Page - 14 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

14 chapter 1 leon–toexplainprocessesofnation forming, thecausesofnationalitiescon- flicts,andtheimportantroleofnationalinterestsinthelifeofmodernsocieties. Even though he was overburdened with teaching and publishing work, Bauerfinishedhisstudieswithoutstandingresults.In1906,hereceivedthedoc- torateincanonfromViennaUniversity.35Duringthisperiod,BauermetHelena Gumplowicz-Landau at ameeting at theCaféCentral. Shewasmarried to a lawyer,MaxLandau,andwas10yearsolderthanBauer.36Bythattime,shehad alreadyauthoredmany treatises ineconomic sciencesandwasan influential activist in thePolishSocialDemocraticPartyofGalicia, a territorialorganisa- tionofthesdap.Heropenbutcriticalmindandvividtemperamentputaspell on Bauer – hemarried her in 1920.37 The couple had no children, but their choiceturnedout toberight forboth: inspiteofBauer’saffairs, sheremained hisclosestpartner in intellectualworkandpartyactivismuntil theendofhis life.38 In1907, thegovernmentdecidedonanewelectoralprocedure, fearingthat Austria had the potential to see a revolutionary uprising comparable to the 1905disturbances inRussia.Followingthis, thefirstdemocraticparliamentary elections were held inMay 1907. The result was a significant electoral suc- cess for the Social Democrats: theirmandateswent up from 10 (1901) to 87, 35 InthePolishandGermaneditionsofthisbook,Ierroneouslystatedthathegraduated‘sub auspiciis Imperatoris’ (under the eye of theEmperor ofAustria) – thehighest possible honour for achievement inAustria at the time.ErichHanischcorrected this inhisOtto Bauerbiography,writingthatBauerreceivedthemark ‘excellent’ intwoPhDexams,and ‘satisfactory’ ina third. Inorder tograduate ‘subauspiciis Imperiatoris’, itwasnecessary toreceive ‘excellent’marks inall threeexams.SeeHanisch2011,p.72. 36 SeeSinger 1979, p. 112.Helenecame fromKrakow, studiedeconomic sciences inVienna and Zurich, and graduated with a PhD.When shemet Bauer, she already had three children. 37 Iamtakingtheopportunity tocorrect theyearof thewedding,whichIpreviouslystated as 1914 in thePolishandGermaneditionsof thiswork.Mymistake, alsomadebymany others, resulted froma fact explainedbyHanisch: theymoved in together in an apart- ment inKasernengasse2/3/13 (knownasOtto-Bauer-Gasse today), and lived thereasan unmarriedcoupleuntil1920.Helenawasonlydivorcedin1918.SeeHanisch2011,pp.35–6. 38 AsHanischstates, the45-year-oldBauer fell in lovewithaveryattractive Jewishwoman namedHildeMarmorek (born Hofmann) in themid 1920s. She was 11 years younger thanhe, andhekept the affair secret for a long time. Itwas revealedwhenMrandMs Marmorek headed toBern at the same time as him in 1934. After her husband’s death in theUnitedStates in 1943,Hildemarried thewell-knownSocial-Democratic journalist JacquesHannak in 1945. In 1948, she returned toViennabyHannak’s side. SeeHanisch 2011,pp.38–9.