__NOTOC__ Victor Adler (24 June 1852 – 11 November 1918) was an Austrian politician, a leader of the

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

and founder of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP).

Life

Adler was born on 24 June 1852, in

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 ...

, the son of a

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 ...

merchant, who came from Leipnik in

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

. His family moved to the

Leopoldstadt Leopoldstadt (; ; "Leopold-Town") is the 2nd municipal district of Vienna () in Austria. there are 103,233 inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau (20th district), forms a large island surrou ...

borough of

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. ...

when he was three years old. He attended the renowned Catholic

Schottenstift The (), formally called (), is a Catholic monastery founded in Vienna in 1155 when Henry II of Austria brought Irish monks to Vienna. The monks did not come directly from Ireland, but came instead from Scots Monastery in Regensburg, Germany ...

'' gymnasium'', together with

Heinrich Friedjung Heinrich Friedjung (18 January 1851 – 14 July 1920) was an Austrian historian and journalist. Life Friedjung was born in Roschtin, Austrian Empire (today Roštín, Czech Republic). The son of a Jewish family grew up in Vienna, and studied his ...

one of the few Jewish students, whereafter he studied

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. Having graduated in 1881, he worked as assistant of

Theodor Meynert Theodor Hermann Meynert (; 15 June 1833 – 31 May 1892) was a German-Austrian psychiatrist, neuropathologist, and anatomist, born in Dresden. Meynert believed that disturbances in brain development could be a predisposition for psychiatric illne ...

at the psychiatric department of the

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

. In 1878, he had married Emma Braun. Their son

Friedrich Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

was born in 1879. From 1882 to 1889, the couple resided at 19 Berggasse in the

Alsergrund Alsergrund (; ) is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria (). It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. As a central district, the area is densely populated. Accor ...

borough of Vienna, an address that later became famous as the office of

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

(the present-day Sigmund Freud Museum). Adler initially supported the German national movement led by

Georg von Schönerer Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker * Spiders Georg, an Internet meme See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: ...

and worked on the 1882 Linz Program. However, Schönerer's increasingly

antisemitic 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 ...

policies, culminating in the amendment of an

Aryan paragraph An Aryan paragraph () was a clause in the statutes of an organisation, corporation, or real estate deed that reserved membership or right of residence solely for members of the "Aryan race" and excluded from such rights any non-Aryans, particula ...

, led to an estrangement with Adler, who focussed on

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

issues. From 1886, he published the

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

journal ''Gleichheit'' (''Equality''), covering the working conditions of the

Wienerberger Wienerberger AG is an Austrian brick maker which is Europe's leading manufacturer of roof tiles and the world’s largest producer of bricks. In addition to clay products, the company is one of the leading suppliers of plastic pipe in Europe. W ...

brick factory and agitating against the

truck system Truck wages are wages paid not in conventional money but instead in the form of payment in kind (i.e. commodities, including goods and/or services); credit with retailers; or a money substitute, such as scrip, chits, vouchers or tokens. Truc ...

. After ''Gleichheit'' was banned, he issued the '' Arbeiter-Zeitung'' (''Workers' Newspaper'') from 1889. Adler travelled to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he met with

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.August Bebel Ferdinand August Bebel (; 22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist activist and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Bebel, a woodworker by trade, co-founded the Sa ...

and

Karl Liebknecht Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht (; ; 13 August 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a German politician and revolutionary socialist. A leader of the far-left wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Liebknecht was a co-founder of both ...

. He was charged several times for his activities and spent nine months in prison. Adler, a both moderate and charismatic

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

, was able to unite the Austrian labour movement under his leadership, fighting against the anti-socialist laws implemented by the

Cisleithania Cisleithania, officially The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council (), was the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in the Compromise of 1867—as distinguished from ''Transleithania'' (i.e., ...

n government of Minister President

Eduard Taaffe Eduard Franz Joseph Graf von Taaffe, 11th Viscount Taaffe (24 February 183329 November 1895) was an Austrian statesman, who served for two terms as Minister-President of Cisleithania, leading cabinets from 1868 to 1870 and 1879 to 1893. He was a ...

in 1884. At an 1888 conference in

Hainfeld Hainfeld is a municipality in the district of Lilienfeld in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Geography Hainfeld is situated on the Gölsen River in the Southeast Lower Austria. It's the biggest city in Gölsen Valley (''Gölsental''). The ...

he formed the Social Democratic Workers' Party and became its first chairman. As a member of the Imperial Council parliament from 1905, he played a leading role in the fight for

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

, finally achieved under Minister President Max Wladimir von Beck in 1906, whereafter the Social Democrats emerged as winner from the

1907 Cisleithanian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Cisleithania, the northern and western ("Austrian") crown lands of Austria-Hungary, on 14 and 23 May 1907 to elect the members of the 11th Imperial Council. They were the first elections held under universal mal ...

. An active supporter of the

Second International The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...

, Adler tried to maintain the unity of the Austrian Social Democrats beyond ethnic conflicts and backed the idea of the

United States of Greater Austria The United States of Greater Austria () was an unrealised proposal made in 1906 to federalize Austria-Hungary to help resolve widespread ethnic and nationalist tensions. It was conceived by a group of scholars surrounding Archduke Franz Ferdinand ...

replacing the Dual Monarchy. Before

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 ...

, Adler was leader of what is now called the

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...

in Vienna. He publicly backed the Imperial government's decision to go to war, but had private misgivings. Entering the new Austrian government in October 1918, he advocated the ''Anschluss'' (unification) of the rump Austrian state with Germany but died of heart failurecoincidentally on the last day of World War Ibefore he could pursue this project. He was the father of Friedrich Adler. Psychiatrist

Viktor Frankl Viktor Emil Frankl (; 26 March 1905 – 2 September 1997) was an Austrian neurologist, psychologist, philosopher, and The Holocaust, Holocaust survivor, who founded logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy that describes a search for a life's mean ...

is named after Adler, his father was a socialist and admirer of him.Pytell, T. (2000). The Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: A Reflection on the Odd Career of Viktor Frankl. Journal of Contemporary History, 35(2), 281–306. doi:10.1177/002200940003500208

Notes

References

Victor Adler
at Encyclopædia Britannica

at Marxists.org * Tucker, Spencer C; Roberts, Priscilla Mary (2005), ''Encyclopedia of World War I'', Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, v.1, p. 8. ,
Jakub Bene: Adler, Victor, In: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Victor 1852 births 1918 deaths Politicians from Prague Jews from Bohemia Jews from Austria-Hungary Jewish Austrian politicians Jewish socialists Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians Ministers of foreign affairs of Austria Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1901–1907) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1907–1911) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1911–1918) Members of the Provisional National Assembly Editors from Austria-Hungary Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery