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To the surprise of the general public, the defendant succeeded in convincing
the court that Taubin, who was apparently in a state of incoherence on his death-
bed, temporarily regained his mental faculties and clearly articulated the wish that
his entire fortune be bequeathed to Vogl.81 In any case, the accused was acquitted.
Th
is case is noteworthy not only due to its outcome, but also because it gen-
erated interest exclusively in the general, non-Jewish press. Indeed, the Jewish
press ignored the trial altogether, despite the fact that all personalities involved
were Jewish, including Vogl, Taubin, and his relatives, who fought for their share
of the inheritance and accused Vogl of inheritance fraud. Admittedly, the “Vogl
aff
air” did not promote Jewish concerns and did not contribute to strengthening
Jewish religious interests, which were considered prerequisites for reporting in
the Jewish media. However, the coverage in many non-Jewish daily newspapers
had such an unequivocally antisemitic tone that it could be reasonably expected
that the Jewish press would respond to it, as was the case with many newspaper
assertions that were far less antisemitic. To be sure, not all newspapers were as ex-
plicit as the Deutsches Volksblatt, which described the case as an “aff
air” in which
“Jewish greed and avarice play a leading role.”82 But despite examples of greater
subtlety in dealing with antisemitic stereotypes, many other print media outlets
came forward with biased, antisemitic reporting.83
Taubin’s eccentric nature had brought him into contact with a number of prom-
inent Jews, all of whom served as witnesses in court. As a result, the trial was of
direct interest to at least some Viennese Jews and for this reason garnered the keen
attention of another part of the city’s Jewish population. Perhaps the most dazzling
personality on the witness stand was Th
eo
dor Herzl. Taubin had met with him be-
cause Taubin had off
ered to support his Zionist movement fi
nancially. Herzl, how-
ever, recognized Taubin’s lack of mental stability and refused further contact with
him. Nevertheless, he had to testify before the court.84 In addition, Taubin regu-
larly donated to Jewish charities. Th
is devotion also brought him into contact with
various illustrious members of the Viennese Jewish community. All of Taubin’s en-
terprises were mentioned during the trial, and various individuals were questioned
about them. However, only non-Jewish newspapers reported on the case.
Another case that the Jewish media ignored, despite the fact that it drew the
attention of a considerable number of Viennese Jews, was the robbery and mur-
der of second-hand dealer Israel Kessler. One winter day in January 1902, shortly
before noon, a man entered Kessler’s shop while Kessler was alone and killed
him with a hammer. Th
e murderer nabbed Kessler’s wallet, which was fi
lled with
cash. He then walked out of the store in no apparent hurry, probably so as not to
attract attention. One of Kessler’s acquaintances saw the assailant leave the store
but assumed he was a customer. Only when Kessler’s servant arrived to fetch her
employer for lunch was the murder discovered.85
Th
e killing horrifi ed the people of Vienna. For several days, the crime domi-
nated the city’s news cycle, and all of Vienna seemed to be on a hunt for the mur-
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Entangled Entertainers
Jews and Popular Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna
- Titel
- Entangled Entertainers
- Untertitel
- Jews and Popular Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna
- Autor
- Klaus Hödl
- Verlag
- Berghahn Books
- Datum
- 2019
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-1-78920-031-7
- Abmessungen
- 14.86 x 23.2 cm
- Seiten
- 196
- Kategorien
- Geschichte Vor 1918
- International
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- Introduction 1
- 1. Jews in Viennese Popular Culture around 1900 as Research Topic 13
- 2. Jewish Volkssänger and Musical Performers in Vienna around 1900 44
- 3. Jewishness and the Viennese Volkssänger 78
- 4. Jewish Spaces of Retreat at the Turn of the Twentieth Century 121
- 5. From Difference to Similarity 148
- Conclusion 163
- Bibliography 166
- Index 179