study cited in Langewiesche, Freizeit,
124-26.
57. In a broad critique of the party’s cultural efforts, Oskar Poliak complained
that editorials and leaders in the party press were too difficult for popular consum p
tion. See “W arum haben wir keine Kunstpolitik?, Der K am pf 22:2 (Feb. 1929): 86.
58. Even these figures would have to be reduced by 20%, if only the Vienna m ar
ket was considered.
59. Kulemann, Beispiel, 23-24.
60. Middle-class book clubs, Pfoser observes, probably reached ten times as
many worker readers as socialist ones. The same may be said about serialized fiction
in the large-circulation middle-class tabloids. Pfoser, Literatur, 82-83.
61. See for instance Der Metalarheiter, Der Galanteriearbeiter, and Der Textilarbeiter
for tedious content and style.
62. Langewiesche, Freizeit, 122.
63. See Joseph Zech, “ Zur Frage des geistigen Leben in unser Partei,” Der Kampf
18:12 (Dec! 1925): 47.
64. For the obstacle o f Viennese dialect to various kinds of worker education,
220 Notes to Pages 91-94
see R obert Wegs, Growing Up Working Class: Continuity and Change Among Viennese
Youth, 1 8 9 0 -1 9 3 8 (University Park, Pa., 1989), 90-91.
65. See Weidenholzer, A u f dem Weg, 108-17, and Langewiesche, Freizeit, 2 8 2 -
85.
66. See Franz Senghofer, “Vom Einzelvortrag zur Vortragsreihe,” Bildungsar-
beit 12:10 (Oct. 1926): 191.
67. See Max Adler, “ W and lun gd er Arbeiterklasse,” Der KampJ 26 (1933): 3 7 9 -
80.
68. See W eidenholzer, A u f dem Weg, 113-17, and Langewiesche, Freizeit, 285.
69. For the following, see Weidenholzer, A u f dem Weg, 127-53.
70. W orker proportion o f the SDAP membership was 47.49%, but in the Par-
teischulen it was only 24.7-40.3% ; employees were 11.8% o f membership and
accounted for 30.4-47.5% o f the students; and civil servants were 12.3% of mem
bership and accounted for 2 1 -2 4 .7 o f the students. The preponderance o f employ
ees and civil servants in party schools became greater in the late 1920s and early
1930s. It revealed, am ong oth er things, the close relationship between party lead
ership and the employees o f the socialist municipality. Ibid., 145-46.
71. O n fallacious assumptions regarding the relationship between reading and
informing, reception and perception of print and other media, see Michel de Cer-
teau, The Practice o f Everyday Life, trans. Steven F. Randall (Berkeley, 1984), ch. 12.
72. Jo seph Luitpold Stern, Handbuchfiir Arbeiterbibliothekare (Vienna, 1914).
73. The list o f undesirable writers included the ever-popular masters o f light fic
tion: Karl May, Hedwig Courths-Mahler, Edgar Wallace, and Ludwig Ganghofer.
But even such authors as Joseph Ferch and H ugo Bettauer, close to the socialist
camp, were considered unworthy.
74. For similar campaigns against trash and kitsch and for ennoblem ent in Wei
m ar Germany, see Adelheid von Saldern, “The Political Striving for ‘Good Taste’
and ‘Good Morals’ in the Weimar Republic,” paper presented at the International
Colloquium on Mass C ulture and the W orking Class, Paris, 1988.
75. Stern, “ Rationalisierung,” 189-90.
76. Stern, Handbuch, 19.
77. Ibid., 9.
78. For the following, see Pfoser, Literatur, 8 8 -9 0, 92, 96, 107, and 109.
79. These were unpaid party cadres who took short training courses offered by
the party to prepare them for their work and assure their understanding o f the Bil-
dungszentrale’s aims.
80. See Langewiesche, Freizeit, 145-49.
81. Ibid., 160-61, 166.
82. Four-fifths o f Viennese SDAP members in 1929 were workers (blue-collar
workers, employees, housewives, pensioneers). One-fifth or 80,000 members were
from the middle class. Only 58.6% o f those who voted for the SDAP in 1932 were
party members. This meant that 282,885 voters for the SDAP were not affiliated with
it. See Kulemann, Austromarxismus, 3 0 2 -3 , and Alfred G eorg Frei, Rotes Wien (Ber
lin, 1984), 5 9 -6 0. This extension o f the SDAP from its working-class base into the
middle class paralleled developments in o th er socialist parties. For Germany, see Sig
m und Neumann, Die Parteien der Weimarer Republik (Stuttgart, 1965), 3 3 -36 ; for
France, see Georges Lefranc, Les Gauchesen France (Paris, 1965), and Eugen Weber,
“ Un demi-siecle de glissement a droite,” International Review o f Social History 5
(1960).
83. These 32,000 worker subscribers am ounted to 8% o f SDAP membership.
Notes to Pages 95-99 221
bewegung,” in Dietmar Petzina, ed., Fahnen, Fäuste, Körper: Symbolik und K ultur der
Arbeiterbewegung (Essen, 1986), 79—86.
153. For the political paralysis o f the SDAP, see Rabinbach, Crisis, ch. 4.
154. See Krammer, Arbeitersport, 22 2 -2 5 , and also Festschrift zur 2. Arbeiterinter
nationale (Vienna, 1931).
155. In response to the request for such a stadium by Deutsch and Tandler,
Mayor Seitz and Finance Councillor Breitner pushed the necessary appropriation
through the municipal council. No doubt the customary socialist reservations about
spectator events were overcome in anticipation o f the symbolic im portance of the
event. See Hans Gastgeb, Vom Wirtshaus zum Stadium: 6 0 Jahre Arbeitersport in Öster
reich (Vienna, 1952), 68-70.
156. See Das kleine Blatt, July 27, 1931, 1-2.
157. Q u oted in M it uns zieht die neue Zeit, 96.
158. See Alfred Pfoser, “ Massenästhetik, Massenromantik, Massenspiel: Am
Beispiel Ö sterreichs— Richard W agner u n d die Folgen,” Das Pult 66 (1982): 64.
159. For this and the following I am much indebted to Rasky, Arbeiterfesttage,
121-22, 131-32.
160. Thus the Sunday feast took the place o f Sunday mass, a spring festival sup
planted Corpus Christi, and winter solstice replaced Christmas. A consecration o f
youth (puberty rite) was established in place o f first com munion and confirmation.
See “ Wir müssen die Kirchenfeste überw inden,” Bildungsarbeit 13:1 (Jan. 1926): 32.
To these were added special labor holidays such as Mayday, a March holiday to com
m em orate the revolution o f 1848, the founding o f the republic on November 12,
and later the com m em oration o f the victims o f July 15, 1927. There were similar
efforts to substitute secular for religious celebrations in France. In the anticlerical
Parisian worker suburb o f Bobigny, “ red baptisms” were celebrated publicly to
counteract attem pts by the Catholic church to rechristianize the community. See
Tyler Stovall, “ French Communism and Suburban Development: The Rise o f the
Paris Red Belt ," Journal o f Contemporary History 24:3 (July 1989): 447.
161. Rasky, Arbeiterfesttage, 162.
162. See Pfoser, “ Massenästhetik,” Pult, 60.
163. For the origins o f politics as an aesthetic-emotional experience in late-nine-
teenth-century Austria, see Carl E. Schorske, Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: Politics and Culture
(New York, 1981), and WilliamJ. McGrath, Dionysian Art and Populist Politics in Aus
tria (New Haven, Conn., 1974). These origins in Central Europe are traced back
even fu rther by George L. Mosse, Nationalization o f the Masses: Political Symbolism and
Mass Movements in Germany from the Napoleonic Wars Through the Third Reich (New
York, 1975).
164. See for instance Joseph Luitpold Stern, “ Functionärschulen für Feiern,”
Kunst und Volk 17 (1930): 8-9 .
165. See Pfoser, “ Massenästhetik,” Pult. 6 7 -7 0. In H erm ann Bahr’s novel Öster
reich in Ewigkeit (1929) the suggestion is made that “ Bolshevik Vienna” be aban
doned altogether and that “only a Vendée can save Austria.” Ibid., 70.
166. See for instance Wilhelm Ellenbogen, “ Richard W agner u nd das Proletar
iat,” Der K am pf 7:6 (May 1913): 4 1 -4 3 , and David Joseph Bach, “ D er A rbeiter und
die Kunst,” ibid., 7:10 (Oct. 1913): 4 1-46 .
167. See Richard Lorenz, ed., Proletarische Kulturrevolution in Sowjetrussland
(Munich, 1969), 12-13, 163-71.
168. See Alfred Pfoser, “ Massenästhetik, Massenromantik und Massenspiel,”
Arbeiterkultur in Österreich, 126.
Notes to Pages 109- 111 225
ing expeditions were particularly popular am ong youth organizations. See Rasky,
Arbeiterfesttage, 382-83.
183. Pfoser calls it a play ritual o f aesthetic arrangements. See Literatur, 75.
184. It is interesting to note that the three socialist symbols were im ported from
Weimar Germany: the salute from the communist Rot-Frontkämpfer-Bund and the
emblem and greeting from the socialist Eiserne Front. See G ottfried Korff, “ Rote
Fahnen und geballte Faust: Z ur Symbolik d er Arbeiterbewegung in d er Weimarer
Republik,” in Petzina, ed., Fahnen, 3 4 -4 7.
185. Helmut Konrad suggests that these young people were probably closer to
the ideal o f “ neue Menschen” than the athletes o f ASKO. See “ Foreword,” Kram-
mer, Arbeitersport, viii.
186. In Weimar Germany there was a similar popular resistance to an all-encom-
passing socialist party culture. “ Beneath the formalization o f the labor movement
culture,” Geoff Ely observes, “was a popular culture that remained relatively im per
meable to the form er’s attractions and rationalizing methods. . . . The distance
between the formal and quotidien cultures was also reproduced inside the labor
movement itself, because the form er neglected whole dimensions o f experience—
‘a broad spectrum o f expectations, anxieties, and hopes,’ o r the contradictory full
ness o f the working-class ‘lifeworld’— even o f its own card-carrying m embers.” See
“ L abor History, Social History, Alltagsgeschichte: Experience, Culture, and Politics
o f the Everyday— A New Direction for German Social History?,” The Journal of Mod
em History 61:2 (June 1989): 3 1 1-1 2 .
187. This was a familiar problem for Socialist parties in the interwar years. The
mercurial rise in membership o f the French SFIO following the strike wave of 1936
could not be accom modated by the existing party structure, and leaders o f the indi
vidual federations were not inclined to find o r support new ways o f reaching the
majority o f uninitiated workers. See H elm ut G ruber, Leon Blum, French Socialism,
and the Popular Front: A Case o f Internal Contradictions (Ithaca, N.Y., 1986), 5 -7 , 1 4 -
16, 52.
188. Max A dler accused party managers and bureaucrats o f having developed a
mentality o f ownership over their cultural preserves. See “ W andlung d er A rbeiter
klasse,” 3 72 -8 0 . Käthe Leichter warned that the party elite reached by the cultural
program was in danger o f becoming a social elite as well, and complained that the
party had completely neglected the large n um ber o f unemployed. See “ Bildungsar
beit für Arbeitslose,” Bildungsarbeit 19 (1932): 220.
189. See for instance Felix Kanitz, “ Individualpsychologie in d er Arbeiterbe
wegung,” Bildungsarbeit 14:10 (Oct. 1927); Erwin Wexberg, “ Alfred Adler’s Indi
vidualpsychologie und die sozialistische Erziehung,” Die sozialistische Erziehung 4:12
(Dec. 1924); Paul Lazersfeld, “ Marxismus und Individualpsychologie,” ibid., 7:5
(May 1927); “ Individualpsychologie u n d Sozialismus,” ibid., 7:11 (Nov. 1927);
Kotlan-Werner, Kanitz, 189-90; Glaser, Umfeld, 27 3-87 .
190. The SDAP never felt com fortable with the work o f Sigmund Freud, praising
it faintly in its publications while keeping its distance from it. In all likelihood this
was a response to his pessimism about the ability o f social or economic transform a
tion to ameliorate the painful transition from the “ pleasure to the reality principle”
o r to make humans more happy o r fulfilled. The human costs in the avoidance o f
pain were made all too clear in F reu d ’s Das Unbehagen in der Natur, published in
1930, whose first edition o f 12,000 was sold out that year. See Johannes Reichmayr
and Elisabeth Wiesbauer, "Das Verhältnis von Sozialdemokratie und Psychoanalyse
in Ö sterreich /.wischen 1900 und 19.38,” in Wolfgang I lubcr, ed., Beiträge zur Ce-
Notes to Pages 113-115 227
schichte der Psychoanalyse in Österreich (Vienna, 1978), and P eter Gay, Freud: A Life for
Our Time (New York, 1989), 54 3-53 . For the SDAP’s attitude toward the work o f
Wilhelm Reich, see ch. 6.
191. It has been suggested that this dismal image o f the worker reflected the
latent fear o f the proletariat by intellectuals. See Hauk, “ Arm eekorps,” 79.
192. See Des Menschen hohe Braut: Arbeit, Freizeit, Arbeitslosigkeit, Franz Kreuzer
in conversation with Marie Jaho da fifty years after the inquiry Die Arbeitslosen von
Marienthal (Vienna, 1983), 7-8.
Chapter 5
1. It is im portant to rem em ber that the party was unable to alfect the workplace,
the one area crucially im portant in establishing both possibilities and limits in the
w orkers’ public and private sphere. The trade unions’ virtual impotence in the face
of continuous depressed economic conditions and intransigent owners protected by
the Christian Social national government gave an artificial cast to the entire Viennese
socialist experiment. See G erhard Botz, “ Streik in Ö sterreich 1918 bis 1975: Prob
leme und Ergenbnisse einer quantitativen Analyse,” in G erhard Botz et al., Bewe
gu ng und Klasse: Studien zur österreichischen Arbeitergeschichte (Vienna, 1978), 8 07 -2 0,
and Dieter Stiefel, Arbeitslosigkeit: Soziale, politische und wirtschaftliche Auswirkung —
am Beispiel Österreichs, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 8 (Berlin, 1979).
2. For a unique and brilliant analysis o f the emblematic qualities o f mass culture
(first published in the Frankfurter Zeitung in 1927), and the extent to which its surface
manifestations reveal the deep qualities o f an epoch, see Siegfried Kracauer, “The
Mass as O rn am en t,” trans. Barbara Correll and Jack Zipes, New German Critique 5
(Spring 1975): 6 7-76 .
