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Karl Renner (14 December 1870 – 31 December 1950) was an
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republic" because he led the first government of German-Austria and the First Austrian Republic in 1919 and 1920, and was once again decisive in establishing the present Second Republic after the fall of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in 1945, becoming its first
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
(and fourth overall).


Early life

Renner was born the 18th child of an
ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
family of poor wine-growers in Unter-Tannowitz (present-day Dolní Dunajovice in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
), then part of the
Margraviate of Moravia The Margraviate of Moravia ( cs, Markrabství moravské; german: Markgrafschaft Mähren) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administrated by a margrave in cooper ...
, a crown land of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Because of his intelligence, he was allowed to attend a selective '' gymnasium'' in nearby
Nikolsburg Mikulov (; german: Nikolsburg; yi, ניקאלשבורג, ''Nikolshburg'') is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The historic centre of Mikulov is well preserved and i ...
(Mikulov), where one of his teachers was Wilhelm Jerusalem. From 1890 to 1896 he studied law at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...
. In 1895 he was one of the founding members of the
Friends of Nature Friends of Nature (international abbreviation: NFI, for German: Naturfreunde International) is a non-profit organisation with a background in the social democratic movement, which aims to make the enjoyment of nature accessible to the wider commun ...
(german: Naturfreunde) organisation and created their logo.


Political career

In 1896 he joined the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (SDAP), representing the party in the National Council (german: Reichsrat) from the 1907 elections until its dissolution in November 1918. During this period he founded and edited the party's journal, '' Der Kampf'', together with
Otto Bauer Otto Bauer (5 September 1881 – 4 July 1938) was one of the founders and leading thinkers of the left-socialist Austromarxists who sought a middle ground between social democracy and revolutionary socialism. He was a member of the Austrian Parl ...
and Adolf Braun. Renner's interest in politics also led him to become a librarian for the ''Reichsrat''. During these early years, he developed new perspectives on law — all the while cloaking his innovative ideas under a variety of pseudonyms (for example, Synopticus and Rudolf Springer) lest he lose his coveted post as parliamentary librarian. He was especially interested in the problems of the Austrian state, whose existence he justified on geographical, economic and political grounds. On the nationality question, he upheld the so-called “ personal autonomy,” on the basis of which the super-national state should develop, and thereby influenced the agenda and tactics of the Social Democratic Party in dealing with it. As a theorist he was reckoned as one of the leaders of Austro-Marxism.


First Republic

In 1918, after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he was in the forefront of the Provisional and the Constitutional National Assemblies of those Cisleithanian "Lands Represented in the Reichsrat" (the formal description of the Austrian half of the Dual Monarchy) that predominantly spoke German and had decided to form a nation-state like the other nationalities had done. Renner became the first head of government ("State Chancellor") of that newly established small German-speaking republic which refused to be considered the heir of the Habsburg monarchy and wished to be known as the '' Republic of German-Austria'' (german: Republik Deutsch-Österreich). This name, however, was prohibited by The Entente. They also vetoed a resolution of the Constituent National Assembly in Vienna that "German-Austria" was to be part of the German
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
. Even before the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Renner had proposed a future union of the German parts of Austria with Germany, even using the word "
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
". Like other Austrian socialists, Renner believed that the best course was to seek union with Germany. He was the leader of the delegation that represented this new German-Austria in the negotiations of St. Germain where the "Republic of Austria" was acknowledged but was declared to be the responsible successor to Imperial Austria. There Renner had to accept that this new Austria was prohibited any political association with Germany and he had to accept the loss of German speaking
South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous area, Autonomous Provinces of Italy, province , image_skyline = ...
and the German-speaking parts of Bohemia and
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...
where he himself was born; this forced him to give up his share in the parental farm if he, "the peasant proprietor who turned Marxist", wanted to remain an Austrian government officer. Renner was
Chancellor of Austria The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies. Current officeholder is Karl Nehammer of the Aus ...
of the first three coalition cabinets from 1918 until 1920 and at the same time Minister of Foreign Affairs, backed by a grand coalition of Social Democrats and Christian Social Party. A wide range of social reforms were introduced by Renner's government, including unemployment insurance, paid holidays, the eight-hour workday, and regulations on the working conditions of miners, bakers, women, and children. State aid was also provided for the disabled, together with health insurance for public employees. In addition, a law was passed that provided for collective bargaining and the mediation of disputes. From 1931 to 1933, Renner was President of Parliament, the
National Council of Austria The National Council (german: Nationalrat) is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is frequently referred to as the lower house. The constitution endows the National Council with far more power than the Federal Council. Responsi ...
. After the dictatorial
Austrofascism The Fatherland Front ( de-AT, Vaterländische Front, ''VF'') was the right-wing conservative, nationalist and corporatist ruling political organisation of the Federal State of Austria. It claimed to be a nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack ...
period from 1934, when his party was prohibited, he even welcomed the ''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
'' in 1938. Having originally been a proponent of new German-Austria becoming a part of the democratic German Republic, he expected
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...
to be but a passing phenomenon not worse than the dictatorship of Dollfuss's and Schuschnigg's authoritarian one-party system. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, however, he distanced himself from politics completely.


