Robert Danneberg (23 July 1882 – ) was an

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 ...

n politician, a member of the Social Democratic Workers Party of Austria (SDAPÖ) and a prominent Austro-Marxist theoretician. Danneberg was one of the architects of

Red Vienna Red Vienna (German language, German: ''Rotes Wien'') was the colloquial name for the Vienna, capital of Austria between 1918 and 1934, during which the Social Democratic Party of Austria, Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (SDAP) mainta ...

and he was killed in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

in 1942.

Life

Danneburg was born in Vienna on 23 July 1885 into an intellectual Jewish family. He joined SDAPÖ and the Workers Youth Association in 1903. Danneberg was active in the international youth movement, and became the Secretary of the

International Federation of Socialist Young People's Organizations The International Federation of Socialist Young People's Organizations was a federation of youth organizations affiliated with the Socialist parties of the Second International. Background Socialist youth groups had been appearing in Europe sinc ...

in 1908, however when the war broke out he withdrew from his position because he thought working for the Youth International was pointless during war time so the chairmanship was given to

Willi Münzenberg Wilhelm Münzenberg (14 August 1889 – June 1940) was a German Communist activist and publisher who served as the first head of the Young Communist International from 1919 to 1921 and as a member of the Reichstag from 1924 to 1933. He also foun ...

. In the same year, he became responsible for the educational and cultural programmes of the party and took on the editorship of the SDAPÖ educational journal ''Die Bildungsarbeit''. In 1909, Danneberg obtained a doctorate in

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

.Blau, Eve.
The Architecture of Red Vienna, 1919-1934
'. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1999. p. 135 During the

First World War 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 ...

, Danneberg belonged to the 'Anti-War left' inside SDAPÖ. Nevertheless, he opposed division of the party and the launching of the

Communist Party of Austria The Communist Party of Austria (, KPÖ) is a communist party in Austria. Established in 1918 as the Communist Party of Republic of German-Austria, German-Austria (KPDÖ), it is one of the world's oldest Communist party, communist parties. The KP� ...

. Danneberg married Gertrud Schröbler in 1918. They had two children together. Danneberg was a parliamentarian between 1919 and 1934. Moreover, he became the president of the Vienna Provincial Assembly. Danneberg was also influential in the municipal government of Vienna.Kreisky, Bruno, Matthew Paul Berg, Jill Lewis, and Oliver Rathkolb.
The Struggle for a Democratic Austria: Bruno Kreisky on Peace and Social Justice
'. New York: Berghahn Books, 2000. p. 420Lane, A. Thomas.
Biographical Dictionary of European Labor Leaders 1. A - L
'. Westport, Conn. .a. Greenwood Press, 1995. pp. 242-243 As the author of the housing policy of the Vienna SDAPÖ and a co-author of its municipal and taxation policies, he played a pivotal role in shaping '

'. He represented the SDAPÖ in the Executive of the

Labour and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI) was an international organization of socialist and labourist parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a merger of the rival Vienna International and the Berne Intern ...

between October 1931 and December 1935. GuentherZ 2007-04-12 0235 Wien03 Gedenkstein Robert Danneberg

Danneberg was arrested and jailed after the

Austrian Civil War The Austrian Civil War () of 12–15 February 1934, also known as the February Uprising () or the February Fights (), was a series of clashes in the First Austrian Republic between the forces of the authoritarian Fatherland Front (Austria), rig ...

in 1934. He was, however, released the following year. After the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'', Danneberg tried to flee to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

by train, but was arrested again.MacDonogh, G. ''1938: Hitler's Gamble''. New York: Basic Books, 2009. p 99. He was interned in three different

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

and

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 ...

. He was killed in Auschwitz . An empty urn 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 ...

serves as his cenotaph in Vienna.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Danneberg, Robert 1882 births 1942 deaths Austrian civilians killed in World War II Austrian people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Dachau concentration camp survivors Jewish Austrian politicians Jewish socialists Members of the Constituent National Assembly (Austria) Members of the 1st National Council (Austria) Members of the 2nd National Council (Austria) Members of the 3rd National Council (Austria) Members of the 4th National Council (Austria) Members of the Executive of the Labour and Socialist International Politicians from Vienna Politicians who died in Nazi concentration camps Prisoners and detainees of Austria Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians