Maximilian Hugo Bettauer (18 August 1872 – 26 March 1925) was a prolific

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, who was murdered by a

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

follower on account of his opposition to

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. He was well known in his lifetime; many of his books were bestsellers and in the 1920s a number were made into films, most notably ''

Die freudlose Gasse ''Joyless Street'' (), also titled ''The Street of Sorrow'' or ''The Joyless Street'', is a 1925 German silent film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst starring Greta Garbo, Asta Nielsen and Werner Krauss. It is based on a novel by Hugo Bettauer ...

'' (''The Joyless Street'', directed by

Georg Wilhelm Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...

, 1925), which dealt with

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

, and '' Die Stadt ohne Juden'' (''The City Without Jews'', directed by Hans Karl Breslauer, 1924), a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

against antisemitism.

Life

Maximilian Hugo Bettauer, later known as Hugo Bettauer, was born in

Baden bei Wien Baden (Central Bavarian: ''Bodn''), unofficially distinguished from Baden (disambiguation), other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria. It serves as the capital of Baden (district of Austria), Baden District in t ...

on 18 August 1872, the son of the

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

Arnold (Samuel Aron) Bettauer from Lemberg (

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

) and his wife Anna (née Wecker). He had two older sisters, Hermine (Michi) and Mathilde. In 1887–88, together with Karl Kraus, he attended the fourth form of the Franz-Joseph-Gymnasium in the Stubenbastei,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Kraus was to be his fiercest critic for the whole of his life. At the age of 16 Bettauer ran away from home and travelled to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, from where the Austrian Consul sent him straight back again. In 1890 Bettauer converted from the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

faith to the Evangelical (Lutheran) church. In the same year he joined the ''

Kaiserjäger The ''Kaiserjäger'' (officially designated by the Imperial and Royal (''k.u.k.'') military administration as the ''Tiroler Jäger-Regimenter'' or "Tyrolean Rifle Regiments"), were formed in 1895 as four normal infantry regiments within the Comm ...

'' (Imperial mountain infantry) as a one-year volunteer. The change of religion was presumably connected with the fact that Jewish soldiers who lacked noble status found it virtually impossible to make any kind of career in the military, and for

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

purposes the Evangelical Church was preferable to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Marriage and emigration

After five months in

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

he left the army again, due to difficulties with his superiors. Together with his mother he moved to

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and in 1896, aged 24, gained possession of his substantial inheritance from his father. In Zürich he married the love of his youth, Olga Steiner, with whom, after the death of his mother, he emigrated to the United States. During the crossing, in a disastrous speculation Bettauer lost his entire fortune. He and Olga remained until 1899 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where she appeared as an

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. Although Bettauer acquired

American citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Consti ...

, he was unable to find work, so they travelled to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where their son Heinrich Gustav Hellmuth Bettauer was born. (Their son went by the name Helmut and was transported to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

in 1942, where he presumably died.) In Berlin Bettauer worked as a journalist and made a name for himself in connection with the exposure of a number of scandals. Among other things he wrote in the aftermath of one such scandal the book ''Bobbie'', which appeared in 1921, in which he described a rich and powerful child abductor. In 1901 after the suicide of the director of the Berliner Hoftheater, whom he had accused of corruption, Bettauer was expelled from

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. He then moved to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where he worked in the cabaret '' Die Elf Scharfrichter'' ("The eleven executioners") and in the autumn of 1901 went to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

to become director of the specialist publication '' Küche und Keller'' ("Kitchen and Cellar").

Second marriage

After his first marriage had ended in divorce, Bettauer became acquainted in

with his future second wife, Helene Müller, who at the time was aged 16. In 1904 they eloped to America. They married during the crossing, and in the same year their son Reginald Parker Bettauer was born. In New York Bettauer worked as a

newspaper journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, and also began to write serial novels for newspaper publication. In 1910 he returned to

and took a job with the ''

Neue Freie Presse ''Neue Freie Presse'' ("New Free Press") was a Viennese newspaper founded by Adolf Werthner together with the journalists Max Friedländer and Michael Etienne on 1 September 1864 after the staff had split from the newspaper ''Die Presse''. It ...

