Page - 240 - in Universities in Imperial Austria, 1848–1918 - A Social History of a Multilingual Space

240 ♦  Universities in Imperial Austria, 1848–1918 proposed for the professorship of Polish history in L’viv, the combination of his confession and the prominence of the chair of Polish history was too much for the nationalists to accept—despite Askenazy’s writing on the need for Jewish assimilation and his politically engaged assessment of modern history, which put the modern Polish nation at the fore more strenuously than other historians did.134 Nonetheless, several Jewish scholars were appointed by the ministry de- spite these obstacles, especially in the 1870s. For example, Adolf Lieben was promoted twice by the ministry, disregarding the order of candidates in the terna. In 1871 he was promoted from Turin to Prague, while the primo loco proposed candidate went to the technical academy in Brno. In 1875 Lieben was appointed to Vienna, although he was the third choice in the terna; the two other scholars were from the German Empire.135 Similarly, Theodor Gomperz habilitated in 1867 without first receiving a doctoral degree.136 As noted, the discussion on the national question and the increasingly defensive tactics of the ministry (i.e., seeking to avoid igniting conflicts or violating academic autonomy) strengthened the professorial majority, which disadvantaged those groups with less representation at the university. With regard to Jewish scholars, this led to the creation of an “invisible ghetto wall,”137 leaving few opportunities for promotion. During the appointment of the chair of chemistry in Innsbruck in 1902, Josef Herzig, proposed primo loco (ex aequo), was not taken into account because “detrimental events could occur, as they did not long ago [when Stephan Bernheimer was ap- pointed] at the medical faculty.”138 Similarly, in Graz the following year, Josef Jadasson, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Bern, was rejected with the justification that he, “in consideration of his descent, could lead under present conditions to insalubrities at the univer- sity.”139 Six years later, in 1909, when Otto Löwi was proposed for the chair of pharmacology, the ministry voiced the same concerns, stating that his “belonging to the Jewish confession, distinguishable already through the name, [could] impede his activity at the University of Graz and at the worst could lead to insularities.”140 In this case, though, the ministry, having con- sulted the provincial government, decided to appoint Löwi, who taught in Graz until 1938, winning the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1936. Only one place remained unproblematic for Jewish nominees, Vienna, the university with the most Privatdozenten and thus lower chances of ap- pointment in general. This led to rising numbers of Jewish Privatdozenten in Vienna. They were bereft of opportunities to be nominated for professorships