3. For a sophisticated discussion o f the place and power o f mass culture in m od
ern society, see Michael Denning, “The End o f Mass C ulture,” and the related cri
tiques o f his position in International Labor and Working-Class History 37 (Spring
1990), as well as D enning’s reply in the same jou rn al, 38 (Fall 1990). For the role o f
commercial culture in the creation o f worker traditions, see Eric Hobsbawm, “ Mass-
Producing Traditions: F.urope, 1870-1914,” in Eric Hobsbawm and Terence
Ranger, eds., The Invention o f Tradition (Cambridge, 1983).
4. For worker reaction to commercial culture in the late nineteenth century, see
P eter Bailey, Leisure and Class in Victorian England, 1 8 3 0 -1 8 5 5 (London, 1978), and
Gareth Stedman Jones, “ Working Class C ulture and Working Class Politics in Lon
don, 1870—1890, "Journal o f Social History 9 (Summer 1974). For the relationship o f
popular culture to the above, see G areth Jowett, “Towards a History o f Popular Cul1
tu r e," Journal o f Popular Culture 9 (1975): 2.
5. O n the relationship o f working-class party cultures, worker subcultures, and
elite culture and the role o f socialist parties in the culture realm, see Stuart Hall,
“ Notes on Deconstructing ‘the P opular’:” in Ralph Samuel, ed., People’s History and
Socialist Theory (London, 1981), and Brigitte Emig, Die Veredelung des Arbeiters:
Sozialdemokratie als Kulturbewegung (Frankfurt/N ew York, 1980). For a m ore theo
retical consideration o f the above, see U m berto Eco, Apokalyptiker und Integrierte:
Zur kirtischen Kirtik der Massenkultur (Frankfurt, 1984).
6. Leading traditional critics from the right and left are united in their overesti-
tnation o f mass cu ltu re’s rise to dominance. See Jose O rtega y Gasset, “The Coining
of the Masses,” and Dwiglil Macdonald, "A Theory o f Mass C ulture,” in Bernard
228 Notes to Pages 115-118
Rosenberg and David M. White, eds., Mass Culture: The Popular Arts in America (New
York, 1957). In their desire to condem n mass culture, they overlook the struggle it
had to wage against older commercial and noncommercial forms o f leisure-time
activities, and the length o f time d uring which the latter were able to adapt and
defend themselves.
7. Even the socialist municipal administration reduced the workweek in public
utilities from 5 2 -5 4 to 48 hours only in 1927. See Peter Kulemann, Am Beispiel des
Austromarxismus (Hamburg, 1979), 346. But the average reduction o f the workweek
from over 60 hours before 1914 to u n d er 50 hours m eant a gain o f 10 hours of free
time a week for the worker.
8. See the superior Ph.D. dissertation by Ulrike Weber, “Wirtschaftspolitische
Strategien der Freien Gewerkschaften in der Ersten Republik: Der Kampf gegen die
Arbeitslosigkeit,” (University of Vienna, 1986), 178-90.
9. See H ans Safrian, “ ‘Wir ham die Zeit d er Orbeitslosigkeit schon richtig gen
ossen auch’: Ein Versuch zur (Uber-)Lebensweise von Arbeitslosen in Wien zur Zeit
d er Weltwirtschaftskrise um 1930,” in G erhard Botz and Josef Weidenholzer, eds.,
M aterialien zur Historischen Sozialwissenschaft: Mündliche Geschichte und Arbeiterbewe
gung (Vienna, 1984).
10. T he following account o f commercial culture and the Viennese working class
is based on three ground-breaking articles by Joseph Ehmer: “ Vienna, anni settanta:
osterie, stru ttu ra della classe operaia e cultura politica del movimento,” Movimento
Operaio et Socialista 8:1 (1985); “ Vaterlandslose Gesellen und respektable Familien
väter: Entwicklungsformen der Arbeiterfamilie im internationalen Vergleich, 1850—
1930,” in Helm ut Konrad, ed., Die deutsche und die österreichische Arbeiterbewegung
sur Zeit der Zweiten Internationale (Vienna, 1982); and “ Rote Fahnen— blauer Mon
tag: Soziale Bedingungen von Aktions- und O rganisationsform ender frühen Wiener
A rbeiterbewegung,” D. Puls and E. P. Thom pson, eds., Wahrnemungsformen und Pro
testverhalten (Frankfurt, 1979).
11. Whereas men ate m ore substantial meals in the Gasthaus and remained there
for the duration o f their lunch hour, making it their social domain, women con
sumed a generally meager lunch o f leftovers at the workplace, which also served as
the setting o f their social networks. See Käthe Leichter, So leben w ir . . . 1320 Indus
triearbeiterinnen berichten über ihr Leben (Vienna, 1932), 80.
12. In its multiple functions the Gasthaus was analogous to the F’nglish pub and
French café, as a central locale o f working-class sociability.
13. See Alfred Frei, Rotes Vienna: Austromarxismus und Arbeiterkultur (Berlin,
1984), 108-15.
14. “Vienna, anni settanta,” 2 1-22 .
15. Handbuch der Gemeinde Wien (Vienna, 1935), 122.
16. See for instance Emanuel Haussier, “ H eurigendäm m erung?,” Neues Wiener
Tageblatt, Sept. 25, 1932.
17. For the following, see Hans Pem m er and Nini Lackner, Der Prater: Von den
Anfängen bis zur Gegenwrt (Vienna, 1974), and B ertrand M. Buchmann, Der Prater:
Die Geschichte des unteren Werd (Vienna, 1979).
18. See Benedikt Kautsky, Die Haushaltstatistik der Wiener Arbeiterkammer, 1 9 2 5 -
1934, supplem ent o f International Review o f Social History 2 (1935): 24 5 -4 6 , and Fritz
Klenner, Die österreichischen Gewerkschaften (Vienna, 1953), II: 892-94.
19. N one o f the various official statistical yearbooks yields information about the
unit cost o f commercial culture products. N or do the sparse records o f trade unions
o r prop rieto r associations in the food o r alcohol trades shed any light on the sub
Notes to Pages 118-121 22 !)
ject.O ne is thrown back on the vague memories o f the aged for an approximation of
prices o f common consum er articles and services: 10 cigarettes cost 30 ( Iroschen; a
glass o f beer, 10-20 Groschen; a sausage, 20 Groschen; an ice cream cone, 30 G ro
schen; circus and variety admission, 50 Groschen to 5 Schillings. The price structure
between 1925 and 1933 rem ained fairly stable, although family wages declined after
1930 owing to massive unem ployment and wage cuts.
20. For the following, see Berthold Lang, “ Zirkus und Kabarett,” in Fran/
Kadrnoska, ed., Aujbruch und Untergang: Österreichische Kultur zwischen 1918 und
1938 (Vienna, 1981); Österreichisches Circus- und Clown-Museum, Circus und Var
ieté in Wien 1918 bis 1938 (Vienna, 1980); idem., Der österreichische Circus (Vienna,
1978); idem., Unterhaltungskunst in Wien um 1900 (Vienna, 1979); Rudolf Weys,
Cabaret urul Kabarett in Wien (Vienna, 1970); Ernst G ünther, Geschichte des Varietés
(Berlin, 1978); and Felix Czeike, Das grosse Groner Wien Lexikon (Vienna, 1974). 1 am
also indebted to Mr. Berthold Lang, director of the Österreichisches Circus- und
Clown-Museum, for allowing me to sample the m useum ’s vast collection of circus
and Varieté posters and memorabilia, and for inform ation not available in print.
21. Lang, “ Zirkus,” 305, 3 07 -8 .
22. Der Kuckuck 2:20 (May 18, 1930): 8; Der österreichische Circus, 14.
23. Pem m er and Lackner, Prater, 95.
24. Circus und Varieté in Wien, 5 -6 .
25. Circuses were generally limited to five warm-weather months and perform ed
on weekends, when four o r five perform ances were given.
26. Some o f the most famous perm anent prew ar circus structures, such as the
Busch, were converted into movie theaters as early as 1920. See Lang, “ Zirkus,” 309;
Circus Gestern und Heute: Mitteilungsblatt der Gesellschaft der Freunde des Österrei
chischen Circusmuseums 3 (March/April 1982): 9.
27. G ünthers, Geschichte Varietés, introduction.
28. Virtually all the great waltz conductors, including the scions of the Strauss
family, made a point o f taking the baton o f Varieté orchestras. T he same was true for
composers o f operettas, such as R obert Stoltz and Ralph Benatzky.
29. Circus und Varieté in Wien, 7. Varieté made a great effort to advertise. Bor
rowing the techniques o f the American circus impresario P. T. Barnum, it developed
the sensational poster to a fine art and displayed it widely throughout the city.
30. Lang, “ Zirkus,” 308; Cirkus und Varieté in Wien, 9.
31. Circus urul Varieté in Wien, 9 -1 0 ; Lang, “ Zirkus,” 30 8-9.
32. Circus und Varieté in Wien, 7 -1 0; Unterhaltungskunst Wien, 5, 7.
33. These included Varieté Westend, M argaretner O rpheum , Brigittinauer
O rpheum , Favoritner Kolosseum, Tivoli Varieté, Steiner’s Künstlerspiele, Rosen
säle, and Metropol-Varieté. See Lang, 309; Unterhaltungskunst Wien, 18.
34. Lang, “ Zirkus,” 303.
35. See Fritz Klingenbeck, Unsterblicher Walzer (Vienna, 1943), and Robert
Wegs, Growing Up Working Class: Continuity and Change Among Viennese Youth, 1 8 9 0 -
1938 (University Park, Pa., 1989), 119.
36. See Hans Safrian and Reinhard Sieder, “Gassenkinder, Strassenkämpfer:
Zur politischen Sozialisation einer A rbeitergeneration in Wien 1900 bis 1938,” in
Lutz N ietham m er and Alexander von Plato, eds., Wir kriegen jetzt andere Zeiten (Ber
lin, 1985); Reinhard Sieder, “ ‘Vater, d e rf i aufstehn?’: Kindheitserfahrungen in
W iener Arbeiterfamilien um 1900,” in H ubert Ch. Ehalt, G ernot Heiss, and Hannes
Stakl, eds., Glücklich ist wer vergisst. . . das andere Wien um 1900 (Vienna, 1986); and
Wegs, Grinning Up Working ('.lass, 6 8 -7 3 , I 19-20.
230 Notes to Pages 121-124
37. Such play am ong boys sometimes became rough, almost ganglike struggles
over territory. See Karl Klein, “ Mit der Hollergasse gegen die Anschützgasse,” in
Heinz Blaumeiser et al., Ottakringer Lesebuch: Lebensgeschichten (Vienna, 1988), 4 4 -
45. Working-class children in Weimar Germany also regarded the Street as their
“ h om e”— a territory that was liberating and gave free reign to a variety o f uses and
self-expression. See Detlev J. K. P eukert , Jugend zwischen Krieg und Krise: Lebenswel
ten von Arbeiterjungen in der Weimarer Republik (Cologne, 1987), 77—82.
38. Although the worker weekend began at noon on Saturday, married women
workers were engaged in catch-up household chores until Sunday afternoon, when
diey too were at leisure. Single female workers m ore often had more time for hiking
and o ther recreational activities. But for both, a trip into nature was a preferred
form o f release from the strains o f the workweek. See Leichter, So leben w ir , conclu
sion and appendix o f case histories. A similar near reverence for nature (comparing
it to liberation from the prison o f factory life) can be found in a study o f German
female textile workers. See D eutscher Textilarbeiterverband, Mein Arbeitstag— Mein
Wochenende: 150 Berichte von Textilarbeiterinned (Berlin, 1930), passim.
39. The noncommercial recreation o f hiking and rambling was never quite out
o f touch with commercial culture. The satisfied but weary w anderer found ample
opportunity to refresh himself at various Gasthäuser and Heurigen which lay not far
from his chosen path. For an analysis o f the significance of nature for workers in
Weimar Germany, see Kaspar Maase, Leben einzeln und frei wie ein Baum und brüder
lich wie ein Wald: Wandel der Arbeiterkultur und Zukunft der Lebensweise (Cologne,
1987), 5 5 -5 6 .
40. T he municipal Kongressbad, o pened in 1928, drew 448,555 paying bathers
in the 1930 season. See H ans Hovorka, Republik “K o n g e Ein Schwimmbad erzählt
seine Geschichte (Vienna, 1988), 71.
41. Nude swimming, however, was forbidden by a law which was sometimes
enforced. It took place, nevertheless, on several small islands in the Danube not eas
ily accessible to the police. Lobau bathing received much coverage in the popular
socialist press, particularly the illustrated Kuckuck, which had a penchant for nudity
o r seminudity. See the full-page spread on August 21, 1932, for instance.
42. See Fritz Keller, ed., Lobau—-die Nackerten von Wien (Vienna, 1985), and Saf-
rian, “ ‘Wir ham die Zeit der Orbeitslosigkeit.”
43. See Reinhard Krammer, Arbeitersport in Österreich (Vienna, 1981), vii-viii.
Although K ram m er’s work is devoted to recounting the history o f the SDAP’s sport
organization (ASKÖ), both in the introduction and conclusion the continued im por
tance o f unorganized and spontaneous sports is emphasized.
44. For a parallel situation in Weimar Germany, see Peukert, Jugend, 232-33.
45. Handbuch der Gemeinde Wien (Vienna, 1932). Official statistics o f such “ legal”
garden plots did not include thousands o f others created on waste land proximate
to the city limits which were unauthorized but nonetheless tolerated. In 1918 there
had been about 150,000 o f these suburban plots o f 100-300 square meters. See
Hans H autm ann, “ H un ger ist ein schlechter Koch: Die Ernährungslage der öster
reichischen A rbeiter im Ersten Weltkrieg,” Botz, ed., Bewegung und Klasse, 670. For
a photo essay o f the garden plots as well as the laws governing their rental, see Nach
der Arbeit: Bilder und Texte zur Freizeit, 18 7 0 - 1 9 5 0 (Vienna, 1987), 7 -1 1 , 42-43.
46. Ironically, the galloping unem ployment o f the depression years created an
even larger am ount o f worker “ leisure,” which the mass culture industries were able
lo exploit despite widespread impoverishment.
