Karl Lueger’s Anti-Semitism and Its Influence on Universities in Austria-Hungary

This study investigates the strategic deployment of anti-Semitic rhetoric in the political agenda of the Christian Social Party (CSP) and its leader Karl Lueger (1897–1910) at the turn of the twentieth century. Its primary focus is the impact of this rhetoric on the on the transformation of higher education in the Austrian half of the Dual monarchy. The findings reveal that Lueger strategically utilized anti-Semitism as a tool for political mobilization, effectively blending anti-capitalist sentiments, nationalist aspirations and clerical ideology. This strategy relied on establishing a dichotomy between an «in-group» of Austrian Germans and a perceived «out-group» of Jewish individuals, tapping into widespread societal grievances fueled by rapid urbanization, economic competition, and anxieties over access to education and professional opportunities. The study identifies specific mechanisms through which the CSP and Lueger exerted their influence on the academic domain using anti-Semitic discourse. These included promoting German-nationalist values as superior to Jewish culture and lifestyles, discrediting the intellectual elite within universities, forging strong alliance with the Catholic Church, and exploiting fears about Jewish overrepresentation in universities, particularly in fields like medicine and law. Despite the absence of overt segregationist policies, the research suggests that Lueger’s actions cultivated a climate of intolerance that restricted opportunities for Jewish academics and fostered the spread of anti-Semitic stereotypes among future leaders, often framing Jews as a threat to Christian values. Consequently, the activities of the CSP and Lueger within higher education contributed significantly to the politicization of anti-Semitism, thereby establishing a crucial ideological foundation for subsequent political initiatives in Austrian society and contributing to the broader historical trajectory of anti-Semitism in the twentieth century.