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Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbo', Michigan 48106 74-3188 HAMER, Thomas Lewis, 1940- BEYOND FEMINISM: THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN AUSTRIAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, 1890-1920, The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1973 History, modern University Microfilms, A XEROX Company , Ann Arbor, Michigan © Copyright by Thomas Lewis Hamer 1973 THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. BEYOND FEMINISM: THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN AUSTRIAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, 1890-1920 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Thomas Lewis Hamer, B.S., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1973 Reading Committee: Approved By Professor Carole Rogel Professor Michael W. Curran Professor John A. M. Rothney Professor Enrico Quarantelli Adviser Department of History PREFACE At a time of renewed concern over women's rights it has become commonplace to suggest that the study of women in history should be pursued in greater depth. Many mono graphs on the historical roles of women have appeared in recent years in response to this widespread contention. It is an assumption of this study that such activity, its time liness notwithstanding, represents a legitimate attempt by historians to investigate problem areas which require clarification. One such area, heretofore unexplored, is the Social Democratic women's movement in Austria and its efforts to further the cause of emancipation. There can be no doubt that this movement played a significant role in the life of that country. During the thirty years from 1890 to 1920 it grew from humble beginnings to a full-fledged mass phenome non of 110,000 members, many of whom participated regularly in thousands of meetings, parades and demonstrations over the years. It also had its own newspaper whose actual circula tion was considerably larger than the listed membership of the movement, since a single issue of the paper was frequently ii passed from she subscriber to her friends. From the very beginning the Austrian Social Democratic women's movement was entirely forward looking. It was an article of faith among the members that the emancipation of Austrian women, which was taken to mean the winning of full social and economic equality, could be achieved in their lifetimes. They also believed that Social Democracy alone possessed the perspective and the means to gain that victory. In truth the Social Democratic women's movement did address itself to a broader spectrum of issues than its liberal and Catholic counterparts. In the end, however, the belief in emancipation and confidence in the methods of Social Democracy resulted in disappointmenr. VThen the Social Democrats came to power in 1918, little was or could be done to improve the position of Austrian women. Aside from the achievement of woman suf frage and political equality, the movement's broader expectations went largely unfulfilled. It is the purpose of this study tc trace the origins and development of the Social Democratic women's movement during its first thirty years and to analyze its shortcomings. I wish to express my thanks tc all those who assisted me in the completion of this project: Professor Karl R. iii Stadler, Ludwig Boltzmann Institut fur die Geschichte der Arbeiterbevjequnq, Linz, Austria; in Vienna, Professor Ernst Herlitzka, Verein für die Geschichte der Arbeiterbewequnor Richard Klusarits, Karl Marx Bibliothek, Haus der SPO; Dr. Herbert Steiner, Archiv der flsterreichischen Widerstandee; and the staffs of the Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek. Bibliothek der Universitat Wien and the Bibliothek der Kammer für Arbeiter und Anqestellte. To the Austrian Ministry of Science and Research, Mrs. Hilda May and the Austrian-American Education (Fulbright) Commission I owe my gratitude for material assistance and housing which made my research possible. Finally, I acknowledge a special debt of thanks to my adviser. Professor Carole Rogel, who guided me in the preparation of this manuscript and to my wife Kathryn for her consistent encouragement. XV VITA December 7, 1940. Born - Hazleton, Pennsylvania 1952................. B.S., The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 1968................. M.A., San Jose State University, San Jose, California 1968-1971 ........... Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1971-1972 ........... Fellow of the Austrian Ministry of Science and Research, Vienna, Austria 1972-197 3 ............ Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: European History East Central Europe; Professor Carole Rogel Russian History: Professor Michael W. Curran Twentieth Century Europe: Professor Robert A. Gates Nineteenth Century Europe: Professor Sidney N. Fisher V TA3LE OF CONTENT'S Page PREFACE.................................................... ii VITA ....................................................... y LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS..................................... CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION: THE STATIC POSITION OF WOMEN IN AUSTRIAN SOCIETY...................... I II. IN THE BEGINNING: EARLY PRECURSORS AND THEORETICAL ORIGINS OF THE WOMEN'S MOVE-'-lENT IN AUSTRIAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY ................. 28 III. FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN AUSTRIA, 1890-1920....................................... 58 IV. THE IMPACT OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR : TEMPORARY DISRUPTIONS AND UNDERLYING CON TINUITY............................................ 119 V. THE AUSTRIAN "REVOLUTION, " 1918-1920 ......... 170 VI. THE COMiMUNIST "ALTERNATIVE".......................219 VII. CONCLUSIONS............. 231 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................. 238 vx LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AZ - Arbeiter-Zeitunq AnZ - Arbeiterinnen-Zeitunq NFP - Neue Freie Presse RP - Die RevoIutionMre Proletarierin V I 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: THE STATIC POSITION OF WOMEN IN AUSTRIAN SOCIETY In the spring of 1972 a remarkable series of newspaper articles appeared in the Kurier, a popular Viennese daily. "On Being a Woman in Austria" ("Frau sein in Osterreich"), as the series was called, presented a moderate, reasoned account of the subordinate status of women in modern Austrian life. It was, as its author Thea Leitner noted in the sub title, "a critical report about the silent majority in this country."^ For some Austrians, the fact' that the series even appeared was noteworthy in itself. According to rumor, Frau Leitner had tried for months to have the series run and had only met with success upon the promotion of her 2 husband to an important position on the Kurier staff. 1 " 'Thea Leitner, "Frau sein in Osterreich," Kurier, March 18-April 8, 1972. 2 This story was related to me in the Austrian National Library by a woman student at the University of Vienna. Frau Leitner was unavailable for interview and therefore did not confirm or deny its accuracy. For the student of history, however, the real signifi cance of the series is not represented by the fact of its publication. Rather, it lies in the realization that Frau Leitner's observations on the contemporary status of women can serve as accurate social commentary for any given period during the last eighty years, i.e., since industrialization changed the face of Austrian society and its effect upon women was first noted. To one who is familiar with Central Europe, such a situation may not be surprising. Social change in that area, where traditional values bulk large, has frequently been slow. But there is in the Austrian character