Political Violence, its Forms and Strategies in the First Austrian Republic

In this article, the author uses political violence, that is, the politically motivated physical damage human beings inflict on each other in any number of ways, as a lens to examine forms and patterns of extreme social conflict that emerged in the First Austrian Republic. In his analyses, the author uses quantitative and qualitative analyses of violence by different political groups to determine the impact of social and economic factors, among others, on this violence. After an introduction this contribution deals with the quantitative changes in political violence between 1918 and 1934 and the qualitative changes in the structure of political conflict. After that the forms and patterns of political violence that emerged in this connection are described and some explicit strategies of violence by individual political groupings are given. Finally, the social causes of political violence are examined and provide new explanation of the breakdown of Austrian democracy and the twofold civil war (in February and July) 1934. These events are not only a result of anti-democratic political decision making but also of the consequence of the rising waves of social conflicts and self-enforcing violence

The Jews of Vienna from the "Anschluß" to the Holocaust

In this article, the author examines the socio-economic driving forces and political authorities behind the persecution of Jews in Vienna from 1938 to 1943 in order to demonstrate that the anti-Semitic mobilization of substantial sections of the population was directly related to social and economic interests. This becomes clear through the author's analysis of the radical nature of Viennese anti-Semitism from the pogroms of 1938 and the systematic deportation of Jews to extermination camps. This article is structured as follows: 1. Introduction, 2. Exploration of the Perpetrators' Emotional Potential and Demonstration of Jewish Defencelessness, 3. The Conceptual Delineation and Definition of the Enemy Group, 4. Destruction of Economic Means of Subsistence, 5. Forced Emigration, 6. Radicalization and Reichskristallnacht, 7. Spatial Segregation (Ghettoization), 8. Realizing the Nazi Stereotype of the 'Jew', 9. Removal and Annihilation

A "War Child" as a Historian of Austria's Nazi Past

This article presents four interwoven lines of argumentation: first, it describes the trajectory of a common Austrian in the first half of the 20th century, my father, his political inclinations towards authoritarianism and Nazism, and his "career" and death as a Wehrmacht soldier in the light of changing societal and political contexts; secondly, the author's process of interpreting scarce written documents, photographs, and vague oral accounts in an attempt to establish some historic "truth" is reported; third, this ("traditional") historiographical work is juxtaposed with Austria's conflicting "collective memories" since the 1960s and with the historical-political struggles around prominent Austrian figures (like Waldheim, Friedrich Peter, and other forgetful or silent participants in the Nazi war of extermination or the NSDAP and the SS) in which the author himself participated actively. In this way, the recent cultural historical dimensions of a modern (and successful) European state which has been struggling to come to terms with a strong dictatorial past are illuminated. But the author also discovers as a "participant observer" or "ego-historian" in how fragile and deceptive his own critical opinions and attempts to overcome the Nazi structures of his own society had been: they have unconsciously and indirectly perpetuated taboos about a harmful past and influenced his political as well as professional activities

The Short- and Long-Term Effects of the Authoritarian Regime and of Nazism in Austria: the Burden of a 'Second Dictatorship'

This article considers two types of right extremism in Austria’s history: Nazism and the preceding ‘Austro-Fascism’ that tried to resist Nazism. By first considering the roots of ‘Austro-Fascism’, followed by how Austrians reacted to Nazism on social, political and economic levels, the author identifies the ‘victim myth’ found in Austrian history after 1945 and is able to uncover how the post-war period was impacted by and tried to distance itself from Austria’s long relationship with German nationalism and two dictatorial pasts (the authoritarian dictatorship of Dollfuß and Schuschnigg, and the Nazi regime). The article is structured as follows: 1. ‘Austro-Fascism': Interlude and Austrian Symptom, 2. Impacts of the Nazi Dictatorship (1938-1945), 3. National Identity and the ‘Victim Myth’, 4. Reconstruction of the State, Inconsistent Denazification and Continuities, 5. The ‘Long Durée’ of the Nazi Heritage, 6. Conclusion

Nationalsozialismus in Wien: Machtübernahme, Herrschaftssicherung, Radikalisierung 1938/39

The question of how National Socialism came to power in Vienna has been an absolute taboo in Austrian History for a long time. SS-Terror and the pressure of Reichsdeutsche corresponded with the enthusiastic assistance of Austrian Nazis and a rebellious Kleinbürger movement – being torn between storms of enthusiasm and anti-Jewish-pogroms. This article integrates the results of Gerhard Botz’s large monograph of 1978, which has been revised and extended several times since then. The example of Vienna in 1938/39 shows how of the Nazi’s seize of power and consolidation went hand in hand with daily mechanisms of surveillance and rewards, conviction and persecution of individuals and groups. Hitler himself interfered often in Viennes anti-Jewish and other racial matters as well in many decisions on city planning, architecture and music, he displayed a real love-hate relationship with the city where he had spent several years of his yout

Ungerechtigkeit, die Demonstranten, Zufall und die Polizei: der 15. Juli 1927. Bildanalysen zu einem Wendepunkt in der Geschichte Österreichs

This article presents the results of an analysis of different sources concerned with the workers' revolt of July 15, 1927 (also known as the Vienna Palace of Justice fire). The author pays special attention to the socio-historical and source-critical evaluation of more than 100 photographs illustrating this fire on July 15, 1927 by using the shadows on buildings in order to establish an exact dating of the documented acts of violence. This "shadow method" he developed himself allows to clarify the motivations and social composition of the protesters and reveal the role of the police in escalating the violence. He is able to establish an exact chronology of the events and an explanation of the social dynamics leading to a death toll of 85 demonstrators and 4 police men

Comparative historical social research on European fascist movements: who were the fascists?

In dem Beitrag wird über eine Konferenz zur vergleichenden europäischen Faschismusforschung in Bergen berichtet, auf der vor allem drei Themenbereiche diskutiert wurden: (1) Wer wurde Mitglieder der faschistischen bzw. nationalsozialistischen Bewegungen und Parteien in Europa vor und während des Zweiten Weltkriegs? (2) Warum wurden sie Mitglieder? (3) Was passierte danach mit ihnen? Es wird nicht als ein Versehen der Konferenz eingeschätzt, daß die meisten Wortmeldungen das Ziel aus den Augen verloren haben, sich erfolgreich mit der dritten Frage der Konferenz zu beschäftigen, wohingegen die meisten in der Lage waren, die ersten beiden Fragen zu beantworten. (KW

Zeitgeschichte im Spannungsfeld zwischen Politik, Biografie und Methodik: autobiografische Anmerkungen

Gerhard Botz outlines his scholarly autobiography in its interrelationship with and against main developments in Austrian politics and historiographic trends. However, he does not want to present a coherent narrative about his career from social and scholarly peripheries to close to the centres of historical and social scientific research. The unfolding of his scientific profile is compounded of different puzzle pieces like memory-based descriptions, historical analyses of contemporary political contexts, and his live story interviews. As an historian the author tries to integrate social science and cultural history methods and theories into his main professional grounding which is focused thematically on Austria's history since the end of the First World War, particularly on the disastrous effects of violence and the Nazi dictatorship. He presents his main findings and the methodical practices along three fields of long term interests and projects: political violence and social conflict during the interwar period in Austria, the functioning and social consequences of national socialist rule on the example of Vienna, and the social composition and motivations of the NSDAP membership. In doing so he allows also insights into every-day work, obstacles and gains of historical research applying a multitude of methods, including quantification and oral history. These insights were gained in close connection with several leading scholars of QUANTUM and the Centre of Historical Social Research in Cologne. These efforts motivated Gerhard Botz to organize the Salzburg Summer Schools on New Methods in History and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Social Science History (at the University of Vienna until its closure in 2017)

Neueste Geschichte zwischen Quantifizierung und "Mündlicher Geschichte": Überlegungen zur Konstituierung einer sozialwissenschaftlichen Zeitgeschichte von neuen Quellen und Methoden her

This article reflects the new focus of historiography between quantification and Oral History. Based on theoretical debates, it is shown how historiography is changing in context of new research fields, new topics, methods, sources and theoretical standpoints. Thus, this all can be understood as paradigm shift in historical research. The author focuses on methodology and historical sources, including its constituent issues and research questions. First, it should be asked what kind of impact technical innovations have on historiographical practice. Second, two practical “cornerstones of historiography” are presented: quantification and Oral History. They can be understood as opposite poles complementing each other in research practice in a fruitful way