About this talk

What do you think of when you think of Vienna? Perhaps it is cafe culture and the waltz, writers such as Stefan Zweig. Or it might be the tragic history of the Jewish population of the city in the Shoah. But there is so much more to the history of Jews in Vienna. In this talk we will time travel from the founding of the city by the ancient romans, through the medieval period when the Jews of the city fluctuated between persecution, expulsion, but also periods of stability and religious importance, and into more modern eras such as the Enlightenment period, in which Jews played an important role. We will continue into the 19th and 20th century, as the Jewish population swelled with immigrants from other parts of the Austrian Empire in the 19th century, seeking opportunities and escaping persecution, and a strong Jewish middle class arose to be part of the city's political and cultural life. All but destroyed in the Holocaust, we will end with the Vienna of today, where again a smaller but vibrant Jewish community is thriving.

About Julie