Date of Award

Spring 2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Director

Maura Hametz

Committee Member

Michael Carhart

Committee Member

Annette Finley-Croswhite

Committee Member

Pieter Judson

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.H47 M636 2005

Abstract

The political atmosphere of the last decades of the Austrian Empire is often characterized by the outbreak of radical political movements. These movements were sharply critical of the political, social, and economic developments which resulted from the state's transition into a modern, industrial society. Two of these movements, the Christian Socialist Party, led by Dr. Karl Lueger, and the Pan-German Nationalist Party, led by Georg von Schonerer, became notable for their use of anti-Semitism as a means of vocalizing these criticisms. While these two groups were contemporaries, Lueger's Christian Socialist's achieved unparalleled success, dominating Viennese politics by 1900; and Schonerer's Pan-Germans slipped into relative obscurity. This project attempts to examine the reason behind Lueger's success and Schonerer's failure, in light of their mutual use of anti-Semitism.

Using secondary and primary source material, the platforms and rhetoric of these two movements are studied. The project explores the differences in the anti- Semitic language of each, while also looking at the differences in the platforms and rhetoric on the whole. Ultimately, it discovers that Karl Lueger and the Christian Socialist Party created a political movement and platform which reinforced the traditional elements of Austrian society and culture, while Georg von Schonerer and the Pan-German Nationalists called for a radical departure from these traditions. In the end, by supporting the Catholic Church, the Habsburg dynasty, and other elements of Austrian identity, Lueger was able to create a movement which resonated with the population of the Austrian capital.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/71wv-g186

Download

Share

COinS