47. See the irony bordering on contempt o f the trade union educator Richard
Notes to Pages 124-126 231
o f 1927 the SDAP received 694,557 votes, o r 60.3% o f the total. SDAP membership
in the following year was 41 7,347. See Alfred Frei, Rotes Wien, 5 8-59 . According to
the SDAP Executive, the social composition o f the party included 54.51% workers,
19.76% employees and managers, and 15.96% housewives. See Kulemann, Beispiel,
3 01 -3 . If we consider that in the second group at least 50% were white-collar work
ers and that a majority o f the housewives were working class, then three-quarters of
the SDAP membership were workers. In view o f the potential num ber o f worker
filmgoers, the above estimates are on the low side.
67. Among workers in Chicago, moviegoing had become a habit by the 1920s.
See Lizabeth Cohen, M aking a New Deal: Industrial Workers in Chicago, 1 9 1 9 -1 9 3 9
(New York, 1990), 120—20. For a similar treatm ent o f German workers, see W. L.
Guttsman, Workers’ Culture in Weimar Germany: Between Tradition and Commitment
(New York, 1990), 263-74.
68. For the following, see Rudolf Lassner, “Theater- und Kinobesuch: Fine psy
chologische Analyse” (Ph.D. diss., University o f Vienna, 1936), especially v, 1-2, 49,
5 6 -6 2 , 9 2 -1 16 . The study includes 356 persons o f both sexes, and all ages begin
ning at 15. 270 responded to a questionnaire; 66 were interviewed. 25% o f the sam
ple was from the working class and was categorized as such in the analysis. For similar
findings am ong youthful cinema audiences in Weimar Germany, see Alois Funk,
Film und Jugend: Eine Untersuchung über die psychischen Wirkungen des Films im Leben
der Jugendlichen (Munich, 1934), and Yeukevl, Jugend, 218-20.
69. See Ludwig Gesek, “Wann, wie oft u n d u n te r welchen Bedingungen geht die
Ju gen d in Ö sterreich ins Kino: Teilbericht ü ber die Erhebung ‘Jug end und Film” ’
(unpublished manuscript, 1933, in possession o f Dr. Ludwig Gesek, Vienna), 1-61.
O f 13,603 questionnaires sent out to schools and youth organizations throughout
Austria, 10,054 were retu rn ed and analyzed. 25% of the respondents were from
Vienna; the largest group (38.3%) were children of workers. Two further* parts of
the study, on children’s perceptions o f film content and the role o f the film in the
intellectual life o f children, were never carried out.
70. N or was it for their parents. Given their cold dwellings in wintertime, it is
small w onder that the unem ployed found refuge in movie theaters where, for a small
price, hours o f warmth could be enjoyed. This situation also prevailed in England
and Weimar Germany. See Peukert, Jugend, 184-88; George Orwell, The Road to
Wigan Pier (New York, 1958), 8 0 -8 1 ; and Jo h n Stevenson, British Society, 1 9 1 4 -4 5
(London, 1984), 396.
71. The argum ent was most cogently made by H ortense Powdermaker, Holly
wood, the Dream Factory: An Anthropologist Looks at the Movie-Makers (New York, 1951),
introduction. When the lights go out, she observes, critical faculties go out as well.
The effect o f the darkened theater is no doubt powerful, but are not other faculties
stimulated by it as well: empathy, projection, assimilation? Ilya E hrenburg’s critique
was an exercise in vulgar economic determinism to dem onstrate that cinema was the
powerful tool o f leading industrialists. See Die Traumfabrik (Berlin, 1931). An even
earlier version by the Austrian culture critic Richard G uttm ann, Die Kinomenschheit:
Versuch einer prinzipiellen Analyse (Vienna, 1916), charged that film educates the eye
to see imprecisely.
72. The distinguished film critic and theorist Bela Balazs was the only one on the
Viennese cultural scene to appreciate the unique visual power o f film. In its expres
sive use of gestures he saw the em ergence o f the first international language and the
beginnings of a new visual culture. See Der sichtbare Mensch oder die Kultur des Films
(Vienna, 1924). Balazs wrote film reviews for Der la g from 1922 to 1925, when he
234 Notes to Pages 129-132
left for Berlin as part of the cineast migration at the time. No film critic o f com pa
rable quality, with an understanding of film as a medium o f mass culture, appeared
in Vienna in the next decade. For his film criticism in Vienna, see Joseph Zsuff'a, Béla
Balazs: The Man and the Artist (Berkeley, Calif., 1987), 129-36.
73. The following is based on an analysis o f Paimanns Filmlisten: Wochenschrift fü r
Lichtbild-Kritik, 1924-32, an independent weekly listing current films with summa
ries; the trade publications Der Filmbote: Zeitschrift fü r alle Zweige der Kinematographie,
1925-27, Österreichische Film-Zeitung, 1927-29, and Wiener Kino, 1924; and the
popular socialist daily Das kleine Blatt, 1929—33.
74. The roster o f m ajor directors included (to name but a few): G. W. Pabst,
Jo seph Sternberg, René Clair, Jean Renoir, Julien Duvivier, Marcel Pagnol, William
Wellman, G. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Michael Curtiz, Sergei Eisenstein, V. I.
Pudovkin, and Jacques Feyder. The complaint in other countries about the lack of
good films and the prevalence o f kitsch seems also to have been the same. See Kra-
cauer, Caligari, passim; Geneviève Guillaume-Grimaud, Le Cinéma du Front Popu
laire (Paris, 1986), 197; Tony Algate,“ Comedy, Class and Containment: T he British
Domestic Cinema in the 1930s,” in Curran and Porter, eds., British Cinema, 259ff;
and Roger Dooley, From Scarface to Scarlett: American Films in the 1930s (New York,
1979), index o f films.
75. See Jo h a n n Hirsch, “ Kino u n d Massenbewusstsein: Die erfolgreichsten
Filme, 19 3 0 /3 1 ,” Bildungsarbeit 18:7-8 (July-Aug. 1931): 8 2 -8 4.
76. See Jo h n Willett, Art and Politics in the Weimar Period: The New Sobriety, 1 9 1 7 -
1933 (New York, 1978), chs. 11, 15.
77. See Fritz, Kino, 138; Fritz, “Glanz,” 3.
78. See “Allerweltsverdummungstrust” and “ Vorstadtkino,” Arbeiter-Zeitung,
N ovember 26, 1919, and January 18, 1920; David J. Bach, “ Das Kino des Proletar
iats,” ibid., O ctober 1, 1922.
79. F or the following, see “ Die Filmreform,” Arbeiter-Zeitung, May 17, 1924.
Film producers boycotted the meeting.
80. See Bach, “ Kino,” and Ernst Weizmann, “ Der Film u n d die A rbeiterschaft,”
ibid., May 1, 1924.
81. See for instance “ Die Welt des Films,” ibid., Septem ber 12, 1926, and
August 14, 1932. Film exhibitors defended themselves against the charge o f serving
u p a heavy diet o f trash with the less than candid view that “ the public decides what
films are shown”— a stock answer in the international film world. See “ Der Defrau
d a n t,” Der Filmbote 43:9 (Oct. 23, 1926): 5 -6.
82. See Glaser, Umfeld Austromarxismus, 4 9 6-97 .
83. “ Der blaue Engel,” Das kleine Blatt, April 4, 1930.
84. In the exhortatory tone in which all o f his writing was couched, Rosenberg
urged youth to lead the way in “ the struggle against and for the cinema.” See “ Wir
u n d das Kino,” Der Jugendliche Arbeiter 27:2 (Feb. 1928): 2-3. Rosenfeld repeated
this argum ent on the radio. “ Der A rbeiter und d er Film: Vortrag, gehalten am 30.
J ä n n e r 1929 im W iener Radio (Arbeiterkammerstunde),” Bildungsarbeit 16:2 (Feb.
1929): 17-20. He also attacked the alleged neutrality o f the Kulturfilm o r docum en
tary as a bourgeois deception, for the selection o f subjects alone reflected class bias.
What the working class needed, he argued, was not hypocritical neutrality but honest
proletarian films reflecting the class struggle. “ Der ‘neutrale’ Kulturfilm,” Bildung
sarbeit 16:9 (Sept. 1919): 105-8. Compulsively, Rosenfeld repeated his critique o f
the capitalist film even in exile, long after the possibility o f socialist influence on film
Notes to Pages 132-134 235
in Austria had passed. See “ Film und Proletariat: Versuch einer Soziologie des
Kinos,” Arbeiterjahrbuch (Karlsbad, 1934).
85. Hirsch, “ Kino,” 85.
86. “ Sozialdemokratische Kinopolitik,” Der K am pf 2 2 :4 (April 1929): 192-97.
87. G erhard Dreier, “ Film und Partei,” Bildungsarbeit 17:1-2 (Jan.-Feb. 1930):
18-20.
88. But even as late as 1932 the SDAP’s theoretical organ featured an attack on
the film as the repository o f all the kitsch which had been driven out o f literature and
the fine arts. See Ernst L eonhard, “ Der Film als ästhetische, wirtschaftliche und pol
itische Erscheinung,” Der K am pf 2 5 :8 -9 (Aug.-Sept. 1932).
89. For the following, see Venus, “ ‘Hinein in das Kino,’” 210-21.
90. “ Das Kino d e r Zehntausend,” Arbeiter-Zeitung, April 3, 1927.
91. The bank was founded in 1922 as an economic enterprise by the SDAP, the
trade unions, and the cooperative societies. In 1932, long past its best years, the
Arbeiterbank had a capital stock o f 4 million Schillings, deposits o f 54 million, and
profits o f 713,000. See Kulemann, Beispiel, 319.
92. For the following, see Venus, “ ‘Hinein in das Kino,’ ” 210-21.
93. In defending the new licensing procedures against its critics in the industry,
the SDAP claimed that the previous control by the police was subject to political
inlluence, whereas now city hall could help to improve the quality o f films exhibited.
The new law also contained a veiled form of censorship “ to protect youth” un d er
sixteen. To be exhibited as Jugendfrei (general admission), all films had to be
screened by a municipal film committee. At the box office, age restrictions were dif
ficult to enforce. See “ Die Bundesregierung will das Wiener Kinogesetz verhin
d e rn ,” Arbeiter-Zeitung, August 22, 1926.
94. It appears that the H am bers’ excellent connections at city hall— particularly
with Breitner and Seitz— smoothed the way for their collaboration with Kiba.
95. The growth o f Kiba increased the n u m ber of complaints in film industry pub
lications about unfair com petition from an enterprise that enjoyed the support of
the Arbeiterbank and the municipal government. Ironically, it was charged that the
socialists were politicizing the cinema. See for instance “ Politisierung der Kinos,”
Osterreichische-Film-Zeitung, February 19, 1927.
96. From 1925 to 1933 the m ajor film trade publications fomented against the
luxury tax on cinema, pointing out the favoritism shown to legitimate theater, which
paid markedly lower taxes, and to the Kiba movie houses, which were given other
economic privileges.
97. This included Kiba’s twelve plus ano th er fifteen commercial theaters. But
Kiba's indirect control was even greater, because its purchasing and renting power
made it possible to influence oth er distributors and to determ ine their choice of
films. Venus, “ ‘Hinein in das Kino,’” 218.
98. “ Sozialdemokratische Kinopolitik,” 195-96.
99. The SDAP’s claim to be the champion o f the quality film with social content
was challenged in the controversy surrounding the exhibition o f the American film
“All Q uiet on the W estern F ro n t” in 1931. Disturbances during the first few screen
ings and fu rth e r threats o f violence by right-wing groups made it possible for the
national government to intervene on grounds o f “ threats to public order and
safety.” As in the case o f Schnitzler’s Reigen perform ance in 1921 (see ch. 6), the
socialist mayor and city councillors initially took a firm stand on not giving in to the
“ film criticism o f the street.” But they capitulated only a few days later, and the film
236 Notes to Pages 134-136
was banned. Ironically, the SDAP organized bus tours to Bratislava, where the film
was being shown (leading to the popular quip: “ ‘Im Westen nichts neues’— im Osten
gesehen”). See Alfred Pfoser, Literatur und Austromarxismus (Vienna, 1980), 199-
201, and Grall, “ H inein,” 84-85.
100. Venus, “ ‘Hinein in das Kino,’ ” 224. When Kiba remodeled the old Apollo-
T heater into a luxurous movie palace at great expense, David Joseph Bach, Rosen-
feld’s superior at Die Arbeiter-Zeitung, took on the jo b o f praising this creation and
writing the subsequent film reviews. See Rosenfeld’s letter o f 1976, quoted in H en
rietta Kotlan-W erner, Kunst und Volk: D avid Joseph Bach, 1 8 7 4 -1 9 4 7 (Vienna, 1977),
9 7 -9 8 .
101. The SDAP’s failure to use the cinema law o f 1926 to its advantage in gaining
control over m ore theaters is similar to its feeble use o f the Wohnungsbeförderungs-
gesetz in the early 1920s to gain municipal control o f vacant o r unused dwellings.
102. For a glimpse o f ju st how ruthless the industry could be in the international
center o f the film world, see R obert Sklar, Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of
American Movies (New York, 1979), ch. 14, and Gorham Kindern, ed., The American
M ovie Industry: The Business o f Motion Pictures (Carbondale, 111., 1982).
103. For a similar ambiguity regarding film am ong socialists in Weimar G er
many, see Adelheid von Saldern, “ Ennobling Mass Culture: The Political and Cul
tural Striving for ‘Good Taste’ and ‘Good Morals’ in the Weimar Republic,” paper
presented at the Colloquium on Mass Culture and the Working Class, 1914-70,
Paris, 1988.
104. The denigration o f film as a cheap form o f amusem ent lacking the “noble
and serious” qualities o f elite culture was prevalent in all social strata. Frequent
movie attendance was often adm itted with a certain embarrassment, as being some
how culturally unworthy. See Lassner, “ Kinobesuch,” 5-7.
105. For the church's general position, see Wiener Diözesanblatt, July 10, 1926.
106. State ow nerhip a n d /o r control was usual in E urope and throughout the rest
o f the world except for the United States, where commercial advertisements formed
a principal part o f the revenue o f privately owned stations. In Austria radio listeners
paid modest users’ fees.
107. See “ Was ist die Ravag?,” Die Börse, January 1, 1925; T heodor Venus, “Ver
handlungen u n d G rü n du ng d er Österreichischen Radio-Verkehrs A. G .” (Ph.D.
diss. University o f Vienna, 1982), part 3; idem., “Vom Funk zum Rundfunk— Ein
K ulturfaktor entsteht,” in Geistiges Leben im Österreich der Ersten Republik (Vienna,
1986).
