The Red Vienna Sourcebook provides an encyclopedic selection of original documents from the Austrian capital’s pathbreaking, progressive interwar period, translated and with contextualizing introductions and commentaries.

Immediately after World War I, in 1919, the Austrian capital Vienna elected a Social Democratic majority that persisted until 1934. The city’s leaders, together with its intellectuals, boldly imagined a new society that would be economically just, scientifically rigorous, and radically democratic. „Red Vienna“ undertook experiments in public housing, welfare, and education while maintaining a world-class presence in science, music, literature, theater, and other fields of cultural production. Though Red Vienna eventually fell victim to fascist violence, it left a rich legacy with potential to inform our own tumultuous times.
The 280 key texts connect readers to the era’s most fascinating discussions, movements, and personalities and will be of interest to such diverse disciplines as architecture, economics, film studies, history, Jewish studies, literary studies, music, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, sports, and women’s studies.