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by Tres Lambert, Gettysburg College. Born in 1872 in Baden bei Wien, author, editor, and journalist Hugo Bettauer was no stranger to controversy. His knack for social critique and investigative journalism regularly placed him in direct conflict with powerful people and institutions, making him a lightning rod for cultural and political debate across Austria. His…
With articles on the Vienna 1952 performance of “Porgy and Bess,” early Czech sound recordings in New York, Allied denazification in Austria, Otto Habsburg and Austrian socialists in American exile, and much more, the latest issue of the Journal of Austrian-American History is now available online, via open access, from Penn State University Press. See Latest…
By Thomas Antonic The European Tours Between 1979 and 1983, Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997), undoubtedly the most influential and famous American poet of the second half of the 20th century, who would celebrate his 100th birthday on June 3, 2026, toured several times through Europe. He was accompanied by his long-term partner and poet in his…
Among the many photographs of my experiences with Austria over the past two decades, the one that I treasure most is valuable to me precisely because I wasn’t there when it was taken: The picture–and my absence from it–speaks to how I view the future needs and opportunities of the Austrian-American relationship. Although I have…
“Introduction: Highlighting Austria’s Migration History” 2015 marked the culmination of the so-called “European immigration crisis,” which was, at that time, the largest increase of displaced persons seeking asylum in Europe since the end of World War II.1 Located between two major refugee routes, Austria received around 90,000 asylum requests that year which was the third…
By Benjamin M. Korstvedt “The postwar fate of Mahler’s legacy in Vienna, long his musical home, was both significant and revealing. His works experienced a brief revival there in the immediate aftermath of the war. Within weeks of the defeat of the Nazi regime, the occupying authorities organized a few performances of his symphonies under…
By Thomas Riegler “In 1951 and 1955 Philby was investigated as ‘the third man’ after the defection of the first two members of the Cambridge Five. As journalist Gordon Corera puts it: ‘By a strange quirk of fate, the title of Graham Greene’s screenplay was now applied to the man, unbeknown to anyone, may have…
By Elizabeth O’Neil “During the 1930s and 1940s, thousands of scientists and intellectuals fled Austria. Some, especially those with Jewish heritage, left in the early 1930s when the threat of Nazi antisemitism became apparent. Others remained in Austria through the war years and left afterwards in search of financial security. This “intellectual migration,” as scholars…
By Jonathan Singerton “Over the duration of its existence between 1829 and 1917, the Society donated around 4.2 million Austrian Gulden to the American cause. Unlike other missionary societies, the Leopoldine Society restricted its alms to causes solely for use in North America, meaning the United States and Dominion of Canada.“ Early nineteenth-century America was…
By Duncan Bare “While much is already known about what US intelligence did in Austria between 1945 and 1955, relatively little has been written to date about their structure(s) or personnel, except to add ‘flavor’ and depth to stories of their operational exploits or specific projects.“ My Project “America’s Eyes On and In Central Europe:…