108. SDAP proprietorship in Ravag (through the municipality) was 20%. The
advisory council had representatives from the Chambers o f Labor, Industry, and
Agriculture, from trade associations o f the radio industry and retailers, and from
associations o f listeners depending on membership. See T heodor Venus, “ ‘Der
Sender sei die Kanzel des Volkes’: zur sozialdemokratischen Rundfunkpolitik d er 1.
Republik,” in Österreichische Gesellschaft für Kulturpolitik, Arbeiterkultur in Öster
reich, 22 6-3 3 .
109. Rintelin wrote in his memoirs that his intention from the beginning had
been to thwart the Marxists in Vienna. H e also participated in the Nazi putsch
against the Dollfuss governm ent in July 1934. See Ernst Glaser, “ Die Kulturleistung
des H örfunks in d er Ersten Republik,” Geistiges lieben, 25 -2 6. The conflict between
business and culture orientations was made clear at the festive opening o f Ravag,
where Rintelin and Viennese mayor Seitz represented the two sides.
110. See Venus, “Sender Kanzel des Volkes,” 239-40.
Notes to Pages 136-139 237
young women were negative on factual lectures; and the young of both sexes
expressed a liking for jazz.
136. “ H örerbefragung,” 5.
137. See for instance “ Die H örer wünschen m ehr Heiterkeit,” Das klein lilatl,
O cto ber 10, 1932.
138. T here were some exceptions, particularly in the Bildungszentrale, but lhey
had little influence over the party’s cultural decision makers. See for instance Fritz
Rosenfeld, “ Der Rundfunk und das gute Gewissen,” Bildungsarbeit, 19:10 (O d.
1932): 189-90.
139. Michel de Certeau offers a brilliant analysis o f the relationship between p ro
duction and consum ption in which the use made o f mass culture products by the
consum er is viewed as a process o f transform ation— a kind o f production in
response. See The Practice o f Everyday Life, trans. Steven F. Rendall (Berkeley, ( )a.,
1984), 31.
140. Unfortunately, there exists no real history of Austrian soccer. Three exist
ing studies give little but a soccer fan’s view o f teams and players, with only occasional
references to size o f audience. See Leo Schidrowitz, Geschichte des Fussballsporles in
Österreich (Vienna, 1951); Karl Langisch, Geschichte des Österreichischen Fussballsports
(Vienna, 1965); and Karl Kastler, Eussballsport in Österreich (Linz, 1972).
141. Julius Deutsch, Unter Roten Fahnen: Vom Rekord zum Massensport (Vienna,
1931), 3 -1 2 . For the SDAP’s position on commercial sports, see ch. 4.
142. Hendrik deM an, Zur Psychology des Sozialismus (Jena, 1927), 3 6 -3 9.
143. See for instance Peter Friedmann, “ Die Krise d er Arbeitersportbewegung
am Ende d e r W eimarer Republik,” in Friedhelm Boll, ed., Arbeiterkulturen zwischen
A lltag und Politik: Beitrüge zum europäischen Vergleich in der Zwischenkriegszeit (Vienna,
1986), 2 3 5-40 . For intraspectator agression, see R. Horak, W. Reiter, K. Stöcker,
eds., “Ein Spiel dauert länger als 90 M inuten”: Fussball und Gewalt in Europa (Ham
burg, 1988).
144. An Austria-Italy match attracted 90,000 spectators who caused a dangerous
landslide. Schidrowitz, Geschichte Fussballsportes, 125.
145. For the season 1932—33, official statistics list 446 professional champion
ship games and 121 professional cup games. See Handbuch der Gemeiruie Wien
(Vienna, 1935), 201.
146. The idea that mass culture manipulates the consumer, imposing false needs
and false consciousness on him, has been challenged only recently. Hans Magnus
Enzensberger, for instance, suggests that the success o f mass culture depends in part
o n its appeal to real needs. See “Constituents of a Theory o f the Media,” The Con
sciousness Industry: On Literature, Politics, and the Media (New York, 1974).
147. For an interesting account o f how young workers creatively both survived
and used their leisure time during the depression, see Safrian, “ 'Wir ham die Zeit.’”
148 It is interesting that the socialists paid hardly any attention to the oldest
forms o f spontaneous noncommercial leisure-time activities (rambling, swimming),
which clearly, could not be thrown in the pot with “ cheap capitalist distractions.”
These activities continued to make a considerable claim on the workers’ free time,
which the party dem anded for itself. The party apparently chose to treat the subject
with silence.
149. See Larry May, Screening O u t the Past: The Birth o f M ass C u ltu re a n d the
M otion Picture Industry ((Chicago, 1980), 3 4 -42 ; Sklar, M ovie-M ade America, ch. 2; and
Roy Rosen/.weig, F ight H onrs for W hat You W ill: Workers a n d Leisure in Worcester, M a s
sachusetts (Cambridge, Mass., 1983), ch. H
240 Notes to Pages 146-148
C h ap ter 6
ety, 1 8 7 0 -1 9 4 0 (New York, 1981), 166. The masculinization o f female dress was also
greatly influenced by such Parisian designers as Coco Chanel.
14. For Germany, see Atina Grossmann, “The New Woman and the Rationaliza
tion o f Sexuality in Weimar Germany,” in Ann Snitow et al., eds., Power o f Desire: The
Politics of Sexuality (New York, 1983), 156-57. For the United States, see John D’F.m-
ilio and Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (New
York, 1988), 23 3-3 5 . For England, see D eirdre Beddoe, Back to Home and Duty:
Women Between the Wars, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 9 (London, 1989), 22-24.
15. See Therese Schlesinger, Die Frau im sozialdemokratischen Parteiprogramm
(Vienna, 1928), 5-9.
16. See Reinhard Sieder, “ Hausarbeit o der die andere Seite d er Lohnarbeit,”
15. österreichischer Historikertag, Salzburg 1981 (Salzburg, 1984), 159-61, and Joseph
Ehmer, “ Frauenarbeit und Arbeiterfamilie,” 459.
17. See Emmy Freundlich, “ Z ur Frage Einküchenhaus,” Die Frau 34:7 (July 1,
1925): 5 -6 , and M arianne Poliak, “ Wie kommt die berufstätige Frau zu ihrem Acht
stundentag?,” Arbeit und Wirtschaft 1 (Jan. 1, 1929): 4 4 -4 6 .
18. See Irena Hift-Schnierer, “ Die neue Frau im neuen Haushalt,” Die Mutter
1:12 (May 1925): 16-17.
19. Poliak, Fraueideben, 39—40.
20. See for instance “ Hilf dir selbst,” Der Kuckuck 2:4 (Jan.26, 1930).
21. Poliak, Frauenleben, 3 7-38 .
22. See Therese Schlesinger, “ Proletarisches Spiessbürgertum ,” DerJugendliche
Arbeiter, 23:3 (March 1924): 10-11; Marianne Poliak, “ Beruf und H aushalt,” Hand
buch der Frauenarbeit in Österreich (Vienna, 1930), 4 13 -1 9 ; and O tto Feliz Kanitz,
“V ortrag au f dem 2. Kongress für Sozialismus u nd Individualpsychologie,” Die
sozialistische Erziehung 7:11 (Nov. 1927).
23. See Robert Danneberg, Die neue Frau (Vienna, 1924), 9. This pamphlet was
announced (in its preface) as the first in a quarterlyseries intended for women and
girls already in the Socialist party. The stated aim was an “ exchange o f views”
between the party and its female members. It is difficult to imagine what the mech
anism for such an exchange might have been.
24. And thus become a good friend to their children and a com rade to their hus
band. Poliak, Frauenleben, 45. For Danneberg, the model for such emotionalization
was the bourgeois woman. See Neue Frau, 9.
25. Helene Bauer, “ Ehe und soziale Schichtung,” Der Kam pf 20:7 (July 1927):
319-22.
26. See Neschy Fischer, “ Ehe als soziales Problem, Der Kam pf 20:8 (Aug. 1927):
3 87-89.
27. Anton H anak’s “ Caring M other” was representative of the m otherhood
genre. See Pirhofer, “ Politik am K örper,” 48, 69.
28. See for instance Fedora Auslaender, “ Frauenarbeit und Rationalisierung,”
Handbuch der Frauenarbeit, 30.
29. See M artha Eckl, “ K örperkultur und ‘proletarische Weiblichkeit’, 1918—
1934: Eine U ntersuchung am Beispiel d e r Frauenzeitschriften d er Sozialdemokra
tischen Arbeiterpartei Deutsch/Österreichs” (Diplomarbeit, Institut für Wirt
schafts- und Sozialgeschichte University of Vienna, 1986), 54-55.
30. See Veronika Kaiser, “Ö sterreichs Frauen, 1918-1938: Studien zu Alltag
und Rollenverständnis in politischen F rauenblättern” (Ph.D. diss. University o f
Vienna, 1086), 87.
242 Notes to Pages 151-152
44. Leichter, So leben wir, 9 4 -9 7 . As a result, only 21.9% o f the children under
6 went to kindergarten, and 18.1% o f those und er 14 made use o f the after-school
centers. O f the latter age group, 17% had no supervision whatever.
45. Ibid., 109-10.
46. Ehmer, “ F rauenarbeit,” 464-65.
47. Ibid., 4 6 1-6 2 .
48. Ibid., 4 5 9 -6 0 . This conclusion is well dem onstrated in an American study.
See Ruth Schwartz Cowan, The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth
to the Microwave (New York, 1983).
49. See Reinhard Sieder, “ ‘Street Kids’: The Socialization o f Viennese Working-
Class C hildren,” typescript o f pap er delivered at the International Colloquim on
Sociabilité o f the Working Class, held in Paris in 1985, 21, and Robert Wegs, Grow
ing Up Working Class: Continuity and Change Among Viennese Youth, 1 8 9 0 -1 9 3 8 (Uni
versity Park, Pa, 1989), 140-42.
50. See M argarete Rada, Das reifende Proletarier-Mädchen (Vienna, 1931), 59—60,
8 2-84 .
51. See Käthe Leichter, Frauenarbeit und Arbeitterinnenschutz in Österreich
(Vienna, 1927), 58.
52. See Käthe Leichter, “ Die Entwicklung d er Frauenarbeit nach dem Krieg,”
Handbuch der Frauenarbeit, 40, 42, and Edith Riegler, Frauenleitbild und Frauenarbeit
in Österreich (Vienna, 1976), 132. Leichter argues that low female wages rather than
improved technology were the cornerstone of Austrian economic rationalization
(34).
53. See for instance Käthe Leichter, “ Vom Frauenberuf: Das Schwache Ges
chlecht bei d er A rbeit,” Das kleine lilatt, Oct. 19, 1927.
54. See Leichter, Wie leben die Wiener Heimarbeiter'?, 11, 13, 1 9 ,2 5 ,3 7 ,4 1 , 45.
55. See Gabriele Czachay, “ Die soziale Situation d e r Hausgehilfinnen Wiens in
der Zwischenkriegszeit” (master thesis, University o f Vienna, 1985), 143-48. Mar
ianne Poliak’s romantic novella in which a maid goes to vocational school, learns
about the law protecting domestics, and finds love and marriage with a true com
rade— all with the guidance o f the SDAP— is far removed from reality. See Aber
schaun S ’, F räul’n Marie!: Liebesgeschichte einer Hausgehilfin (Vienna, 1932).
56. See Wilhelmine Moik, “ Die Freien Gewerkschaften und die Frauen,” Hand
buch der Frauenarbeit, 581.
57. See Peter Stiefel, Arbeitslosigkeit: Soziale, politische und wirtschftliche Auswir-
kungem am Beispiel Österreich (Berlin, 1979), 200—202.
58. See “ F rauenarbeit,” Arbeit und Wirtschaft 7:15 (Aug. 1, 1929): 698, and
“ Doppelverdiener,” Die Arbeiterin 7:4/5 (April-May 1930): 5.
59. See “ Frauenarbeit, "Jahrbuch 1932 des Bundes der Freien Gewerkschaften Öster
reichs (Vienna., 1933), 115.
60. “ F rauenarbeit,” Arbeit und Wirtschaft, 702.
61. At the trade union congress o f 1931 the num ber o f female delegates reached
11.3 percent. But female union membership was twice as high. See Heinz Renner,
“ Die Frau in den Freien Gewerkschaften Österreichs, 1901-1932: Statistische
Materialien, ” International Conference o f Labor Historians, ITH Tagungsbericht 13
(Vienna, 1980), 1: 322, 329.
62. So leben wir, 1 16, 122. But 73.3% o f her sample were trade union members.
6 3 . 4 1.2% o f t h e h u s b a n d s o r life c o m p a n i o n s o f t h e s e w o m e n w e r e u n e m p l o y e d ;
8 2 . 3 % o f (h e w o m e n s u p p o r t e d o t h e r s o r a t least th e m se lv e s . Ib id ., 13, 103, 107.
64. I b id ., 54 I ,ei< l ite r e x a g g e r a t e s t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e fact th a t 3 1.9% o f the
‘244 Notes to Pages 154-155
single women said they would continue working in any case. She overlooks the fact
that these women had as yet only limited household and childcare responsibilities.
65. See Marie Jahoda, Paul Lazersfeld, and Hans Zeisel, Die Arbeitslosen von M ar
iethal: Ein soziographischer Versuch (1933; Bonn, 1980), 9 1 -9 2 and Ehmer, “ Frauen
arbeit,” 466. In the female network o f factory labor, information about birth control
and abortion was traded freely. Ibid., 46 8-6 9 .
66. Generally the women workers’ lunch brought to the factory consisted o f
bread and vegetables often eaten unheated. For the generally high carbohydrate and
fat content o f working-class diets, see “ Der Lebensstandard von Wiener Arbeiter
familien im Lichte langfristiger Familienbudgetuntersuchungen,” Arbeit und Wirt
schaft 13:12 (Dec. 1959): supplem ent 8, 10. See also Roman Sandgruber, Bittersüsse
Genüsse: Kulturgeschichte der Genussmittel (Vienna, 1986), 81, 182.