''. When at the beginning of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he wanted to join the army he was turned down, on the grounds of his

. In 1918, after an altercation caused by a defective

typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...

, he was fired from the ''Neue Freie Presse''.

After the war

Immediately after the war Bettauer worked as a correspondent for various New York papers, and started an aid programme in New York for the people of Vienna. From 1920 he produced novels in great quantity, publishing four or five every year. He specialised in crime stories with a social message, which were extremely popular. Another reason for the popularity of his novels was that they were not only set in

but also in

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

''The City Without Jews''

His best-known

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

was '' Die Stadt ohne Juden'' ("The City Without Jews") from 1922, a

on the acutely topical subject of

. In the book, a fictional politician orders the expulsion of all Jews from Vienna. One writer noted that "in scenes that are frighteningly prophetic, Austria borrows thirty stock car trains from neighboring countries to help in the expulsion (to the east) of the Jews and their belongings." In the book, the citizens of Vienna initially celebrated the expulsion, but sentiment changed as theaters went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

and department stores, hotels and resorts suffered. The economy declined to such an extent that a popular movement arose demanding the return of the Jews. Without the Jews to blame, the ruling party collapsed; the expulsion law was repealed, and the Jews were welcomed back to Vienna. ''The City Without Jews'' sold 250,000 copies in its first year, and became one of Bettauer's most controversial works, gaining him both great admirers and bitter enemies. Nazi sympathizers attacked Bettauer and his work, denouncing him as the "Red poet" and a "corruptor of youth".

Investigative journalism and other work

Besides all this, Bettauer set up '' Bettauers Wochenschrift'', a weekly paper that regularly caused controversy with its progressive, not to say provocative, contents. As in the United States, he exploited the concept of the

serial novel In literature, a serial is a printing or publishing format by which a single larger work, often a work of narrative fiction, is published in smaller, sequential instalments. The instalments are also known as ''numbers'', ''parts'', ''fascicul ...

. A much shorter-lived venture was another weekly paper, '' Er und Sie. Wochenschrift für Lebenskultur und Erotik'' ("He and She. Weekly Paper for Lifestyle and Eroticism"), which Bettauer launched in 1924 together with

Rudolf Olden Rudolf Olden (14 January 1885 in Stettin – 18 September 1940) was a German lawyer and journalist. In the Weimar Republic, Weimar period he was a well-known voice in the political debate, a vocal opponent of the Nazis, a fierce advocate of h ...

; it was closed down after five numbers. In the course of time Bettauer's works brought him substantial returns in terms of stage and film rights, as their racy and often controversial contents made them popular for adaptation. He was thus not only one of the most controversial, but also one of the most successful writers of his time. In the film version of ''

'' (

G. W. Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...

, 1925),

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...

made her international screen debut, and in '' Stadt ohne Juden'', which was filmed in 1924 under the director Hans Karl Breslauer, both Hans Moser and Ferdinand Maierhofer made theirs. Because of his "investigative journalism" and his stance in favour of sexual openness and liberation, Bettauer was repeatedly the object of

public debate Public debate may mean simply debating by the public, or in public. The term is also used for a particular formal style of debate in a competitive or educational context. Two teams of two compete through six rounds of argument, giving persuasiv ...

. His opponents sought to discredit him as an "asphalt litterateur" ('' Asphaltliterat'') - a term used by traditionalists and Nazis to criticise writers and writing for departing from German homeland. Over time the conflict escalated: Bettauer was publicly vilified, his newspaper was confiscated, and eventually a legal action was brought against him; a side-effect of which was an outbreak of public threats and calls for his murder. Surprisingly, Bettauer was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

; the subsequent edition of his newspaper reached a circulation of 60,000, the highest ever among weeklies of the period; in March 1925 its expansion was being seriously considered.

Death

Feuerhalle Simmering - Arkadenhof - Hugo Bettauer 01

The Nazis branded Bettauer a "Red poet" and "corruptor of youth", and an Austrian party member published a series of articles calling for "radical self help" and "lynch justice against all polluters of our people". On 10 March 1925, a

dental technician A dental technician is a member of the dental team who, upon prescription from a dental clinician, constructs custom-made restorative and dental appliances. There are four major disciplines within dental technology. These are ''fixed prosthesis ...

named Otto Rothstock shot Bettauer several times. He was taken to hospital in Vienna with serious injuries and died on 26 March 1925. He was cremated at

Feuerhalle Simmering Feuerhalle Simmering is a crematorium with attached urn burial ground in the Simmering (Vienna), Simmering district of Vienna, Austria. It lies at the end of an alley, directly opposite Vienna Central Cemetery's main gate. Description Opened o ...

, where also his ashes are buried. Even before his death there were heated arguments, to the point of physical violence, in the Wiener Gemeinderat (Vienna City Council) over the motives of the attacker. Rothstock maintained that he wanted to take a stand against the alleged

immorality Immorality is the violation of moral laws, norms or standards. It refers to an agent doing or thinking something they know or believe to be wrong. Immorality is normally applied to people or actions, or in a broader sense, it can be applied to ...

of an author who had become famous for his sexually explicit and liberal writings.JMW: Wien, Stadt der Juden
However, it was established that before the attack Rothstock had been a member of the

National Socialist Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...

party, and although by March 1925 he had left it again, he was nevertheless supported after Bettauer's death by lawyers and friends with close ties to the Nazis. It generally is accepted that it was Bettauer's prominent criticism of antisemitism, encapsulated in particular in the high-profile book and film ''Stadt ohne Juden'', that lay behind his murder.as in sources below The court ordered Rothstock to be sent to a psychiatric clinic, which he left 18 months later a free man.

Selected works

Major novels

* '' Im Banne von New York'', 1907 * '' Im Kampf ums Glück'', 1907 (reprint 1926) * '' Auf heißem Boden'', 1907 * '' Im Schatten des Todes'', 1907 (reprint 1925) * '' Aus den Tiefen der Weltstadt'', 1907 * '' Faustrecht'', 1919 * '' Hemmungslos'', 1920 (reprint 1988) * '' Bobbie auf der Fährte'', 1921 (reprint 1926 under the title "''Bobbie oder die Liebe eines Knaben''") * '' Die drei Ehestunden der Elizabeth Lehndorff'', 1921 * '' Der Frauenmörder'', 1922 * '' Der Herr auf der Galgenleiter'', 1922 * '' Das blaue Mal'', 1922 * '' Die Stadt ohne Juden'', 1922 (reissued 1988, 1996) * '' Der Kampf um Wien'', 1922/23 (shortened edition under the title ''Ralph und Hilde'' 1926) * '' Die lustigen Weiber von Wien'', 1924 * '' Gekurbeltes Schicksal'', 1924 * ''

'', 1924 (reissued 1988) * '' Das entfesselte Wien'', 1924 * '' Die schönste Frau der Welt'', 1924 * '' Memoiren eines Hochstaplers'', 1924 * '' Kampf ums Glück'', 1926 * ''Gesammelte Werke in sechs Bänden'' ("Collected Works in Six Volumes"), Salzburg, 1980 (contains: ''Kampf um Wien/Das entfesselte Wien/Die freudlose Gasse/Die Stadt ohne Juden/Faustrecht/Hemmungslos'')

Novellas

* ''Der Tod einer Grete und andere Novellen'', 1926 * ''Geschichten aus dem Alltag'', 1926

Stage plays

* ''Die Stadt ohne Juden'' (with Hans Saßmann), 1922 * ''Die blaue Liebe'' (with Klemens Weiß-Clewe), 1924

Newspapers / periodicals

* ''Er und Sie'', 14 February – 13 March 1924 * ''Bettauers Wochenschrift'' 15 May 1924 – 26 August 1927 * ''Der Bettauer Almanach für 1925'', 1925

Film adaptations

* '' Faustrecht'', Germany/Austria 1922, director:

Karl Ehmann Karl Ehmann (13 August 1882 – 1 November 1967) was an Austrian stage and film actor whose career spanned both the silent and sound eras of the film industry. Career Born on 13 August 1882 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, he became interested in ac ...