Relationship with Nazism and Communism

On 2 April 1938, Renner appealed to Austrians to vote ''yes'' in the 10 April plebiscite that legitimized the Anschluss; many Austrians followed his advice, and as a result, Austrians welcomed the Germans and Hitler himself. After the Anschluss, Renner offered to serve in the Nazi government during the occupation, but was declined. During the occupation, according to official Austrian figures, 51,500 Austrian Jews out of a total of 200,000 died in concentration camps, which, as documented during the Nuremberg war-crimes trials, had a disproportionately large number of Austrian guards. On 29 March 1945, Soviet commander
Fyodor Tolbukhin Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin (russian: Фёдор Ива́нович Толбу́хин; 16 June 1894 – 17 October 1949) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. Early life and military career Tolbukhin was born into ...
's troops crossed the former Austrian border at Klostermarienberg in
Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...
.Eisterer 2009, p. 190. On 3 April, at the beginning of the
Vienna Offensive The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945. After several days of street-to-street f ...
, Renner, then living in southern
Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
, established contact with the Soviets.
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
had already established a would-be future Austrian cabinet from the country's communists in exile, but Tolbukhin's telegram changed Stalin's mind in favor of Renner.Bordjugov 2005. On 20 April 1945, the Soviets, without asking their Western allies, instructed Renner to form a provisional government. Seven days later Renner's cabinet took office, declared the independence of Austria from
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and called for the creation of a democratic state along the lines of the First Austrian Republic. Soviet acceptance of Renner was not an isolated episode; their officers re-established district administrations and appointed local mayors, frequently following the advice of the locals, even before the battle was over.Eisterer 2009, p. 196. Renner and his ministers were guarded and watched by
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...
bodyguards. One-third of State Chancellor Renner's cabinet, including the crucial seats of the Secretary of State of the Interior and the
Secretary of State for Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...
, was staffed by Austrian Communists. The Western allies suspected the establishment of a
puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sove ...
and did not recognize Renner.Bischof, p. 174. The British were particularly hostile, and even American President Harry S. Truman, who believed that Renner was a trustworthy politician rather than a token front for the Kremlin,Bischof, p. 175. denied him recognition. However, Renner had secured multi-party control of the government by designating two Under-Secretaries of State in each of the ministries, appointed by the two parties not designating the Secretary of State. Historian Harold Green commented: "But for Renner's having gained Soviet support for creating a Social Democratic Austrian Republic - and his establishing it at record speed after the Nazi collapse - Austria might have shared Germany's post-war fate and spent several decades divided into a Communist East Austria and a Democratic West Austria, with Vienna as a divided city like Berlin."


Post–World War II

Karl Renner died in 1950 in Vienna and was buried in the Presidential Tomb at the Zentralfriedhof.


Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
was widespread in
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
after the First World War and even after the Second World War, even in the highest government offices. Karl Renner, whom Emperor Karl I rejected as prime minister, stood out before and after the war due to vehement anti-Semitism. Even after the Nazi terror against Jewish returnees and survivors of the concentration camp. Marko Feingold, survivor of the concentration camp and president of the Salzburg Jewish Community, said in 2013: "Karl Renner, after all the first Federal President of the Second Republic, had long been known in the party as an anti-Semite. He didn't want us concentration campers in Vienna after the war and he also frankly said that Austria would not give anything back to them."


Political beliefs and scholarly contributions

For most of his life, Renner alternated between the political commitment of a
social democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...
and the analytical distance of an academic scholar. Central to Renner's academic work is the problem of the relationship between private law and private property. With his he Institutions of Private Law and their Social Functions(1904), he became one of the founders of the discipline of the
sociology of law The sociology of law (legal sociology, or law and society) is often described as a sub-discipline of sociology or an interdisciplinary approach within legal studies. Some see sociology of law as belonging "necessarily" to the field of sociology, ...
. In this book, Renner developed a Marxist theory of the institution of private law. Renner argued that the separation of public and private law is a creation of capitalism, whereby the state enforces the interests of capital owners. His and
Otto Bauer Otto Bauer (5 September 1881 – 4 July 1938) was one of the founders and leading thinkers of the left-socialist Austromarxists who sought a middle ground between social democracy and revolutionary socialism. He was a member of the Austrian Parl ...
's ideas about the legal protection of cultural minorities were taken up by the
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
Bund, but fiercely denounced by
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
.
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
devoted a whole chapter to criticising Cultural National Autonomy in ''
Marxism and the National Question Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...
''.Bill Bowring, "Burial and Resurrection: Karl Renner's controversial influence on the nationality question in Russia". In: Ephraim Nimni (ed.), ''National-Cultural Autonomy and its Contemporary Critics'', London: Routledge 2005, pp. 162–176 The 1977–1978 academic year at the
College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...
was named in his honour.


