Ashkenazi Jews In Austria: A Complex Cultural Identity

Austrian Jews have a long history in the country, dating back to the 3rd century CE. Over the centuries, the community has experienced periods of prosperity, equality, and cultural flourishing, as well as times of persecution, deportation, and mass murder. In the early 20th century, Vienna was a significant centre of Jewish culture, Zionism, and education, with Jews making up about 10% of the city's population. However, the Holocaust drastically reduced the Jewish population in Austria, with only 8,140 Jews remaining according to the 2001 census. Today, the Austrian Jewish community is rebuilding, with a population of around 10,000-15,000, mostly in Vienna.

When discussing Austrian Jews, the question of Ashkenazi identity arises. Ashkenazi Jews are those who can trace their ancestry to Jewish communities that settled along the Rhine River in Europe during the Middle Ages. They have their own cultural, religious, and culinary traditions that set them apart from other Jewish groups, such as the Sephardic Jews. So, are Austrian Jews Ashkenazi? The answer is that it depends on the individual's ancestry and self-identification. While there has been a significant Ashkenazi presence in Austria, particularly in Vienna, not all Austrian Jews are Ashkenazi. Some may have Sephardic or other Jewish roots. Therefore, it is essential to respect each person's unique background and self-identification when discussing their Jewish identity.

Austrian Jews in the 1920s

Austrian Jews have a long history in the country, dating back to at least the 3rd century CE. In the 1920s, they were a well-established minority group, making up around 3% of the total Austrian population, but this figure was higher in Vienna, where they constituted around 10% of the city's population. This period was one of prosperity for Austrian Jews, who enjoyed equal rights and contributed significantly to Austrian culture, politics, academia, arts, sports, and sciences.

During the 1920s, antisemitism was on the rise in Austria, particularly in universities, where violent attacks by nationalist students against Jewish and socialist classmates increased. In 1921, there was a significant antisemitic mob parade in Vienna, and Jews were being blamed for the downfall of Austria-Hungary and the Central Powers during World War I. Despite this, the 1920s saw a flourishing of Jewish cultural creators, including bestselling novels written by Jews and a revival of Yiddish theater enjoyed by Jews and non-Jews alike.

In the political sphere, the Social Democratic Party of Austria was at the forefront of Jewish participation. Many of the party's leading members were assimilated Jews, such as Victor Adler, Otto Bauer, Gustav Eckstein, and Julius Deutsch. The party was unique in accepting Jews as members and offering them leadership positions, which resulted in the majority of Jewish votes. This period of prosperity for Austrian Jews continued until the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938, which marked the beginning of their persecution and deportation.

The Austrian Jewish community in the 1930s

Austrian Jews have a long history in the country, dating back to at least the 3rd century CE. By the 1930s, the Austrian Jewish community was thriving, particularly in Vienna, where they made up 10% of the city's population. In January 1938, there were approximately 190,000 Jews in Austria, with most living in Vienna. The community was diverse and vibrant, with synagogues, schools, hospitals, sports clubs, theatres, political associations, newspapers, and more. They were well-integrated into Austrian society and made significant contributions to the country's culture, arts, and academia.

However, the situation changed drastically with the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938, known as the "Anschluss." This event marked the beginning of the persecution and terror inflicted on the Austrian Jewish community. The Nazis quickly instituted anti-Jewish measures, expropriating Jewish property, expelling Jews from cultural, economic, and social life, and subjecting them to intimidation and violence. The Kristallnacht pogroms in November 1938 were particularly brutal in Austria, with most synagogues in Vienna destroyed and Jewish businesses vandalised.

The Austrian Jewish community was forced to emigrate, but the process was deliberately made difficult by the Nazis. Those who managed to escape had to pay heavy taxes and leave almost everything behind. By December 1939, the Jewish population in Vienna had decreased to 57,000, primarily due to emigration. The remaining Jews in Austria endured further horrors, including deportations to concentration camps and forced labour.

The Austrian Jewish community suffered tremendous losses during the Holocaust. It is estimated that 65,500 Austrian Jews were murdered, with 62,000 of them known by name. By the end of the war, only about 5,000 Jews remained in Austria.

The Holocaust and its effects on Austrian Jews

The Holocaust in Austria was the systematic persecution, plunder and extermination of Jews by German and Austrian Nazis from 1938 to 1945. Before the Holocaust, Jews flourished in Austria, with leading figures in the sciences, the arts, business, industry, and trades of all kinds. In January 1938, there were approximately 190,000 Jews living in Austria, most of whom were members of the Kultusgemeinde, a Jewish community established in 1890 by a Habsburg statute that granted Austrian Jews religious autonomy. Jews made up 3% of the Austrian population, but 10% of the Viennese population.

The persecution of Jews in Austria was immediate and violent after the German annexation of Austria, known as the Anschluss. On March 12, 1938, Germany's 8th Army marched into and annexed Austria. The next day, Austria was incorporated into the Third Reich, and a law was published declaring Austria "one of the lands of the German Empire" under the name "Ostmark". On April 10, an Anschluss referendum was held in Austria, with 99.75% of the population voting in favour of the union with Germany. Jews and other "unwanted" citizens were not allowed to vote.

German racial laws were enacted in Austria, under which Jews were disenfranchised. According to these laws, 220,000 people were now considered Jews in Austria, up from the previously accepted figure of 182,000. A forced reorganisation of Jewish communities was carried out, led by Adolf Eichmann. All Jewish organisations and newspapers were closed, and their leaders and management imprisoned. Jews were no longer allowed on public transport, and many regular Austrians joined the Nazis in terrorising Jews, forcing them to perform humiliating tasks such as washing sidewalks and public toilets.

During Kristallnacht in November 1938, anti-Jewish pogroms took place throughout Germany and Austria. Synagogues were desecrated and destroyed, and houses and shops belonging to Jews were looted. The first Austrian concentration camp was established at Mauthausen in August 1938, and the plunder of Jewish property began. There was a massive transfer of homes, businesses, real estate, financial assets and artworks from Jews to non-Jews.

In May 1938, the Nazis allowed the Jewish community in Vienna to resume activities, but with one intended goal: to organise and accelerate the mass emigration of Jews from Austria. The Central Office for Jewish Emigration was established under Eichmann's leadership. Between 1938 and 1939, 62,958 Jews emigrated, and another 54,451 in 1939. The so-called Kindertransport started with the transport of the first 600 Viennese Jewish children in December 1938. By the outbreak of war in September 1939, as many as 126,445 Jews had departed Austria.

The deportation of Austrian Jews to Poland began in October 1939, as part of a larger plan to gather and restrict all of Europe's Jewish populace in one territory. The deportation of Jews to death camps began in February 1941, and the process was accelerated after the Wannsee Conference in January 1942. The Viennese community was officially liquidated on November 1, 1942, with approximately 7,000 Jews remaining in Austria. The deportations continued until March 1945.

As a result of the Holocaust, between 60,000 and 65,000 Austrian Jews lost their lives, and fewer than 800 Jews survived until the liberation of Vienna by Soviet troops on April 13, 1945. By 1950, the Jewish community in Austria numbered 13,396 people. The Holocaust drastically reduced the Jewish community in Austria, and only 8,140 Jews remained in the country according to the 2001 census. Today, Austria has a Jewish population of 10,300, which extends to 33,000 if the Law of Return is accounted for, meaning individuals with at least one Jewish grandparent.

Post-war Austrian Jewish life

Following the Holocaust, the only remaining Jewish community in Austria was the Kultusgemeinde, which was now free from Nazi control. In December 1945, the Kultusgemeinde consisted of just under 4,000 members, 29% of whom were over 60 years old. By 1948, this number had doubled.

Jewish institutions and organizations also began to return, including the Hakoah Sports Club (June 1945); the Zionist Association (February 1946); the Makkabi Sports Association (Linz, 1946); the Austrian Jewish Student’s Association (June 1946); Misrachi (including a restaurant, 1947); Karen Hajessod (September 1947); and the Bikur Cholim Health Association (1948).

However, the rebuilding of the Jewish community in Austria was slow. For 10 years, the state was occupied by the four Allied powers, and Austrian politicians were slow to respond to their responsibilities regarding the crimes of the Nazi regime and the country's former Jewish population.

In the immediate post-war era, Austria instituted several restitution programs, but these were widely acknowledged as insufficient to address the country's wartime responsibility. It wasn't until 1991 that Chancellor Franz Vranitzky gave a speech to the Austrian parliament in which he acknowledged the co-responsibility of Austrians for the suffering inflicted on the country's Jewish community.

In the years following the Holocaust, anti-Semitism remained an issue in Austria. In the late 1940s, the highest-ranking Austrian politicians made anti-Semitic statements, leading to a culture of unwillingness to negotiate compensation for victims. In the 1990s, many threatening letters were sent to politicians and reporters, and some Austrian public figures showed sympathy towards Nazism.

In 2000, the Austrian Jewish community was deeply upset when the extremist right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), led by Jörg Haider, entered the Austrian government. In 2001, Haider made a markedly anti-Semitic comment about Ariel Muzicant, President of the Federation of Austrian Jewish Communities.

In 2020, the Hebrew University demographer Sergio DellaPergola estimated that approximately 10,300 Jews lived in Austria, most of them in Vienna, with smaller communities in Baden, Bad Gastein, Graz, Innsbruck, Linz, and Salzburg. The present-day Austrian Jewish community is primarily made up of Holocaust survivors and their families, returning Austrian expatriates, refugees from the former Soviet Union and other parts of Eastern Europe, and Iranian Jews.

Contemporary Austrian Jewish life

Jewish life in Austria has a long history, dating back to the time of the Roman Empire. Today, there are around 10,300 Jews in Austria, with the majority living in Vienna. The Austrian Jewish community is diverse, consisting of Holocaust survivors and their families, returning Austrian expatriates, refugees from Eastern Europe, and Iranian Jews.

The Federation of Austrian Jewish Communities (Bundesverband der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinden Österreichs) represents the present-day Jewish community in Austria and is the Austrian affiliate of the World Jewish Congress. The community is made up of various denominations, from Haredi to Reform Jews.

Cultural and Educational Institutions

Austrian Jews enjoy a variety of cultural and educational institutions. There are four Jewish kindergartens and four-day schools offering Jewish primary and secondary education. The Vienna University has an institute for Jewish studies, and the Institute for the History of Jews in Austria is located in a former synagogue in St. Pölten. The Jewish sports club S.C. Hakoah has a long tradition in Austria and offers athletic and training facilities. There are also branches of international Jewish organizations such as B'nai B'rith and WIZO.

Religious Establishments

There is no shortage of religious establishments in Vienna, with the only synagogue to survive the Holocaust being the Stadttempel, built in 1826. There are also 13 shtiebelach and prayer rooms catering to various Chassidic groups and congregations. Kosher restaurants, supermarkets, butcher shops, and bakeries are also available in the city.

Antisemitism

Antisemitism remains an issue in Austria, with frequent outbursts on both grassroots and state levels. The far-right Freedom Party has been a source of concern for the Jewish community, and there have been incidents of vandalism, swastika daubing, and attacks in the media. However, efforts to combat antisemitism are ongoing, with programs and incentives to support Holocaust education and promote tolerance.

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