History of The Austrian Council Movement 1918–24 / Hans Hautmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hautmann, Hans, author.

Series:

Historical Materialism Book Series ; 387.

Social Sciences E-Books Online, Collection 2026.

Historical Materialism Book Series ; 387

Social Sciences E-Books Online, Collection 2026

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History.

Social sciences.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (829 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2026.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The history of the First Austrian Republic is often understood in terms of its eventual failure, namely the civil war fought in the streets of Vienna in February 1934 and the crushing of the workers’ movement by Austrofascism. The fall of ‘Red Vienna’ is well known, but the ‘workers’ and soldiers’ council movement’ (1917–24) that preceded it seems to have been buried under the rubble of fascism. And yet a whole body of historiography has sought to deepen our understanding of this history. Among its leading representatives is Hans Hautmann. Here, we present his brilliant and too-little-known study to English-speaking readers for the first time.

Contents:

Foreword: Hans Hautmann, Historian of the Austrian Soviets

Translator’s Note

Abbreviations

Preface

Introduction

Part 1 The Workers’ Councils during the War

1 The Origins of the Council Movement

1The Deteriorating Material Conditions of the Working Class during World War I

2The Conflict between the Social-Democratic Leadership and the Working Masses

3Propagation of the Council Idea by the Left Radicals and the Example of the Russian Soviets

Chapter 2 The January 1918 Strike and the Emergence of Workers’ Councils

1The Onset of the Strike in the South Vienna Basin

2Response of the Party Leadership: The Strike Spreads to Vienna

3The Establishment of the Vienna Workers’ Council

4Negotiations with the Government and the Further Spread of the Strike Movement

5Discussions in the Workers’ Council from 19–20 January 1918: Decision to Call off the Strike

6The End of the January Strike

7The Institutionalisation of the Workers’ Council

Excursus Revolutionary Organisations of Austrian Prisoners of War in Soviet Russia

1Prisoners of War and the October Revolution

2The Activities of the Prisoner-of-War Organisations

3Individual Examples: Otto Bauer, Alexander Täubler, Gustav Duda, Johann Koplenig, Karl Tomann, Gilbert Melcher, Heinrich Brodnig and Others

4The Austro-Hungarian Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies in Soviet Russia

Chapter 3 The Workers’ Councils in the Last Months of the War

1The Lower Austrian Provincial Party Conference

2The First Organisational Statute

3The Aftershocks of the January Strike

4The Plan for a ‘Central Workers’ Council’

5The June Strike and the Vienna Workers’ Council

6Stagnation of the Council Movement in Summer and Autumn 1918

Part 2 The Council Movement in the Austrian Revolution 1918–20

Chapter 1 Workers’ and Soldiers’ Councils in the November Revolution (November 1918 to March 1919)

1The Emergence of Soldiers’ Councils

2The Stagnation of the Vienna Workers’ Council

3Friedrich Adler and the Council Movement

4Activities of the Soldiers’ Councils. Developments in the Provinces

5The Council Movement in Upper Austria

6The Council Movement in Other Provinces: The Intensification of the Domestic Political Situation in February 1919

7The Initiative of the Linz Workers’ Council for the Renewal of the Council Movement

Chapter 2 Councils in the Social-Revolutionary Situation of Spring 1919

1Organisational Reform

2Political Decisions

3The Workers’ Council Elections of Spring 1919

4The Workers’ Councils in the Provinces

5The Soldiers’ Councils in Spring 1919

Chapter 3 The Council Movement at the Height of Its Power (Summer 1919)

1The Second National Conference of German-Austrian Workers’ Councils

2The Solidarity Action of 21 July 1919

3The Spheres of Activity of the Workers’ Council

Chapter 4 Anti-Council Movements

1The Attitude of the Bourgeois Parties towards the Council System

2The Citizens’ and Estates Council

3The Peasant Council Question

Chapter 5 The Onset of the Crisis of the Council Movement in Autumn 1919

1The Workers’ Councils and the End of Soviet Hungary

2The Escalating Approach of the Bourgeois Camp towards the Working Class

3The Coalition Question

4The Beginnings of the Social-Democratic Working Group of Revolutionary Workers’ Councils ( SARA )

5The Demand for a Property Levy

6Rules of Procedure of the Vienna Municipal Workers’ Council and the Individual District Workers’ Councils

7The New Workers’ Council Elections in November 1919

Chapter 6 The Leftward Shift of the Workers’ Councils and the Collapse of the Coalition (Spring 1920)

1The Dispute over the Revival of the ‘Workers’ Association’ [ Arbeiterunion ]

2Organisational and Political Questions

3The Workers’ Councils and the Kapp Putsch

4The Demise of the Soldiers’ Council Movement

5The Workers’ Councils in the Provinces

6The Vienna Municipal Workers’ Council in Action

7The Dispute over the Mass Demonstration of 10 May 1920

8The Third National Conference of Workers’ Councils (First Session of the National Workers’ Council)

9The Demise of the Coalition and Its Consequences for the Council Movement

Part 3 The Decline of the Workers’ Council 1919–24

Chapter 1 Council Theory in Austria

1Social-Democratic Council Theories

2The Communist Conception of Councils

3The Council Conception of the Federation of Revolutionary Socialists ‘Internationale’

4Statements by the Anarchists

Chapter 2 The Workers’ Council in the Final Months of the Austrian Revolution (Summer and Autumn 1920)

1The Boycott Campaign against Hungary and Poland

2The Disintegration of the SARA

3The Decline in Workers’ Council Activity

4The New Elections to the Workers’ Councils in Autumn 1920

Chapter 3 The Years 1921–24

1The Second Session of the National Workers’ Council (Fourth National Conference of Workers’ Councils)

2The Workers’ Councils’ Relief Campaign for the Starving of Soviet Russia

3The Withdrawal of the Communists

4The Last Workers’ Council Elections in Summer 1922

5Transition into the Republican Defence League

6The Salzburg Party Congress Resolution to Dissolve the Workers’ Councils

Summary

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Hautmann, Hans History of the Austrian Council Movement 1918-24

ISBN:

9789004763647

OCLC:

1607916452

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004763647 DOI