Publications

* Synopticus (pen name), (Vienna, 1899). Reprinted as “State and Nation” in Ephraim Nimni (ed.), ''National Cultural Autonomy and Its Contemporary Critics'', London: Routledge, 2005 pp. 64 – 82 * Rudolf Springer (pen name), (1902) *Joseph Karner (pen name), "" (1904) in , vol. 1. * , (“Foundations and development goals of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy: the crisis of dualism”; 1904) * (“Austria's renewal”; 3 vols., 1916/17) * (1918) * (“The economy as an integrated process and the path to socialism”; 1924) * (“The national economy, the world economy and socialism”; 1929) * (1929); translated into English by A. Schwarzschild as ''The Institutions of Private Law and their Social Function'', with an introduction by Otto Kahn-Freund, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul (1949); reprinted in ''International Library of Sociology'' (1976; 1996) * (“The way to realization”, 1929) * (“At the turning points in two eras: life recollections”), 2 vols. Vienna: Braumüller 1946 Literary remains (unpublished works; german: Nachgelassene Werke): *' (“Transformations of modern society,” 1947) * (“100 years of Karl Mark: Heritage and Agenda”; 1947) * (1950) Vol. 3, Vienna: 1953, reprint ''European Sociology'' 1975 * in , vol. 2, edited by Adolf Schärf, Vienna: , 1953.


See also

*
Allied-administered Austria The Allied occupation of Austria started on 8 May 1945 with the fall of Nazi Germany and ended with the Austrian State Treaty on 27 July 1955. After the in 1938, Austria had generally been recognized as part of Nazi Germany. In 1943, however, ...
*
National personal autonomy The Austromarxist principle of national personal autonomy ("personal principle"), developed by Otto Bauer in his 1907 book ''Die Nationalitätenfrage und die Sozialdemokratie'' (The Nationalities Question and Social Democracy) was seen by him a wa ...


References


Further reading

* Günter Bischof, ''Allied Plans and Policies for the Occupation of Austria, 1938–1955'', in: Steininger, Rolf et al. (2009).
Austria in the Twentieth Century
'.
Transaction Publishers Transaction Publishers was a New Jersey-based publishing house that specialized in social science books and journals. It was located on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. Transaction was sold to Taylor & Francis in 2016 and merged wit ...
. . pp. 162–189. * Heinz Fischer, Hugo Pepper (ed.), ''Karl Renner. Porträt einer Evolution'' Lauchringen: Baulino 1984 * William M. Johnston, ''Karl Renner: The Austro-Marxist as Conciliator''. In: ''The Austrian Mind: An Intellectual and Social History, 1848–1938'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983
pp. 105–109
* Ephraim Nimni (ed.), '' National cultural autonomy and its contemporary critics. Routledge Innovations in Political Theory'',(16 essays) London: Routledge, 2005 * Stephane Pierre-Caps, "Karl Renner et l'Etat Multinationale: Contribution Juridique á la Solution d'Imbroglios Politiques Contemporains", ''Droit et Societé'' 27 (1994), 421–441. * Ernst Panzenböck, ''Ein Deutscher Traum: die Anschlussidee und Anschlusspolitik bei Karl Renner und Otto Bauer
Materialien zur Arbeiterbewegung
', PhD thesis, Vienna: Europaverlag, 1985 *Pat Shannon: ''Review'' of ''The Institutions of Private Law and their Social Function'' In: Journal of Sociology Vol. 13, No. 3 (1977
p. 264 PDF
* Jamie Bulloch, ''Karl Renner: Austria'' London: Haus Publishing, 2009


Notes


External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Renner, Karl 1870 births 1950 deaths People from Břeclav District People from the Margraviate of Moravia Moravian-German people Austrian Roman Catholics Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians Presidents of Austria Chancellors of Austria Foreign ministers of Austria Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1907–1911) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1911–1918) Members of the Provisional National Assembly Members of the Constituent National Assembly (Austria) Presidents of the National Council (Austria) 20th-century Chancellors of Austria Cooperative organizers Austrian magazine founders Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery