Karl Lueger
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Karl Lueger (IPA Template:IPA) (October 24, 1844-March 10, 1910) was an Austrian politician and mayor of Vienna, known for his overtly anti-semitic and racist policies, as well as his skills as an administrator.
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Career
Born in Vienna, he graduated in law from the University of Vienna (receiving his doctorate in 1870). He founded and led the Christian Social Party which took political power from the German Liberals in Vienna and combated the Social Democrats. A faction in the Austrian parliament, the Christian Social Party won Vienna city council in 1895 and subsequently helped Lueger win mayoralty. After three refusals, Emperor Franz Josef (who allegedly loathed him as a person) finally sanctioned his election in 1897. He was the mayor of Vienna from 1897 to 1910.
Anti-Semitic Policies
Known for his anti-semitism, Lueger was credited by Adolf Hitler as an inspiration for his own virulent hatred of anything Jewish. He also advocated racist policies against all non-German speaking minorities in Austria-Hungary. He voted, in 1887, for Georg Ritter von Schönerer's proposed bill to restrict the immigration of Russian and Romanian Jews. He was an admirer of Édouard Drumont.
He also overtly supported the Guido-von-List-Society (Guido-von-List-Gesellschaft), an occult nationalist society of highly dubious intellectual standing.
Performance as Municipal Administrator
It also has to be noted that - however questionable his personal views on race and religion might have been - he proved to be an outstandingly good mayor of Vienna as far as municipal organisation and politics go. A significant part of the infrastructure and organisations that are responsible for the high standard of living in contemporary Vienna - such as the second main aquifer (Hochquellwasserleitung) which provides tap water of mineral water quality to large parts of the city, and the integrated public transport system owned by the municipality - were created during his terms of office.
This part of his legacy is the reason why he is generally viewed as a positive figure in Viennese history, even though the negative aspects mentioned above have been increasingly noticed and commented upon in recent years.
Further Influence on Austrian Politics
His general style of politics later inspired some of the right-wing leaders of the Austrian first republic in 1918-1933, such as Ignaz Seipel, Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt Schuschnigg.
It should be noted that - unlike with Adolf Hitler - he did not so much inspire anti-semitism in them (none of these three were particularly anti-semitic), but that he rather provided one important role model for their generally combative, unrelenting stance towards ideological political opponents (especially socialists), which ultimately proved to be highly detrimental to the cohesion of the Austrian first republic as a whole.
The three politcians mentioned here also played decisive roles in the right-wing, authoritarian Austrian Ständestaat 1933-1938, which was unilaterally and forcefully established by the political right after the first republic failed in 1933.
Other Views On His Character
Some observers believe that Lueger's public racism was in large part a pose to obtain votes. Historian William L. Shirer wrote that " . . . his opponents, including the Jews, readily conceded that he was at heart a decent, chivalrous, generous and tolerant man."<ref>William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Simon & Schuster, US, 1990 paperback ISBN 0671728687 </ref>
Viennese writer Stefan Zweig (who was himself Jewish, and who grew up in Vienna during Lueger's term of office) recalled that "His city administration was perfectly just and even typically democratic."<ref>Stefan Zweig The World of Yesterday University of Nebraska Press, US, 1964 ISBN 0803252242</ref>
References
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External links
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