67. Leichter reports (So leben wir, 108-15) that 78.7 % spent evenings at home
doing housework. Meetings were attended by a mere 4.4%. Entertainm ent outside
the cinema was virtually unknown. Only the radio (aside from the press) offered a
steady contact with the wider world, but only for 36.1% o f the sample. Leichter
makes too much o f the young, unm arried women who were able to get out o f the
home. She neglects the fact that, to make this freedom possible, some other, usually
older, woman in the household had to bear the full burden.
68. Leichter, “ Entwicklung der F rauenarbeit,” 38.
69. For the SDAP, see H elene Maimann, ed., Die ersten 1 0 0 Jahre: Österreichische
Sozialdemokratie, 1 8 8 8 -1 9 8 8 (Vienna, 1988), 3 5 1 .1 have been unable to find reliable
figures for Viennese trade union and Cham ber o f Workers and Employees function
aries. I f one includes the lowest level o f these, an estimate o f several hu ndred might
be realistic.
70. But it must be kept in mind that, here as well as in the SDAP, trade unions,
and Cham ber o f Workers and Employees, women were grossly underrepresented.
T he one exception was the municipality’s D epartm ent o f Social Welfare, in which
2,884 women were employed. It was the only branch o f the administration with a
heavy concentration o f female employees. See A nna Grünwald, “ Die Frau in der
Gemeindeverwaltung in d er Gemeinde W ien,” Handbuch der Frauenarbeit, 653.
71. This distance was deplored by individual socialists leaders. See Max Adler
and Käthe Leichter in ch. 4.
72. The birthdates o f six doyennes were as follows: Anna Boschek, 1874; Adel
heid Popp, 1879; Emmy Freundlich, 1878; Therese Schlesinger, 1863; Gabriele
Proft, 1879; Amalie Seidel, 1876. See H erm ine Agnezy, “ Die Frauenbewegung in
d e r Sozialdemokratischen Partei von 1918 bis 1934” (Hausarbeit, Institut für Zeit
geschichte, University o f Vienna, 1975), 9 2 -9 4.
73. For a suggestive complaint about socialist female employers who exploited
their domestics, see Helen Goller, “ Klassenkampf im Haushalt,” Die Frau 37:3
(March 1, 1928): 5.
74. In the sharpest attack on such wishful thinking that has come to light, Sophie
Lazersfeld challenged the basis o f a program for the sexual education o f youth
drafted by I’herese Schlesinger and Dr. Paul Stein. No one is served, Lazersfeld
argued, “ if he is told how desirable things ought to be, but only if he is shown how
he can get there.” See “ Zur Frage d er sexuellen Aufklärung d e r Jugend,” Bildung
sarbeit 20:1 (Jan. 1933): 52.
75. For a useful introduction to sexuality as a historical problem, see Jeffrey
Weeks, Sex, Politics and Society: The Regulation o f Sexuality Since 1800 (London,
1981). For a concise review o f theoretical approaches, sec Ellen Ross and Rayna
Notes to Pages 156- 15 8 245
Rapp, “ Sex and Society: A Research Note from Social History and Anthropology,”
Comparative Studies in Society and History 23 (Jan. 1981). For the problems o f writing
the history o f sexuality in everyday life, see D orothee Wierling, “Alltagsgeschichte
und Geschichte der Geschlechterbeziehungen: Über historische und historiogra-
phische Verhältnisse,” in Alf Lüdtke, ed., Alltagsgeschichte: Zur Rekonstruktion histo
rischer Erfahrungen und Lebensweisen (Frankfurt, 1989).
76. Whereas I fully agree with Michel Foucault’s insistence that the complexity
o f feelings and activities called sexuality can be understood in historical terms only
as an integral aspect o f hum an experience, I reject his position— implicit through
o ut his text— that sexuality cannot really be studied. See The History o f Sexuality, I:
An Introduction (New York, 1980).
77. For an interesting treatm ent o f worker selfhood (Eigensinn) as an interplay
o f the private and political, see Alf Lüdtke, “T he Historiography o f Everyday Life:
T he Personal and Political,” in Ralph Samuel and Gareth Stedman Jones, eds., Cul
ture, Ideology and Politics (London, 1982).
78. “ Leitsätze für sexuelle A ufklärung d er Ju g e n d ,” Bildungsarbeit 19 (1932),
234.
79. O ne is unpleasantly reminded o f the use made o f sexuality in antiutopian
novels such as Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984.
80. See Anna H auer, “ Sexualität und Sexualmoral in Ö sterreich um 1900: Theo
retische u n d literarische Texte von F rauen,” in Die ungeschriebene Geschichte: Histo
rische Erauenforschung (Vienna, 1985), 143-47. For parallel expressions in Victorian
England, see Ju d ith Walkowitz, Prostitution and Victorian Society: Women, Class, and
the State (Cambridge, 1980), ch. 4 -7 : For Germany, see Regina Schulte, Speerbezirke:
Tugendhaftigkeit und Prostitution (Frankfurt, 1979), 11-56.
81. See for instance H. Montane, Die Prostitution in Wien (Hamburg/V ienna,
1925), and Karl F. Kocmata, Die Prostitution in Wien: Streifbilder vom Jahrmarkt des
Liebesieben (Vienna, 1927). O n occasion, socialist images o f the horrors of prostitu
tion gave way to sentimental and even romantic views. See “ Die andere Welt: U nter
Dirnen, Zuhälter und V erbrecher,” Das klein Blatt 2:46 (April 15, 1928): 3 -4.
82. See Alfred Pfoser, “ Verstörte M änner und em anzipierte Frauen: Zur Sitten-
und Literaturgeschichte d er Ersten Republick,” in Franz Kadrnoska, ed., Aufbruch
und Untergang: Österreichische K ultur zwischen 1 9 1 8 and 1938 (Vienna, 1981), 206.
83. “ E rhebung ü b er Sexualmoral,” Studien über Autorität und Familie: For
schungsbericht aus dem Institut fü r Sozialforschung (Paris, 1936), 27 9-80 . Between
1930 and 1933 the n um ber o f prostitutes in Vienna u n d er public control declined
from 870 to 747; the num ber o f women arrested for soliciting declined from 3,594
to 2,260. See Handbuch der Gemeinde Wien, 1935 (Vienna, 1935), 62.
84. For instance, Erwin Wexberg, Einführung in die Psychologie des Geschlechts
lebens (L eipzig, 1930), 118-19.
85. “ Prostitution und Gesellschaftsordnung,” Die Arbeiterinnen-Zeitung 22 (Nov.
18, 1919): 3-4 .
86. Glückliche und unglückliche Ehe? Ein Mahnwort an junge Ehe- und Brautleute
(Vienna, 1922), 5 -9 . His novels bore such titles as Küsse die Leben werden; Die nicht
Mütter werden dürfen and Am Kreuzweg der Liebe. Thal Ferch was considered a sexual
reform er in socialist circles gives some indication o f the general conservatism on the
sexual question in those ranks.
87. For instance, St. Pöltner Diözesanblatt 1 (1919).
88. Dr. G ertrud Ceranke, “ Willst due heiraten?,” Die Uzufriedene 6 (Aug. 7,
1926): 7. I bis journal ran advertisements for contraceptive devices; gave lips on
246 Notes to Pages 158-160
health, beauty, clothing, and cooking in an uncommercial fashion; and offered a col
um n on “Women Speak from the H ea rt” and a personal column for marriage seek
ers. By 1933 it reached a circulation o f 160,000 and was m entioned as the prefereed
weekly o f female industrial workers. See Leichter, So leben wir, 116.
89. Similar caution was expressed in the popular tract by Hans Hackmack, Arbei
terjugend und die sexuelle Frage (Berlin, 1922), 15-16.
90. “ Erfahrungen und Probleme d er Sexualberatungsstellen für Arbeiter und
Angestellte in Wien,” Der Sozialistische Arzt 5 (1929): 99.
91. See Karl Sablik, Julius Tandler: Mediziner und Sozialreformer (Vienna, 1983),
278-80.
92. “W ohnungsnot u n d Sexualreform ,” in Weltliga für Sexualreform, Sexualnot
und Sexualreform: Verhandlungen (Vienna, 1931), 5 -1 4.
93. T andler’s eugenicist views were reflected in his interventionist approach to
public welfare. See ch.3.
94. Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs, “ W ohnungsnot und Sexualreform,” 3 9 -4 1.
95. Dr. Siegfried Kraus, ibid., 4 1-4 2 .
96. “ Die sexualnot d er Werktätigen Massen und die Schwierigkeiten d er Sexual
reform ,” ibid., 7 4 -7 5 , 8 0 -8 3 .
97. O tto Bauer rarely intervened in the discussion on sexuality. But leading fig
ures o f the party’s cultural, educational, youth, and welfare programs acted as
spokesmen. Most influential behind the scenes in determ ining the SDAP’s position
was its executive secretary, Robert Danneberg, who was responsible for the “ politi
cal and moral purity” o f the party. See Wolfgang N eugebauer, “ Robert Danneberg
(1885—1942): Eine biographische Skizze,” Archive: Jahrbuch des Vereins der Geschichte
der Arbeiterbewegung 1 (1985); 8 6-88 .
98. An attem pted abortion was punishable by a term o f from six months to one
year, and a successful abortion by from one to five years; midwives and physicians
implicated were subject to the same terms. A law o f leniency, however, was at the
disposal o f the judges to reduce o r cancel prison sentences. See Dr. W. Gleisback,
“ Das V erbrechen gegen das keimende Leben im geltenden und künftigen Straf-
rech te,” Zeitschrift fü r Kinderschutz, Familien- und Berufsführsorge 20:1 (Jan. 1928): 2.
99. See W. Latzko, Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift 26 (1924): 1387. In G er
many the estimates were one million abortions in 1931 in a female population o f
31.2 million; the average working-class woman was thought to have two o r more
abortions in her lifetime. See Atina Grossman, “A bortion and Economic Crisis: The
1931 Campaign against # 2 1 8 in Germany,” New German Critique 14 (Spring 1978):
121-22, 125.
100. See Karin Lehner, “ R eform bestrebungen d e r Sozialdemokratie zum Para
graph 144 in Ö sterreich in d er 1. Republik,” Ungeschriebene Geschichte, 298-99.
101. See Benno Wutti, “ Die Stellung der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Ö ster
reichs zur Frauenfrage,” (Ph.D. diss., University o f Vienna, 1975), 102-11.
102. See “ Die Schwangerschaftsunterbrechung: Eine Tagung der sozialdemo
kratischen Aerzte,” Arbeiter-Zeitung 144 (May 25, 1924).
103. Julius Tandler, “ Ehe u n d Bevölkerungspolitik,” Wiener medizinische Woch
enschrift 74 (1924).
104. See Lehner, “ Reform bestrebungen,” 30 2 -3 , and Sablik, Tandler, 281-82.
105. See Therese Schlesinger, Die Frau im sozialdemokratischen Parteiprogramm
(Vienna, 1928). The pertinent paragraphs were reprinted in the journals aimed at
women.
Notes to Pages 160-162 247
106. See M it uns zieht die neue Zeit: Arbeiterkultur in Österreich, 191 f l - 1934
(Vienna, 1981), 225. An assembly o f 2,500 delegates representing SDAP members
and voters, meeting in Vienna on Septem ber 25, 1927, dem anded (he revisions of
paragraph 144 adopted by the SDAP party congress at Linz. Lehner, “ Reformbe
strebungen,” 186-88.
107. O tto Bauer was chairman; the commission included the notables Max
Adler, Julius Deutsch, Robert Danneberg, Wilhelm Ellenbogen, Oskar Helmer, Karl
Kautsky, Jr., Karl Renner, Paul Richter, and Karl Seitz. The sole woman was Adel
heid Popp, who had made it clear at the p rior women’s conference that she sup
ported the position o f the socialist physicians out o f party loyalty. See Lehner,
“ Reform bestrebungen,” 146-47.
108. For the following, see Frauenarbeit und Bevölkerungspolitik: Verhandlungen
der sozialdemokratischen Frauenreichskonferenz, Oktober 2 9 -3 0 , 1926 in Linz (Vienna,
1926), 15-50.
109. Leopoldine Glöckel summed up the position o f the majority that women
could not have the right to control their own bodies until they had been completely
enlightened.
110. See Dr. M argarete Hilferding, Geburtenregelung (Vienna/Leipzig, 1926),
14-15, and G ertrud Ceranke, “ Willst du heiraten?”
111. See for instance Herwig H ärtner, Erotik und Rasse: Eine Untersuchung über
gesellschaftliche, sittliche und geschlechtliche Fragen (Munich, 1925), 5 2 -5 3 , and Rob
ert H ofstädter, Arbeitende Frau: Ihre wirtschaftliche Lage, Gesundheit, Ehe und Mutter
schaft (Vienna, 1924).
112. For instance Adelheid Popp, “G eburtenregelung und Menschenökon
om ie,” Weltliga, Sexualnot, 503.
113. “ Zur Psychologie der Geschlechter,” Der Kam pf 18 (June 1925): 25-27.
114. See “ G eburtenregelung u nd Kinderschutz,” Die Unzufriedene 35 (Aug. 28,
1926): 1.
115. For instance Dr. M argarete Hilferding, “ Probleme d er G eburtenrege
lung,” Die Mutter 1 (April 1925): 6.
116. The first o f these was created in 1917. A fter 1924 they were spread
throughout Vienna by the municipal council in response to T andler’s campaign
against syphilis. The clinics gave advice but no treatm ent, so as not to conflict with
private physicians. See Sablik, Tandler, 283.
117. See M it uns zieht die neue Zeit, 226, 230—31. Attempts by Die Unzufriedene to
sponsor consultation hours for the psychological needs o f women o r the showing of
the antiabortion film Cyankali were valiant efforts along these lines.
118. See Eckl, “ K örperkultur,” 91 -9 2.
119. See Karl Fallend, “ Wilhelm Reich: Dozent d e r Psychoanalyse, Sexualbera
ter und rebellischer Parteigenosse” (Ph.D. diss., University o f Salzburg, 1987), 169-
74; Reich, “ Erfahrungen und Probleme,” 98; and David Badella, Wilhelm Reich
(Bern, 1981), 71-72.
120. For instance Sexualerregung und Sexualbefriedigung (Vienna, 1929), and
Geschlechtsreife, Enthaltsamkeit, Ehemoral (Vienna, 1930). Both were published by the
Münster Verlag and appeared in four o r m ore printings. The form er discussed the
safety and use o f condoms, pessaries, and antispermatic pills, recommended the best
brands, and quoted the approxim ate price.