* ''

The Most Beautiful Woman in the World ''The Most Beautiful Woman in the World'' (German: ''Die schönste Frau der Welt'') is a 1924 German silent film directed by Richard Eichberg and starring Lee Parry, Livio Pavanelli and Olaf Fjord.Krautz p.570 It premiered in Berlin at the Marm ...

'', Germany 1924, director:

Richard Eichberg Richard Eichberg (27 October 1888 – 8 May 1952) was a German film director and film producer, producer. He directed 87 films between 1915 and 1949. He also produced 77 films between 1915 and 1950. He was born in Berlin, Germany and died i ...

* '' The City Without Jews'', Austria 1924, director: Hans Karl Breslauer * '' Das Abenteuer der Sybille Brant / Der Frauenmörder'', Germany 1925, director:

Carl Froelich Carl August Hugo Froelich (5 September 1875 – 12 February 1953) was a German film pioneer and film director. He was born and died in Berlin. Biography Apparatus builder and cameraman From 1903 Froelich was a colleague of Oskar Messter, one of ...

* ''

Joyless Street ''Joyless Street'' (), also titled ''The Street of Sorrow'' or ''The Joyless Street'', is a 1925 German silent film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst starring Greta Garbo, Asta Nielsen and Werner Krauss. It is based on a novel by Hugo Bettauer an ...

'', Germany 1925, director:

, with

* ''

The Bank Crash of Unter den Linden ''The Bank Crash of Unter den Linden'' () is a 1926 German silent film directed by Paul Merzbach and starring Alfred Abel, Hans Albers, and Margarete Schlegel.Bock & Bergfelder p. 8 It was produced by the German subsidiary of the Fox Film Compa ...

'', Germany 1926, director:

Paul Merzbach Paul Merzbach (27 November 1888 – September 1943) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. Merzbach worked in the Austrian and Germany film industries during the early stages of his career. He worked initially on scripts, but in 1924 he ...

* '' Andere Frauen'', Austria 1928, director:

Heinz Hanus Heinz Hanus (24 May 1882 – 16 March 1972) was an Austrian actor and film director. He directed 21 films between 1908 and 1929. His younger brother was actor and film director Emmerich Hanus Emmerich Hanus (24 August 1884 – 20 Nov ...

* ''

Street Without Joy Street Without Joy or ''La Rue Sans Joie'' was the name given by troops of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to the stretch of Route 1 from Huế to Quảng Trị during the First Indochina War. Situation The Viet Minh had fortified a str ...

'', France 1938, director:

André Hugon André Hugon (17 December 1886 – 22 August 1960) was a French film director, screenwriter and film producer best known for his silent films from 1913 onwards, particularly of the 1920s and into sound. Hugon was born in Algiers in 1886 w ...

(French remake of ''Joyless Street'')

References

Sources

* Hall, Murray G., 1978: ''Der Fall Bettauer''. Vienna: Löcker Verlag. * Hwang, June J. "The Stranger, the Jew, and the City." In her ''Lost in Time: Locating the Stranger in German Modernity''. Northwestern University Press, 2014, pp. 155–204. * Koch, Werner, 1981: ''"Hinaus mit den Juden!". Hugo Bettauer und die unberechenbaren Folgen''. In: Merkur, Stuttgart, 35 (1981), pp. 254–265.

External links

* * * *
Texts by Hugo Bettauer (Projekt Gutenberg-DE)
*
Autobiography of Hugo Bettauer
from th
Papers of Franz Brümmer
*

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcX3VWkXLjA "Die Stadt Ohne Juden" the complete silent film {{DEFAULTSORT:Bettauer, Hugo 1872 births 1925 deaths Activists against antisemitism Antisemitism in Austria Austrian male journalists Jewish Austrian writers Assassinated Austrian journalists People from Baden bei Wien Converts to Lutheranism from Judaism Austrian Lutherans Austrian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Writers from Vienna Assassinated Jews Burials at Feuerhalle Simmering People murdered in 1925 People assassinated in the 20th century