The History of the Botanical Gardens at the University of Vienna: 1914-1945

Botanical Gardens with their rich collections and extensive technical facilities are of considerable scientific, economic, educational and social value as they have always been laboratories of botanical research, places of academic and college education, places of refuge for endangered plants and oasis of peace. To have a solid basis for these tasks it is of essential importance to research the historical development of botanical gardens scientifically, culturally and socially. The history of the Botanical Gardens at the University of Vienna, a garden which is celebrating its 250 anniversary in 2004, has already been researched in the currently running project P 11885-HIS up to the beginning of the First World War. It was the detailed analysis of the gardens` history during the time of Richard von Wettstein`s administration that offered essential grounds for the preparation and application of this research project. Right after the end of the First World War far reaching changes were opening up in the Scientific Institute of Botany and the adjacent Botanical Gardens of the University of Vienna, Rennweg 14 due to the reorientation on many stately and social levels. From the year 1920 it is obvious that the state and the governing bodies could not cope with the economic crisis. The main question was whether Austria could survive. The monetary situation gradually worsened and the unstoppable inflation caused great poverty among many people. The exchange of letters regarding the salaries of his staff and the endowments for the Institute and the Botanical Gardens between Richard von Wettstein and the Ministry increased steadily. The political developments and their aims became more and more inscrutable. It was predominantly the national socialist ideology that made the heads of the Botanical Institute realise that they had to include to their scientific work their personal statements. Under the administration of Fritz Knoll the importance of botanical research became almost imperceptibly a game of strategic forces that were mostly unknown by most of the players. To the majority of the Austrian university professors the annexation to a national socialist German Reich was the fulfillment of something they had been wishing for long. It was from the universities that biological knowledge was to spring forth to the schools and other groups of elected people. Based on the extensive, predominantly still untouched resource material in different Austrian archives and also foreign botanical gardens and archives this research project will offer results to the following questionsopics: 1 Analysis of a natural science institution in Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century, especially in the time after the First World War and during the period of the national socialist government. a) The scientific research at the Botanical Gardens and the Institute. b) The Changes of the Botanical Gardens at the University at the beginning of the 20`h century and during the Second World War. c) The collections of plants of the Botanical Gardens. Criteria of new planting before and during the Second World War. d) Personnel. 2 The scientific position of the research at the Botanical Gardens in Vienna in regard to Europe. 3 The role of the national education programme. 4 The political interests for scientific research between 1914 and 1945 in regard to the Botanical Gardens. 5 The influence that the scientific research of botanists at the University of Vienna had on other natural scientific fields, on art and on culture. 6 Botanical research and garden design under the administration of Richard von Wettstein and Fritz Knoll. 7 Richard von Wettstein and Fritz Knoll and the political environment they lived in: How did the political situation, their personal values, their scope of action and activities in the Institute of Botany and the Botanical Gardens interact? 8 Fritz Knoll as vice-chancellor at the University of Vienna between 1939 and 1945.

The most important result of this project is the completion of the first standard history of the Botanical Gardens `Hortus Botanicus Vindobonensis` of the University of Vienna which was founded in 1754. It is the first historical and interdisciplinary study of one of the oldest botanical gardens in Europe which includes a very sumptuous documentation of the layout of the gardens as well as a detailed biographical study of the lives of its directors. It is this part of the study that comprises a well-founded treatise which is meant to be published independently in full. Based on the plan of this project this study comprises the detailed history of the time between 1914 till 1945 which is the time that Fritz Knoll was first assistant of dignitaries like Richard von Wettstein, then chancellor of the University of Vienna between 1939 till 1945 and also director of the Botanical Institute. As an absolute necessity the biographical study of Fritz Knoll not only centres on the study of his personality but also on the study of a given historical timeframe within a scientific botanical institution. Inevitably this study centres on the development of the different personalities within the family Wettstein who held their own views and ideas on society and politics which contrasted sharply with the national socialist ideology of that period. This study examines the evolution of ideas and thesis within a family and how they were carried out by different generations in the institution of a scientifically run botanical garden by using the detailed studies of archives and many interviews with descendants of this family, which particularly in Vienna is a very rare constellation for scientific work.