121. For the num erous sex manuals readily available to workers in Weimar G er
many, see Grossman, “ New Woman and Rationalization o f Sexuality,” 159—62.
248 Notes to Pages 162-166
hung 6:3 (1926). In the centers the emphasis on washing and cleanliness was
monomaniacal.
138. Anton Tesarek, Das Buch der Roten Falken (Vienna, 1926) 10-12, lists
15,1 17 members nationally of whom approximately 40 percent were in Vienna. See
also Rosi Hirschegger, Lasst die roten Fahnen weh’n: Die Geschichte der Roten Falken
(Innsbruck, 1987).
139. See Wolfgang Neugebauer, Bauvolk der kommenden Welt: Geschichte der
sozialistischen jugenbewegung in Österreich (Vienna, 1975), 113—218.
140. By 1931 this led to a rebellion against political constraints within the SAJ,
expressed in a general critique o f the passivity o f the SDAP in the face of increased
right-wing threats to the party. See Rabinbach, Crisis, ch. 3.
141. N eugebauer, Bauvolk, 138. The num ber is small when com pared to the
adults in the SDAP o r the 1 4 -2 1-year-olds in the Viennese population. The expla
nation offered by N eugebauer and others that the SAJ was a feeder organization
which sent a large percentage into the party each year does not alter the low ratios
m entioned above. Both the Rote Falken and the SAJ were coeducational, but girls
constituted only 25 percent o f either organization.
142. See Therese Schlesinger, Wie -will und soll das Proletariat ihre Kinder erziehen?
(Vienna, 1921), 2-4.
143. T he church attacked the SDAP’s youth organizations in general as subvert-
ers o f parental authority and especially as corruptors o f morals in their comingling
o f the sexes. See Gulick, Austria, 35 9 -6 0, 609-10.
144. Virtually every party leader o f consequence wrote glowingly on this subject.
Der jugendliche Arbeiter and Die sozialistische Erziehung featured it regularly.
145. C om m andm ent # 9 . Tesarek, Rote Falken, 8.
146. Comradeship was offered as a substitute for sexual drives. See O tto Felix
Kanitz, Kam pf und Bildung (Vienna, 1920), 22-23. For similar tendencies in the
G erm an SAJ, see Karen Hagemann, “ Wir ju n g e n Frauen fühlten uns wirklich
gleichberechtigt,” in Wolfgang Ruppert, ed., Die Arbeiter: Lebensformen, Alltag
und K ultur von der Frühindustrialisierung bis zum “ Wirtschaftswunder” (Munich,
1986), 77-78.
147. “W orte eines Proletariervaters,” Der jugendliche Arbeiter 25 (July 1926):
108-9.
148. “ Mädel von H eu te— Zur Ehe,” ibid., 29 (June 1930): 12-13.
149. Gewerkschaft, Jugend und Kultur (Vienna, 1928), 3-20.
150. “ Unsere A rbeit,” Handbuch für die Tätigkeit in der sozialistischen Jugendbe
wegung (Vienna, 1929), 166-69.
151. See Therese Schlesinger and Dr. Paul Stein, “ Leitsätze für die sexuelle Auf
klärung d er Ju g e n d ,” Bildungsarbeit 19 (Dec. 1932).
152. Irrefahrten: Aus dem Tagebuch eines suchenden Mädels (Vienna, 1929).
153. O n the conflict and gradual blending o f traditional values and changing cir
cumstances, see Joan W. Scott and Louise A. Tilly, “W om en’s Work and the Family
in N ineteenth-Century E urope,” Comparative Studies in Society and History 17 (1975),
4 2 -6 4.
154. Ortswechsel: Die Geschichte meiner Jugend (Frankfurt/M ain, 1979(, 94—96.
Buttinger’s case is particularly interesting because he was a graduate o f the SDAP’s
prestigious Arbeiterhochschule and was the model young socialist the party’s program
sought to create. After the SDAP was outlawed in 1934, he became head o f the
und erg ro un d parly (renamed Revolutionäre Sozialisten Österreichs) in 1935.
155. Among the older workers the main transgressions were drunkenness and
250 Notes to Pages 169-171
wife beating. See Anson Rabinbach, “ Politik und Pädagogik: Die österreichische
sozialdemokratische Jugendbew egung, 1 9 31 -3 2 ,” in Gerhard Ritter, ed., Arbeiter
kultur (Königstein, 1979), 174-75.
156. See for instance Dr. Karl Kautsky, “ Die Pflicht der G esundheit,” Der jugend
liche Arbeiter 25 (July 1926): 106-8, and G erda Brunn-Kautsky, “ Proletarier
mädchen und K örperkultur,” ibid., 23 (March 1924): 12-13.
157. Marie Jahoda-Lazersfeld pointed out that the party leaders had never
resolved the problem o f freedom and authority in the conduct o f party life at the
organizational level. O n the sexual question, she found, the leaders retained a sur
prising degree o f inhibition. See “A utorität und Erziehung in der Familie, Schule
und Jugenbew egung Österreichs,” Studien über Autorität, 720—21.
158. Reich, “ Sexualnot,” 87-92.
159. Reich, Geschlechtsreife, 122-24; Sexualerregung, 7-14; and “ Sexualnot,” 75,
8 0 -8 3 .
160. Ernst Fischer, Krise der fugend (Vienna, 1931), especially 1 5 ,1 7 ,2 2 - 2 5 ,3 3 -
38, 5 2-53 .
161. This included the domination o f men over women in the sexual realm and
in general. For a thorough discussion o f Fischer’s views, see Anson Rabinbach,
“ Ernst Fischer and the Left Opposition in Austrian Social Democracy,” (Ph.D. diss.
University o f Wisconsin, 1973), ch. 3.
162. See Fallend, “ Reich,” 256—75; Erich Wittmann, “Wilhelm Reich,” Wiener
Tagebuch, Ju n e 1985, and idem., “ Reich in W ien,” Die Linke 7 (April 9, 1986).
163. For the confrontation at the party congress, see Rabinbach, Crisis, 73-154.
Shortly after the abortive rising o f February 1934, Fischer jo in ed the Communist
party.
164. See Leichter, So leben wir, introduction, and Sophie Lazersfeld, Wie die Frau
den Mann erlebt (Leipszig, 1931).
165. F'or the problem o f evidence in reconstructing everyday life, see Alf Lüdtke,
ed., Alltagsgeschichte: Zur Rekonstruktion historischer Erfahrungen und Lebensweisen
(Frankfurt, 1989); Peter Borscheid, “ Plädoyer für eine Geschichte des Alltäg
lichen,” in H ans Teuteberg, ed., Ehe, Liebe, Tod: Zum Wandel der Familien-, Ge
schlechts- und Generationsbesichtigung in der Neuzeit (Münster, 1983); Helene Mai
mann, “ Bemerkungen zu einer Geschichte des Arbeiteralltags,” in G erhard Botz et
al., Bewegung und Klasse: Studien zur österreichischen Arbeitergeschichte Vienna, 1978);
Elizabeth Roberts, A Woman ’s Place: An Oral History o f Working Class Women, 1 8 9 0 -
1940 (Oxford, 1984); H ubert Ch. Ehalt, ed., Geschichte von Unten (Vienna, 1984);
Robert W heaton and Tam ara K. Hareven, eds., Family and Sexuality in French History
(Philadelphia, 1980); and G erhard Botz and Joseph Weidenholzer, eds., Mündliche
Geschichte und Arbeiterbewegung (Vienna, 1984).
166. The following relies on Reinhard Sieder, “ ‘Vater d erf i aufstehn?’: Kind
heitserfahrungen in Wiener Arbeiterfamilien um 1900,” in H ubert Ch. Ehalt and
G ernot Heiss, eds., Glücklich ist wer verg isst . . . ? Das andere Wien um 1900 (Vienna,
1986). H ere and elsewhere Sieder’s work is based on some sixty extensive oral his
tories deposited on tape and in transcript at the Institute for Economic and Social
History o f the University o f Vienna.
167. See Reinhard Sieder, “ H ousing Policy, Social Welfare, and Family Life,”
42.
168. These conditions were attested to by the child psychologist and municipal
councillor Joseph Friedjung, Die geschlechtlich Aufklärung im Erziehungswerk
(Vienna, 1926), 7 -8 , and the psychologist and socialist youth functionary Hildegard
ll<-i/i-t K in dh eit u n d A n n u l (I r u t/.m , 1929), 122.
Notes to Pages 171-174
189. See Jenny Strasser, “ Manchmal hat die Polizei all festgenommen,” in Fritz
Keller, ed., Lobau— die Nackerten von Wien (Vienna, 1985), 6 4 -6 5 .
190. “ G assenkinder,” 131.
191. See Maria Bayza, “ Die schönste Art unglücklich zu sein,” in Keller, Lobau,
6 9 -7 0.
192. Die sozialistische Erziehung 1 (Jan. 1922).
193. See H enrietta Kotlan-Werner, Otto Felix Kanitz und der Schönbrunner Kreis:
Die Arbeitsgemeinschaft sozialistischer Erzieher, 1 9 2 3 -1 9 3 4 (Vienna, 1982), 297-300.
194. See Geschlechtliche Aufklärung, 16-31.
195. See Ernst Glaser, Im Umfeld des Austromarxismus: Ein Beitrag zur Geistesge
schichte des österreichischen Sozialismus (Vienna, 1981), 273-333.
196. See Die Sozialistische Erziehung 7 (Nov.-Dec. 1927).
197. Die Ehe von heute und morgen (Munich, 1927), 66—69.
198. G ottfried Pirhofer and Reinhard Sieder, “ Zur Konstitution d er Arbeiter
familie im Roten Wien: Familienpolitik, Kulturreform, Alltag und Ästhetik,” in Mit
terauer and Sieder, eds., Historische Familienforschung, 348. Premarital intercourse
between courting couples was also common in Lancashire, England. See Jo h n R. Gil-
lis, For Better or Worse: British Marriages, 1600 to the Present (New York, 1985), 235.
For similar practices in France and Germany, see Daniel Bertaux and Isabelle Ber-
taux-Wiame, “Jugendarbeit bei freier U nterkunft und Verpflegung— Bäckerlehr
linge und Hausm ädchen im Frankreich der Zwischenkriegszeit,” in Botz and Wei
denholzer, eds., Mündliche Geschichte, 26 6 -7 0 , and Carola Lipp, “ Sexualität und
H eirat,” in R uppert, Arbeiter, 193-94.
199. Pirhofer and Sieder, “ Konstitution,” 346-47.
200. See Eva Viethen, “ W iener Arbeiterinnen: Leben zwischen Familie, Lohn
arbeit und politischen Engagem ent” (Ph.D. diss., University o f Vienna, 1984), 309,
357.
201. For the very best o f these, see Ehmer, “ Frauenarbeit,” 438 -7 3 .
202. See Elizabeth Maresch, Ehefrau im Haushalt und Beruf: Eine statistische Dar
stellung fü r Wien a u f Grund der Volkszählung vom 22. März 1934 (Vienna, 1938), 13,
36. Among working wives 49.44% had no children, 44.45% had one child, and
6.11% had two children.
203. The same explanation for France and England, beginning with the later
nineteenth century, is given in Louise Tilly and Jo a n W. Scott, Women, Work, and
Family (New York, 1978), 170-72. The authors observe that a decrease in family size
actually led to an increase in the m o th er’s responsibility for child care (210-11). For
com parable conditions in Germany, see N eumann, “ Industrialization,” 289-91.
204. Ehmer, “ Frauenarbeit,” 451.
205. Applying condoms o r diaphragms in a dark bedroom crowded with children
and possibly o th e r adults was surely no easy feat. Reich’s instructions for this pro
cedure are daunting. See Sexualerregung, 2 4 -2 6. The average cost, according to
Reich, o f a package o f three condoms was 1.5 to 3 Schillings. The average worker
budget in 1932 allowed five Schillings o r less for incidentals that included tobacco,
beverages, and entertainm ent. I f it was increased from time to time, it was at the
expense o f essentials such as food. See Fritz Klenner, Die östereichischen Gewerkschaf
ten (Vienna, 1953), II, 893, and Bendikt Kautsky, Die Haushaltstatistik der Wiener
Arbeiterhammer, 1 9 2 5 -1 9 3 4 , supplem ent o f International Review o f Social History 2
(1935): 2 45 -4 6.
206. The same applies for France and England. See Etienne van de Walle, “ Moti
vations and Technology in the Decline of French Fertility,” in Wheaton and liar-
Notes to Pages 176-178 25:5
even, eds., Family and Sexuality, 147-52, and D. Gittins, Fair Sex: Family Size and
Structure, 1 9 0 0 -1 9 3 9 (London, 1982), 169. For Germany, see Dr. Max Marcuse, l)er
eheliche Präventivverkehr: Seine Verbreitung, Verursachung und Methodik (Stuttgart,
1917), 168-72. Coitus interruptus was supplem ented by various homely methods
and devices— douching, cotton wads, postcoital urination— o f negligible
effectiveness.
207. Ehmer, “ F rauenarbeit,” 468-69.
208. In the period 1 851-1920 seventy case files were deposited in the Vienna
archives, including the notorious Mittermayer file. See Katharina Riese, In wessen
Garten wächst die Leibesfrucht?: Das Abreibungsverbot und andere Bevormundungen
Gedanken über die Widersprüche im Zeugungsgeschäft (Vienna, 1983), 49, 89-119.
209. The cases o f Anna Ernst, Anna Sternak (1921); Rosalia Kaufmann, Anna
Haselmayer, Marie Prudek, Barbara Zimmermann (1922); M argarethe Hatzi, Marie
Schmidt, Anna Konrath, A nna Geist (1923); Sophie Rauch, Joseph Banauer (1929);
Emma G oldmann (1930); Aloisia Bribitzer, Leopoldine Heinz (1931); Veronika
U nger (1932). “ Strafprozessakte zum Paragraph 144.”
210. The judiciary in o ther countries (Czechoslovakia, Germany, Switzerland)
was considering the decriminalization o f abortion. See the report on the Swiss
suprem e court for instance, “ Schweizer Richter gegen die A btreibungsbestrafung,”
Arbeiter-Zeitung, Jline 7, 1927.
211. What the migraine was for the middle-class wife, work in the evenings, until
h er husband went to bed and fell asleep, was for the working-class wife: a means of
avoiding intercourse. See Petra Helm, “ Interviews mit Frauen über Sexualität und
Hygiene,” Institut für Wissenschaft und Kunst, Oral History Projekte in Österreich
(Vienna, 1984), 66.
212. The following is based on Reinhard Sieder, “ Die Geschichte d er einfachen
Leute— ein Them a für Geschichtswissenschaft u nd U nterricht,” Beiträge zu Histo
rischen Sozialkunde 14 (Jan.-M arch 1984), 27-31.
213. Cases o f wives refusing intercourse for similar reasons are recorded in
F^ngland. See Ellen Ross, “ Fierce Questions and Taunts: Married Life in Working-
Class London, 1 8 70 -1 91 4,” Feminist Studies 8 (Fall 1982): 595, and Roberts, Wom
a n ’s Place, 95.
214. See Appelt, Ladenmäden, Schreibfräulein und Gouvernanten, 158-61. Appell
reports one case in which a young wife was forced to term inate her pregnancy by her
mother-in-law because o f the crowded conditions in the common dwelling (172).
215. So leben wir, 4 1 -4 4 , 7 3-7 4 , 7 8-79 , 8 1 -8 3 , 109-10.
216. See the pioneering empirical social science study o f Marie Jahoda, Paul Laz-
ersfeld, and Hans Zeisel, Die Arbeitslosen von Marienthal: Fin soziographischer Versuch
(1933; Frankfurt, 1980), 8 3 -1 1 2 . A more recent study finds this loss o f male affect
primarily am ong settled heads o f families. See Safrian, “ Wir ham die Zeit,” 316-20.
217. The SDAP killed the squatters/garden city movement, which was based on
initiatives from below and on worker self-management, in 1923. See Klaus Novy,
“ Selbsthilfe als Reformbewegung: Der Kampf der Wiener Siedler nach dem I . Welt
krieg,” ARCH: Zeitschrift für Architekten, Sozialarbeiter und kommunalpolitische
G ruppen 55 (March 1981). Initiatives from below and attem pts at self-management
were quickly nipped in the bud by the party bureaucracy even in the new municipal
housing. See Alfred Frei, Austromarxismus und Arbeiterkultur (Berlin, 1984), I 10—13.
21 8 . W ee k s, S exua lity, 5 7 - 5 9 .
21 9 . S e e Pirl i n fe r , “ Politik a m K ö r p e r , ” 69 .
2 2 0 . S e e M ietern h u ll, 8 - 9 .
254 Notes to Pages 178-182
C o n clu sio n
1. See Julius Braunthal, Die Arbeiterräte in Deutschösterreich (Vienna, 1919); O tto
Bauer, Die österreichische Revolution (Vienna, 1923); Rolf Reventlow, Zwischen Aliier-
ten und Bolschewiken: Arbeiterräte in Österreich, 1918 bis 1923 (Vienna, 1969); Hans
H autm ann, Die verlorene Räterepublik: Am Beispiel der Kommunistischen Partei Deut
schösterreichs (Vienna, 1971): and H elm ut G ruber, International Communism in the Era
o f Lenin (Ithaca, N.Y., 1967), 191-217.
2. T he KPÖ had about 10,000 members at the end o f 1919, 4,300 o f which were
in Vienna; at the election for the Constituent Assembly it failed to win a mandate.
N either its m embership n o r electoral strength changed significantly throughout the
period. See H erb ert Steiner, Die Kommunistische Partei Österreichs von 1 9 1 8 bis 1933:
Bibliographische Bemerkungen Meisenheim/Clan, 1968), 24 and passim. The SDAP
was able to dismiss the KPÖ’s radical critiques as parrotings o f the Communist In ter
national. The A ustrian socialists’ ability to claim the undisputed leadership o f the
whole working class was not shared by socialists in France and Germany, for instance,
where strong com munist parties offered radical critiques and programs in com pet
ing for worker affiliation and support. See for example Julian Jackson, The Popular
Front in France: Defending Democracy, 1 9 3 4 -3 8 (Cambridge, 1988), and Heinrich
August Winkler, Der Weg in die Katastrophe: Arbeiter und Arbeiterbewegung in der Wei
marer Republik, 1930 bis 1933 (Berlin, 1987).
3. For Bauer’s prognostication, see Der Kam pf um die Macht (Vienna, 1924), 25,
and the many daily leaders he wrote in Die Arbeiter-Zeitung from 1924 to 1927. In
Vienna the SDAP gained 57-60% o f the vote. Its proportion o f the national vote
Notes to Pages 182-186
fluctuated between 36% and 42.3%; in mandates, from 37.7% to 43.6%. Sec ( li.u les
A. Gulick, Austria: From Habsburg to Hitler (Berkeley, Calif., I 94H), I 690, 792; II
9 14 -1 5 .
4. In the national election o f 1930 (lie SDAP received 1,517,251 voles and had
a membership o f 698,181. This m eant that 53% o f ils voles lame from olliei s than
organized socialists. In the Viennese municipal election o f 1932 the SDAl’ received
683,295 votes and had a membership o f 400,484; 4 l% o l ils votes came from outside
the party.
5. See Helm ut G ruber, Léon lilum, French Socialism, and the Popular Front: A Case
o f Internal Contradiction (Ithaca, N.Y., 1986), 11-12. See also Charles S. Maier, “The
Weaknesses o f the Socialist Strategy: A Comparative Perspective,” in Anson Rabin-
bach, ed., The Austrian Socialist Experiment: Social Democracy and Austromarxism,
1 9 18 - 1 9 3 4 (Boulder, Colo., 1985). Maier calls Bauer’s notion o f undertaking a
“ thoroughgoing socialist transform ation [on the basis o f a 51% majority] a disas
trous type o f programmatic concept” (249).
6. See O tto Bauer, “ Das Gleichgewicht d e r Klassenkräfte,” Der Kam pf 17 (Jan.
1924): 5 7 -6 7 . For the critics, see Hans Kelsen, “ Dr. O tto Bauers politische Theo
rie,” ibid., 17 (Feb 1924); 5 0 -5 6 , and O tto Leichter, “ Zum Problem d er sozialen
Gleichgewichtszustände,” ibid., 17 (May 1924): 184.
7. Coalition discussions were resumed in the SDAP in the early 1930s, but dis
belief in the good faith o f the opposition and fear o f abandoning red Vienna pre
vented serious consideration. Bauer stuck to his position on coalitions. See Labour
and Socialist International, After the Crerman Catastrophe: The Decisions o f the Interna
tional Conference o f the LSI in Paris, August 1933 (Zurich, 1933), 11 —12.
8. The concept “ republic” was unpalatable to Chancellor Seipel, who never
spoke o f the “ Austrian republic” but only o f the “Austrian state.” See Ernst Han-
isch, “ Der politische Katholizismus als ideologischer T räger des ‘Austrofaschis
mus,’ ” in E. Talos and W. Neugebauer, eds. “ A ustrofaschism usB eiträge über Politik,
Ökonomie und Kultur, 1 9 3 4 -1 9 3 8 (Vienna, 1984), 57.
9. O n the question o f w hether o r not there is a socialist art, see Brigitte Einig,
Die Veredelung des Arbeiters: Sozialdemokratie als Kulturbewegung (Frankfurt, 1980),
278 -8 6.
10. F or utopian orientations o f cultural movements, see Dieter Kramer, Theorien
zu r historischen Arbeiterkultur (Marburg, 1987), 239—43.
11. The literature on Gramsci’s theories has reached avalanche proportions. For
a ready access to “ hegem ony,” see Q uintin H oare and Geoffrey N. Smith, eds., Selec
tions from the Prison Notebooks o f Antonio Gramsci (New York, 1971), 206 -7 6. For the
culturist interpretation, see Gwyn A. Williams, “T he Concept o f ‘Egomonia’ in the
T hought o f Antonio Gramsci: Some Notes on Interpretation, "Journal o f the History
o f Ideas 21.4 (Oct.-Dec. 1960); Christian Riechers, Antonio Gramsci: Marxismus in
Italien (Frankfurt, 1970), 192-223; and Jam es Joll, Antonio Gramsci (New York,
1977), 116-34.
12. F or the latter, see Sheila Fitzpatrick, Cultural Revolution in Russia, 1 9 2 8 -3 1
(Bloomington, Ind., 1978).
13. The massive exhibitions m ounted in Vienna in the past fifteen years to cele
brate the red Vienna o f the First Republic have provided the municipal socialist
administration with a heroic past and even, as cynics would have it, Touristenzukerln
(bonbons for tourists). But these displays o f past accomplishments also appear to
embody a nostalgia for form er aspirations rendered obsolete by a less idealistic
present.
Index
H a d o w C o m m issio n , 77 I F T U . See T r a d e U n i o n I n t e r n a t i o n a l
H a h n , O tto , 84 Illn esses
H am b er, E dm un d, 133, 134 tu b ercu lo sis a n d , 16, 6 5, 6 6 , 211 n
H a m b e r , P h ilip , 1 3 3 v e n e re a l d ise a se a n d , 16, 6 5 , 1 5 7
H am burg lllustrierte Kronen-Zeitung, 8 8
e d u c a tio n a l r e f o r m in , 7 7 I n d e p e n d e n t A s s o c ia tio n o f S o c ia list
p u b lic h o u s in g in , 6 0 , 6 4 S tu d e n ts a n d A c a d e m ic ia n s , 3 2
H a n a k , A n t o n , 6 9 , iO O In d iv id u a l p sy c h o lo g y , 7 6 , 1 2 5
H a rtm a n n , L u d o , 32 i n f l u e n c e o f , o n S D A P ’s c u l t u r a l p r o g r a m ,
Hauptmann von Köpenick, Der ( f i l m ) , f 2 9 1 12 -13
H e a lth a n d w e lfa re p ro g ra m s , 6 5 -7 3 se x u a lity a n d , 1 7 5
c o e rc iv e n a tu r e o f, 71 In d u stry
in D ü s s e ld o rf, 6 6 S D A P 's fa ilu re to n a tio n a liz e , 1 8 2
p o p u la tio n p o litic s a n d , 6 6 , 6 8 V ie n n e s e , 15
so cia l w o rk e r s a n d , 6 9 - 7 2 I n f a n t l a y e t t e s , d i s t r i b u t i o n o f , 6 9 , 70
Index
P ro stitu tio n , 16 R e d F a lc o n s (R o te F a lk e n ), 2 4 , 1 0 9 , 1 21 ,
so cia list o b s e s s io n w ith d a n g e r s o f, 1 5 7 166, 167
P ro v isio n a l A ssem b ly , 1 3, 15 se x u a lity a n d , 1 7 4
P u b l i c e d u c a t i o n , 7 3 —8 0 . See also S c h o o l s R e ic h , W ilh e lm , 1 5 8 , 1 5 9 , 1 6 1 , 1 6 2
d e v e lo p m e n t o f n e w c u rric u la a n d c ritic is m o f so cia list y o u th p o lic y , 1 6 9 ,
te a c h in g m e th o d s fo r, 7 5 -7 6 170
in E n g la n d , 7 7 Reichspost, Die, 4 1
S D A P re fo rm p ro g ra m fo r, 7 7 -8 0 Reigen, Der ( S c h n i t z l e r ) , 1 6 3 - 6 4
in U n ite d S ta te s , 7 7 R e in h a rd t, M ax , 109
in W e im a r R e p u b lic , 7 7 R elig io u s in stru c tio n , 7 4 , 7 8 - 7 9 , 1 82 , 1 9 6 n ,
w o r k e r s ’ v ie w s o n , 8 0 215n
P u b l i c h e a l t h . See H e a l t h a n d w e l f a r e R e m a r q u e , E ric h M aria , 9 5
p rog ram s R e n n e r, K arl, 8, 15, 2 1 , 3 0 , 3 1 , 3 3 , 3 6 , 1 0 8 ,
P u b l i c h o u s i n g , 6 , 4 6 - 6 5 , 5 7 , 5 7 , 58, 61, 7 2 , 183, 199n
2 06 -7n c o n fro n ta tio n w ith M ax A d le r, 4 2
a rc h itec tu re a n d , 56 o p p o s itio n to d e fe n siv e -fo rc e p o sitio n ,
in B e rlin , 6 0 4 0-4 1
c o m m u n a l f a c i l i t i e s a n d , 6 0 - 6 1 , 62 p o s tw a r ro le o f, 3 3
c o n s tru c tio n m a te ria ls a n d m e th o d s a n d , so cia list c u ltu r e a n d , 8 6
5 6-5 7 R e n t c o n tro l, 2 2 -2 3 , 2 0 3 n
e ffe c t o f sm a ll size o f a p a r tm e n ts in , 6 2 - h o u sin g sh o rta g e a n d , 4 5 , 4 7
63 R e n z c irc u s, 1 1 8
in E n g la n d , 6 4 Resurrection ( f i l m ) , 1 2 9
in F r a n c e , 6 4 R e u m a n n , J a k o b , 2 0 , 3 7 , 1 6 3 —6 4 , 2 0 2 n
in F r a n k f u r t, 5 7 , 6 0 , 6 4 R e u m a n n h o f f , 51, 57
in H a m b u r g , 6 0 , 6 4 R e v o lu tio n ä re S o z ia ld e m o k ra te n , 1 70
lack o f p la n n in g fo r, 5 0 - 5 3 Riesenrad, 1 1 7
