Exiled Reason Affluent Than My Parents

They were generally those more "with it," more industrious, and above all more Exiled Reason affluent than my parents. Healthy anti- Semites limited themselves to being only as anti-Semitic as was absolutely necessary—necessary, that is, if Jews were to Kurt Baier be excluded from certain sectors of public life and the social and business worlds. was raised in Austria in a petit-bour- Healthy anti-Semitism was contrasted to Igeois, conservative, and strict Catholic the "excessive" variety, which carried family. Our small house was furnished opposition to Jews beyond this plainly with inherited Biedermeier furniture, necessary minimum. We were all familiar already grown a bit shabby. The walls with indisputable examples of it. There were hung with a few portraits of ladies was, for instance, the numerus clausus and gentlemen—said to be ancestors—in (quota system), which kept Jews out of Biedermeier clothing, copies of Dutch medicine and law: one would not, after masters, and several framed postcards all, want to have one's wife examined by from Johannes Brahms, in which he a Jew. There were also clear examples of promises to come over to play chamber excessive anti-Semitism, for instance, that music. My stepfather—my real father espoused by Schönerer. And there were died when I was quite young—was very borderline cases, such as Lueger, who musical and was particularly proud of might be classified in either way. I knew these postcards, which had been sent to a how to rate these gentlemen before I knew distant relative. He played the cello and what measures they actually proposed. the flute and sang in a Catholic men's Politically naïve as I was, this healthy choir. Although he was not fond of anti-Semitism appeared to me to be self- evening parties, there was usually cham- evidently sound. Of course, we had ber music on Thursday evenings. Jewish friends, but they were obviously Although less musical, my mother played "lt seems right, then, to consider quite different from the typical Jews about the piano on these occasions, having been those Austrians who fled less whom we read so much in the papers. taught by an aunt who was supposedly the admirable than those who stayed You can, then, picture my emotions last pupil of Liszt. But my mother's great to take part in active resistance. upon discovering, when examining the rel- passion was literature. Her favorite author ... We must take into account that evant documents just before the Anschluss, was Thomas Mann, whose voice often most left involuntarily and under that my real father was, by Nazi definitions, came through clearly in her letters. most inauspicious conditions, that most likely a "full" Jew or, at the very least, I mention all this to give you a picture many later joined in the struggle a "half' Jew. Almost nothing, I believe, can of the cultural interests and general out- against Hitler from abroad, and make the concept of injustice clearer to a look of my family. We were apolitical in that many found, in emigrating, person than involuntary membership in a the sense that we knew little about politics not the new life they dreamed group against which the law and public and wanted to know nothing more. Like about, but ruin." opinion practice strict discrimination. It many people of this kind, we were con- then became clear to me in a flash—as was vinced that our outlook and our political as I had a spiritual home, it was the eigh- not clear to many so-called Aryans at that opinions sprang directly from our good teenth-century Enlightenment, while they time and perhaps remains unclear to them sense, which we regarded as nonpartisan probably would have felt most content in even today—that racial laws such as the and morally superior. As I view it now, my the Biedermeier period. And of course I Nuremberg decrees, and also attitudes such own point of view was largely a reaction had a certain affinity for liberalism—in as healthy anti-Semitism, are unjust. This against that of my parents. I was vaguely any case, for that liberalism that wags insight is particularly hard to convey to oth- liberal, because they were conservative; define as the inability to stand up for one's ers when they hold high hopes of personal cosmopolitan, because they were patriotic own cause in a dispute. gain from the so-called Aryanization of and nationalistic; freethinking, because But something characteristically Aus- Jewish businesses. they were religious; and so forth. Insofar trian was added to this pallid form of In March 1938, in this utterly unsettled Enlightenment liberalism. Certain of my and disturbed state of mind, I awaited the Kurt Baier is Professor of Philosophy at many relatives—regular Sunday visitors inevitable. We all heard on the radio the the University of Pittsburgh and a member who occasionally discussed, besides the farewell address of our unbeloved chan- of the Academy of Humanism. He is former usual family gossip, more important mat- cellor, Dr. Schuschnigg, and listened in president of the American Philosophical ters of some general interest—leaned shock as the Austrian national anthem was Association, Eastern Division. toward so-called healthy anti-Semitism. played for the last time. Soon afterward Summer 1995 27 we saw and heard the thunderous jubila- peddle my hopeless wares. But in June tion with which vast numbers of Austrians 1940, just as this new existence had greeted the arrival of the German troops opened up, I was interned, along with all and the "liberation" of Austria. Anyone other German and Austrian citizens. All who lived through this and witnessed the refugees were included, among them ruthless brutality and unbridled cruelty many who held important positions in the with which the elimination of all political British government, such as the well- opponents and the persecution, abuse, and known author Franz von Borkenau, to humiliation of Jews was carried out, at the mention only one. We were given a choice time of the Anschluss or soon thereafter, between waiting out the war in a concen- must forever harbor doubts about the tration camp on the English Isle of Man or much-sung golden hearts of the Viennese. of emigrating to Canada, where, we And anyone who observed the great and expected, we would find freedom. I, of certainly justified fear felt by many who course, chose Canada. Presumably be- had not been or who, like many of our cause of the chaos resulting from the acquaintances, could not make a cred- evacuation of the British troops after their itable pretense of having been, illegal Adolf Hitler disastrous defeat at Dunkirk, we ended up Nazis, was soon forced to recognize that to report, for fate took me quite unexpect- on a terrible ship for prisoners of war and this understandable fear would move edly to far-flung lands. But I must be brief, refugees, concerning which damning many Austrians to deny their politically for I still owe you an explanation of how I books and television films are still appear- compromised or Jewish friends, who thus arrived at philosophy and how my philo- ing, even after all these years. We soon had little hope of help from the so-called sophical career abroad is connected with learned that this ship, the Dunera, was to other Austria. It thus seemed advisable for the exile of the intelligentsia from Austria. go to Australia, not Canada. But here anyone not prepared to sacrifice his life To avoid misleading you about the life again we had great luck. The Dunera was out of political conviction in a battle of an emigrant, I must emphasize that I pursued by a German submarine and was against this unstoppable avalanche to van- was unusually lucky at critical turning hit by a torpedo which, however, failed to ish as quickly as possible. points. Each new blow that struck me explode. We experienced only a terrifying My worldly wise and affluent uncles and soon proved to be a blessing in disguise. noise, the powerful shock of the impact, aunts did in fact advise me to emigrate In August 1938, after overcoming many and hundreds of shattered plates, which while it was still possible, warning me that difficulties in Vienna, I received permis- were flung off their shelves. the position of Jews and those of mixed race sion to travel to England, where I planned After eight ghastly weeks we finally would probably become worse. They antic- to remain only briefly while awaiting a arrived in Sydney, wretched and starving. ipated the introduction of measures against visa for Brazil, which was, however, Everything we still owned when we "inferior" races, such as those against denied after a few months while I was still embarked had been stolen by the guards. I blacks in South Africa and the United in England. The blow hit me hard, as I had was barefoot, wearing a pair of green States. But the "final solution" was not sus- been quite confident I would eventually pajamas over the only underpants I still pected even by these shrewd realists, go to Brazil, where acquaintances pre- possessed. I owned nothing else. In worldly wise and free of illusion as they pared to help me. In England I could see Sydney we were immediately loaded onto were. In my fear and my revulsion at this no way to make a living. But just a few a long train that took us on an endless brutal regime, I had to concede that they days later I quite unexpectedly received journey through the backwoods of were right.

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