Jews in Viennese Popular Culture around 1900

The aim of this project is to analyze the role of Jews in general popular culture in Vienna around the year 1900. Within the scope of this project, there are two main goals. First, given that research on this topic is largely a desideratum, this project aims to unveil novel research material and thus lead directly to new knowledge. This will have the effect of opening a new chapter on the history of Jews in fin-de-siècle Vienna. Second, with the help of this new research on popular culture, a new narrative in the history of Jews will be introduced. This new narrative takes a turn away from the predominant concept of acculturation, and instead focuses on the concept of Jews and non-Jews concertedly creating cultural processes. Using this approach, the weaknesses of acculturation as a methodological tool in Jewish historiography will be illustrated. Also, the advantages to innovative perspectives on Jewish history, which have implications beyond the analysis of popular culture and also lead to new research findings, will be discussed. In this project proposal, four theses will be put forth, which, source documents permitting, will be supported by this research. Using this approach, the above mentioned goals will also be met.

The project Jews in Viennese popular culture around 1900 investigated the involvement of Jews in specific cultural realms, particularly in the field of Viennese Volkssänger. Central questions explored in the course of the study concerned the relations among Jewish and non-Jewish artists and Volkssänger, the conception of Jewishness among them, and criteria of Jewish distinction beyond religion and ethnicity. Another focus was directed on how Jews were linked to popular culture in newspapers and magazines published in Vienna around 1900. It could be determined that the intersections between definitions of Jewish and popular played a major role in various contemporary concepts of society.