Vol. XXXIV · 2003
Gender and Anti-SemitismChristian Social Women and the Jewish Response in Turn-0f-the-Century Vienna
Alison Rose
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Religion, politics, and gender formed a volatile mixture in turn-of-the-century Vienna. For example, many Austrian anti-Semites claimed that Jews lacked sexual morality and asserted a Jewish conspiracy to destroy the Aryan race through prostitution and syphilis. Anti-Semitic politicians enlisted the support of women for their cause by arguing that Jews endangered the well-being of Christian families. At the same time, Viennese Jews in all segments of society dealt extensively with issues of women, gender, and sexuality in their writings. While resulting images of Jewish women varied, a tendency to value and idealize the traditional roles of Jewish women usually prevailed. In this respect, Jewish men for the most part shared the conventional values of their society, fearing and resisting the women's movement as a violation of appropriate gender roles. It is within this context that Jewish discussions of Christian Social and anti-Semitic women should be understood.