POPULAR JEWISH DRAMA IN VIENNA IN THE 1920S

Brigitte Dalinger

In the immediate aftermath of World War I and the downfall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the city of Vienna was often compared to a head that was excessively weighty in proportion to the country’s slender body. Austria was left now with a population of 6.5 millions. Its capital, with about 1.6 million inhabitants, was beleaguered by harsh economic problems. Nevertheless, Vienna persevered in retaining its status as a major cultural center, a city of music and the performing arts, and its theatres, clubs and restaurants were heavily frequented by the general public. Until the mid-1920s, the city experienced a veritable boom in the amusement and entertainment sector: numerous theatres and clubs were newly opened, though some could not make a go of it and others were turned into cinemas.1 Vienna’s Jewish population increased signifi cantly during and after World War I. Between 1890 and 1910 an estimated 175,313 Jews lived in the city, about 8.6 per cent of population; during the First World War, an estimated 50,000 to 125,000 refugees—Jews and non-Jews— arrived, and about 25,000 of them settled there permanently.2 By 1923 there were 201,513 Jews in Vienna, about 10.8 per cent of the city’s inhabitants.3 The percentage of the Jewish population decreased in the 1930s, when about 176,000 Jews (9.4 per cent) lived in Vienna. The artistic course of the city’s major theatre houses—the Burgtheater, the Deutsches Volkstheater and its smaller stage, the Kammerspiele, as well as the Theatre in der Josefstadt—was infl uenced by playwrights,

1 See: Heidemarie Brückl-Zehetner, “Theater in der Krise: sozialgeschichtliche Untersuchungen zum Wiener Theater der Ersten Republik” (Diss. University of Vienna, 1988); Birgit Peter, “Schaulust und Vergnügen: Zirkus, Varieté und Revue im Wien der Ersten Republik” (Diss. University of Vienna, 2001; Alfred Pfoser, “Konjunktur und Krise: Zur Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte eines Theaters,” 100 Jahre Volkstheater, ed. Evelyn Schreiner (Vienna: Jugend und Volk, 1989) 34–39. 2 See: Ruth Beckermann, “Die Mazzesinsel,” Die Mazzesinsel, ed Ruth Beckermann (Vienna: Löcker, 1984) 16; John Lichtblau and Albert Lichtblau. Schmelztiegel Wien—Einst und Jetzt: Zur Geschichte und Gegenwart von Zuwanderung und Minderheiten (Vienna: Böhlau, 1993) 114. 3 Lichtblau 157. 176 brigitte dalinger directors, actresses and actors of Jewish descent. The premiere of Jaákobs Traum by Richard Beer-Hofmann (1866–1945)4 took place in 19195 at the Burgtheater, and his Der Graf von Charolais,6 which had originally been produced in Berlin in 1904, opened in Vienna in 1922. The Deutsches Volkstheater staged Professor Bernhardi 7 by Arthur Schnitzler8 (1862–1931) in 1918, and the smaller Kammerspiele pre- sented in 1921 his Reigen.9 One of the most prominent leaders of the Deutsches Volkstheater was Rudolf Beer (1889–1938),10 an actor and director who was also temporarily the manager of the Raimundtheatre in addition to the Volkstheater. Max Reinhardt (1873–1943)11 deci- sively infl uenced theatre life in Vienna in the 1920s, especially when, in 1923, he assumed the directorship of the Theater in der Josefstadt. In 1926, he presented at the Deutsches Volkstheater his production of G. B. Shaw’s Saint Joan with the Jewish actress Elisabeth Bergner (1897–1966)12 in the title role. As this brief survey demonstrates, Jewish directors and theatre managers (Rudolf Beer, Max Reinhardt), actors (Elisabeth Bergner) and dramatists (Arthur Schnitzler, Richard Beer-Hofmann) played an important role in Vienna’s theatrical life. Some of them also dealt with Jewish themes in their works, notably Arthur Schnitzler in his Professor Bernhardi.

4 Richard Beer-Hofmann (b. 1866 Rodaun near Vienna—d. 1945 New York) was an author and playwright. In 1897 he became famous with the poem Schlafl ied für Mirjam [“Lullaby for Mirjam”]. In 1939 he immigrated to the USA. 5 Jaákobs Traum [“Jaákob’s Dream”] was published in 1918. The production, directed by Max Reinhardt, was planned for Berlin in the fall 1918, but because of the chaotic political situation, Beer-Hofmann insisted on postponing it. The play premiered on 5 April 1918 at the Vienna Burgtheatre. The Berlin premiere took place on 7 November 1919 at the Deutsches Theater. 6 Richard Beer-Hofmann’s melodrama Der Graf von Charolais [“The Count of Charolais”] premiered in 1904 at the Neues Theatre in Berlin, directed by Max Reinhardt. 7 The comedy Professor Bernhardi was published in 1912, when it was also staged staged in Berlin. In Austria, the performance of the play was banned by the censor until 1918. 8 Arthur Schnitzler (b. 1862, Vienna—d. 1931 Vienna), physician, author and playwright, was one of the most prominent authors of the “Wiener Moderne”. 9 Reigen was published in 1900. 10 Rudolf Beer (b. 1889, Graz—d. 1938, Vienna) headed the Deutsches Volkstheater from 1924 to 1932, and from 1933 to 1938 the Scala Theater. In May 1938, after being tortured by the Nazis, he committed suicide. 11 Max Reinhardt (né Goldmann, b. 1873, Baden near Vienna—d. 1943, New York) was an eminent actor and director in Berlin, Vienna and Salzburg. In 1937, he emigrated to the USA. 12 Elisabeth Bergner (b. 1897, Drohobycz, Galicia—d. 1986 London) was a star of stage and screen in Europe and the USA.