“ re d fo rtre ss” th e o ry an d , 2 1 0 n R in te le n , A n to n , 1 36
re g im e n ta tio n im p o se d by m a n a g e m e n t R itu a ls o f o ld o rd e r, 2 3 - 2 4
of, 6 3 - 6 4 R o s e n fe ld , F ritz , 1 3 1 , 1 3 2 , 1 3 4 , 2 3 4 - 3 5 n
s h o rtc o m in g s o f h o u s in g b u ilt b y, 5 8 , 6 0 R o se n fe ld , K u rt, 3 4
te n a n ts o f, 6 1 - 6 2 R o t e F a l k e n . See R e d F a l c o n s
w o rk e r s ’ lac k o f c o n tr o l o v e r, 6 3 - 6 4 R u sse ll, B e r tr a n d , 7 7
P u b lic sa n ita tio n , b re a k d o w n o f, 6 5
P u b lic W e lfa re O ffice, 6 8
P u b l i s h i n g . See also B o o k s ; N e w s p a p e r s ; Sacco und Vanzetti ( f i l m ) , 1 2 9
specific publications S a fria n , H a n s , 1 75
A u stro m a rx ist, 3 2 -3 3 S A J . See S o c i a l i s t W o r k e r Y o u t h
S a ld e m , A d e lh e id v o n , 2 0 4 n , 2 0 7 -8 n , 2 0 9 n ,
R ab in b ach , A n so n , 3 6 , 1 97 n , 1 99 n, 2 0 2 n , 220n, 222n, 236n, 238n
2 1 8 n ,2 2 5 n S a n d l e i t e n h o f , 58
R ad a, M arg arete, 171, 173 c o m m u n a l l a u n d r y a t , 62
R a d i o , 1 3 5 - 4 1 , 137 w o r k e r l i b r a r y a t , 94
e n th u sia sm fo r, 1 3 6 -3 7 S a sc h a -F ilm , 1 2 6
liste n e rs’ p ro g ra m p re fe re n c e s a n d , 1 40 S c h le s in g e r , T h e r e s e (E k ste in ), 2 6 , 1 5 5 , 1 6 0 ,
“ n e u tra l” p ro g ra m m in g fo r, 136, 138 161
p ric e o f re c e iv ers a n d , 2 3 7 n S c h lic k , M o ritz , 8 4
R a d io c lu b s, 8 2 , 1 3 8 , 1 3 9 , 1 4 0 Schmalzbrot, 7 1
R av a g (Ö ste rre ic h isc h e R a d io -V e rk e h rs S c h m itz , R ic h a rd , 7 7
A .C .), 1 3 6 - 4 1 S c h n itz le r, A r th u r , 1 63 , 1 79
H e im w e h r in flu en c e o n , 2 3 8 n S c h o b e r , J o h a n n e s , 4 1 —4 3
stru g g le o v e r c o n tro l o f, 1 3 6 - 1 4 0 S c h o o l s . See also E d u c a t i o n ; P u b l i c
R ead ersh ip e d u c a tio n
o f books, 9 2 -9 6 confessional, 215n
o f so cia list p u b lic a tio n s , 8 7 - 9 1 h e a lth <a re in c o r p o ra te d in to , 7 5
Index
m i d d l e , G l ö c k e l ’s p r o p o s a l t o e s t a b l i s h , S o ccer, 123
75, 76 a s s p e c t a t o r s p o r t , 1 4 1 - 4 2 , ¡43
fo r S D A P le a d e rsh ip , 9 0 , 9 2 S o c c e r asso ciatio n , 103
se p a ra tio n fro m c h u rc h , 74 S o c ia l a n d E c o n o m ic M u s e u m , 8 4
w o rk , 76 S o c i a l D e m o c r a t i c W o r k e r s ’ p a r t y . See
S c h o rs k e , C arl, 12, 1 8 9 n , 1 9 0 n A u s tria n S o c ia list p a rty
Schrammeln q u a r t e t s , 1 1 6 S o c ia list a rt, d e f in itio n o f, 9 7
Schrebergärten. See G a r d e n p l o t s S o c ia list a r t c e n te r , 8 2
S c h ü tte -L ih o tz k y , M a rg a re te , 6 0 S o c ia list c u ltu ra l c e n te r , 8 2
S c h u tzb u n d , 4 1 -4 3 , 87, 103, 1 0 5 -6 , 166 S o c ia list P a rty c u ltu re , 8 1 - 1 1 3
S D A P . See A u s t r i a n S o c i a l i s t p a r t y c o n c e p t o f, 2 1 6 n
S eid ew itz, M ax , 3 4 e lite c u ltu r e b o th re je c te d a n d d e s ire d
S eip el, Ig n a z , 1 3 6 a n d , 8 3 —8 7
a n n e x a tio n w ith G e rm a n y , lec tu res a n d , 91 - 9 2
C z e c h o s lo v a k ia , o r Ita ly p r o p o s e d b y, m u sic , th e a te r, a n d fin e a rts a n d , 9 6 - 1 0 2
2 4-2 5 p e rsp e c tiv e g u id in g p ro g ra m fo r, 8 2
a n ti-S e m itism o f, 2 6 p rin te d w o rd an d , 8 7 -9 1 , 9 2 -9 6
C a th o lic c h u rc h a n d , 2 7 , 2 8 q u e stio n s a b o u t c o n te n t o f, 1 8 4 -8 5
c en so rsh ip an d , 164 s p o r ts a n d fe stiv a ls a n d , 1 0 2 - 1 3
c o n tro v e rsy o v e r m u n ic ip a l c re m a to riu m S o c ia list P e r f o r m a n c e G r o u p , 1 0 0
and, 72 S o c ia list S p o r ts I n te r n a tio n a l, 1 0 7
re fu sa l to c o m p ro m is e fo llo w in g J u ly 15, S o c ia list s y m b o ls , 2 2 6 n
1 9 2 7 ,4 1 -4 2 S o c ia list W o r k e r Y o u th (S A J), 1 0 3 , 1 0 9 ,
S e itz , K a rl, 3 7 , 1 3 3 , 1 3 8 111, 1 2 4 , 1 6 6 , 167, 1 6 9
c o n tro v e rsy o v e r m u n ic ip a l c re m a to riu m c o n d e m n atio n o f p o p u lar cu ltu re and,
a n d ,72 125
e d u c a tio n a l re fo rm s a n d , 74 m e m b e rs h ip o f, 2 3 In
h o u sin g p ro g ra m a n d , 5 0 se x u a lity a n d , 1 7 4 - 7 5
S e ttle rs’ m o v e m e n t, 4 8 S o c i a l i z a t i o n o f c h i l d r e n , 6 7 , 1 6 5 , 1 7 1 —7 2 ,
S e x e d u c a tio n in so c ia list y o u th 173
o rg a n iz a tio n s, 1 7 5 S o c ia liz a tio n C o m m is s io n , 2 2
S e x m a n u a ls, 1 6 2 , 2 4 7 - 4 8 n S o c i a l w e l f a r e . See H e a l t h a n d w e l f a r e
S e x u a l a b s tin e n c e , so cia list p r o m u lg a tio n o f, p rog ram s
158 S o c ia l w o rk e r s
S e x u a l c o n s u l ta ti o n c lin ic s, 1 6 1 - 6 2 h o m e v isits c a r r i e d o u t b y , 6 6 , 6 9 , 71
S e x u a l d iv isio n o f la b o r in h o u s e h o ld , 1 5 0 n e g a tiv e p e rc e p tio n s o f, 7 1 - 7 2
S e x u a lity , 1 5 5 - 7 8 p ro fessio n a l tra in in g o f, 6 9 - 7 0
C a t h o l i c c h u r c h ’s p o s i t i o n o n , 1 6 3 - 6 4 Sodom und. Gemorrha ( f i l m ) , 1 3 0
as d istra c tio n fr o m p arty , 1 5 6 -5 7 S o l d i e r s ’ c o u n c i l s , 18
o rd e rly fa m ily a n d , 1 5 6 Sozialdemokrat, Der, 8 7
o v e r c r o w d in g in h o u s in g a n d , 171 S o z ia ld e m o k ra tis c h e K u n stste lle , 8 2 , 8 3 - 8 7
p la c e a c c o rd e d to , b y S D A P , 1 5 6 - 5 7 m u sic , th e a te r, a n d fin e a rts a n d , 9 6 - f 0 2
p o p u l a t i o n p o l i t i c s a n d , 1 5 7 —6 4 w o r k e r fe stiv a fs a n d , 1 0 8 , 1 0 9
r e a litie s o f e v e r y d a y life a n d , 1 7 0 - 7 8 S o z ia listis c h e B ild u n g s z e n tra le , 8 2 , 8 6 , 9 1 ,
re p re ssio n o f, 1 59 92, 93, 100, 103, 111, 132, 134
se x u a l p re c o c ity a n d , 1 72 Sozialistische Erziehung, 1 2 4
y o u th a n d , 1 6 5 -7 0 , 1 7 4 -7 5 S o z ia listisch e r L e h re r v e rb a n d , 7 9
S e x u a l p ro m isc u ity , S D A P c o n d e m n a tio n o f, S p e c t a t o r s p o r t s , 1 4 1 - 4 2 , 143
1 5 8 -5 9 S p o rts
S ie d e r, G e rh a rd , 1 7 2 , 1 75 b o u rg e o is, 104
S in c la ir, U p to n , 9 5 p a ra m ilita ry o rie n ta tio n o f, 1 0 5 -6
S in g in g so c ie tie s, 1 0 0 p o l i t i c i z a t i o n o f , 1 0 4 —5
Sklavenkönigin, l)ie ( f i l m ) , 1 3 0 s p e c t a t o r , 1 4 1 - 4 2 , 143
S lezak , W a lte r, 1 26 w o m e n in , 1 06
S l u m s , V i e n n e s e , .r >.r> S p o i ls p r o g r a m s , 1 0 2 - 7
268 Index
in 1 9 1 9 - 2 1 , 1 3 - 2 9 e x e rc ise fo r, 151
in 1 9 2 9 , 5 9 a s f a c t o r y w o r k e r s , 152
p o p u la tio n o f, 15, 16, 2 5 as hom ew o rk ers, 153
p o s tw a r h a r d s h ip s in , 16 le isu re tim e o f, 1 50 , 2 3 0 n
p u b lic h o u s in g in , 4 6 - 6 5 l u n c h e s c o n s u m e d by, 22 H i i, 2 1 1 11
s lu m s in , 5 5 n e w ,147-55
so cia l te n s io n in , 1 5 - 1 6 p o s t w a r e x p u l s i o n o f, f r o m In diiN try,
w o r k e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n , i n 1 9 2 1 , 17 191 n
w o r k e r re v o lt o f J u ly 1 5 , 1 9 2 7 , in . t o J u ly p ro fessio n a l h o u se w o rk a n d , 52
15, 1 9 2 7 , rev o lt p u b lic a tio n s a im e d a t, 8 8
w o rk e r s in , 1 6, 18 ra tio n a liz a tio n o f h o u s e w o rk a n d , 148,
V ie n n a C irc le , 8 4 1 50 -52
V ie n n ae , R o b e rt, 126 re a d in g h a b its o f, 8 9
V ie n n a U n io n , 33 re a so n s fo r w o rk in g a n d , 154
V isu a l statistic s, 8 4 ro le o f, 1 5 0 , 1 52 , 1 78
V ita stu d io , 1 33 as S D A P m em b ers, 20
Volksheime, 9 1 s e c o n d -c la s s s ta tu s o f, in s p o rts , 1 0 6
V o lk s-K in o -V e rb a n d , 1 34 so c ia list v ie w o f, 1 4 8
V o l k s w e h r , 18, 1 9 in t r a d e u n i o n s , 8 8 , 2 4 3 n , 2 4 4 n
Volks-Zeitung, r e a d e r s h i p o f , 8 9 t r a d e u n i o n s ’ l a c k o f s u p p o r t f o r , 1 5 3 —5 4
Vollkomene Ehe, Die ( v a n d e V e l d e ) , 1 6 2 trip le b u rd e n o f, 1 5 0 , 1 52 , 177
w ag es o f, 148, 153
w o rk as b u rd e n fo r, 150, 1 5 2 -5 3
W ages w o rk d a y o f, 151
re a l, 1 9 3 - 9 4 n w o rk w e e k o f, 19 2 n
o f w om en, 148, 153 W o rk day
W a g n e r, R ic h a rd , 8 5 , 100 e ig h t-h o u r, 115
so c ia list c u l t u r e a n d , 8 6 o f w o m e n , 151
W a lte r, G a b rie le , 5 2 W o rk e r c h e ss c lu b , 1 0 3
W asserm an n, Jako b, 95 W o rk e r c u ltu ra l o rg a n iz a tio n s, 2 1 7 n
W e b e r, A n to n , 37 W o r k e r f e s t i v a l s , 1 0 0 , 1 0 7 - 1 2 , 110, 2 2 5 -
W e b ern , A n to n von, 98, 99 26n
W eg s, J . R o b e rt, 1 8 9 n , 2 0 3 n , 2 0 6 n , 2 0 8 n , W o r k e r l i b r a r i e s , 9 2 - 9 6 , 94
21 In , 2 12 n, 2 15 n, 2 2 0 n , 2 2 9 n books b o rro w ed from , 9 5 -9 6
W eid en h o lzer, Jo sef, 91, 2 1 6 n p a tro n a g e o f, 9 4 - 9 5
W e im a r R ep u b lic W o rk e r O ly m p ic s, 1 0 9 -1 0 , 139, 183
e d u c a tio n a l r e f o r m in , 7 7 second, 107
p u b lic h o u s in g in , 5 7 , 6 0 , 6 4 W o rk e r R a d io C lu b , 103
W e l f a r e w o r k e r s . See S o c i a l w o r k e r s W o r k e r re v o lts
Wiener Dreigroschenbücher, 8 9 o f J u l y 1 5 , 1 9 2 7 . See J u l y 1 5 , 1 9 2 7 , r e v o l t
Wiener Messe, 1 1 8 o f 1934, 3 -4
W i l d e r , B illy , 1 2 6 W o rk ers
W in te r, Jay , 21 In a llo c a tio n o f p u b lic h o u s in g to , 6 1 - 6 2
Wirtshaus. S e e Gasthäuser b e n e fitin g fro m e d u c a tio n a l re fo rm s, 8 0
Wohnungsanforderungsgesetz ( h o u s i n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f , i n V i e n n a i n 1 9 2 1 , 17
r e q u is tio n in g law ), 4 8 d e m o n s t r a t i o n s o f , 19. See also W o r k e r
W o lff, F r ie d r ic h , 9 7 re v o lts; J u ly 15, 1 9 2 7 , re v o lt
W om en, 1 47 -55 f a m i l y o f . See F a m i l y ; O r d e n t l i c h e
a b o r t i o n a n d . See A b o r t i o n A rb e ite rfa m ilie
a n ticle rica lism a n d , 2 8 f e m a l e , 152. See also W o m e n
as c o m r a d e a n d frie n d , 1 50 im p a c t o f B o lsh e v ik R e v o lu tio n o n , 19
d e n ia l o f se x u a l in te rc o u rs e by, as b irth lac k o f c o n t r o l o f , o v e r p u b l i c h o u s i n g ,
c o n tro l m e th o d , I 77 6 3-6 4
as d o m e stic w o rk er» , 153 lac k o f i n v o l v e m e n t o f , in p l a n n i n g f o r
e v e r y d a y life* o f , 1 5 1 5 2 housin g program , 52 5.3
270 Index