CHAPTER I.
THE ANTI-JEWISH LAW
A solid human wall, extending from the University to the Bellaria, surrounded the beautiful and imposing Parliament Building. All Vienna seemed to have assembled on this June morning to witness an historic event of incalculable importance. Businessmen and laborers, fashionable ladies and women of the people, half-grown boys and old men, young girls, little children, invalids in rolling chairs--all were intermingled, shouting, debating, and perspiring. And ever and again someone suddenly felt the urge to deliver a speech before his neighbors, ever and again there burst forth the cry: “Throw out the Jews!”
Ordinarily it happened at such demonstrations that people with hooked noses or conspicuously black hair were given a thorough beating. But this time nothing of the sort occurred, for not a Jew was in sight; and the cafés and banking-houses of the Franzensring and Schottenring sagely taking into account all possibilities, had closed their doors and pulled down their shades.
Suddenly a deafening roar filled the air.
“Hail Dr. Karl Schwertfeger--Hail, hail, hail! Hail the liberator of Austria!”
Slowly an open automobile rolled through the human mass as it receded to make way. In the car sat a powerful old man, his massive skull covered with unruly tufts of white hair.
He took off his soft gray hat, nodded to the jubilant crowd, and twisted his face into a smile. But it was a sour smile, somehow belied by the two furrows that ran downward from the corners of his mouth. And the expression of his deep-set gray eyes seemed somber rather than joyful.
Laughing girls crowded forward, swung themselves on the running-board; one tossed flowers to the great man, another, bolder, threw her arms around Dr. Schwertfeger’s neck and kissed him on the cheek. The chauffeur, apparently familiar with his master’s reaction to such emotional outbursts, made the car give a lurch forward, so that the girls were suddenly thrown off backward. But they were not hurt, for a dozen arms stretched out to catch them as they fell.
Within the Parliament Building, however, the vociferous enthusiasm of the street did not prevail; in its place was feverish excitement, too intense to be expressed aloud. The deputies,--not one of whom was missing,--the ministers and ushers went about in anxious silence; and even the overcrowded galleries made not the slightest noise.
Only whispers issued from the press tables, where careless ease had always been the rule. And a definite territorial division had been made. The compact Jewish majority of the reporters had crowded its chairs together, while the representatives of the Christian-Socialist and German-Nationalist papers formed a group of their own. Formerly the Jewish and Christian newspapermen had mingled freely--in their profession they were not partisans, but only colleagues. Furthermore, since the Jewish journalists generally had more news, and were able to turn it to better account, their anti-Semitic brothers depended on them a good deal. Today, however, the Christians cast malevolent glances toward the Jews; and when little Karpeles of the _Weltpost_, who had just come in, greeted Dr. Wiesel of the _Wehr_ with a friendly “Good morning,” the latter turned his back without responding.
Newspapermen continued to pour in; among them were representatives of the foreign press, just arrived in Vienna for this occasion.
“Impossible to move,” growled Herglotz, of the Christian _Tag_, whereupon a bearded little fellow with a tremendous waistline, replied:
“Only a few days more, then we’ll have plenty of room here!”
Subdued coughs, laughter, and smiles on the one side, an exchange of significant glances on the other.
A blond, pink-cheeked young man bowed slightly to the left and to the right.
“I’m Holborn, of the _London Telegraph_. Got here just an hour ago, and don’t know where I am. Arrived in London day before yesterday after a six months’ stay in Sydney--and an hour later I was in the train again, on my way to Vienna. Our managing editor, the old fool, told me nothing, but only said: ‘Plenty of excitement in Vienna these days--they’re throwing out the Jews. Go there and cable me till the wires burn up!’ So it would be very kind of you, I’d be eternally grateful, if you’d tell me what it’s all about.”
This speech had been delivered in so droll an Anglicized German that the tension was somewhat relieved. Gesticulating violently, Minkus of the _Tagesbote_ took hold of his English colleague and began:
“Now, I’ll explain everything to you....” But Dr. Wiesel did not let him continue. “You will pardon me, but it would be more appropriate for this explanation to come from _our_ side.”
A menacing tone, ominous emphasis on the word “our.”
And in a trice Holborn was in the Christian corner, where, in a few terse sentences, Wiesel sketched the situation:
“As to what is going to happen, you will hear that shortly from the lips of our Chancellor, Dr. Karl Schwertfeger, who will go into the details of the law for the expulsion of all non-Aryans from Austria. Briefly, the history is as follows: After our so-called financial recovery, which lasted for two years, Austrian money again fell into a disorganized state. And when the value of the krone had fallen to the two hundredth part of a centime, chaos set in. Ministries fell one after the other, disturbances occurred every day, there was looting of shops, to say nothing of pogroms--the populace, desperate, stopped at nothing, until finally new elections had to be called. The Social-Democrats entered the campaign with their old program, while the Christian-Socialists swarmed about their gifted leader, Dr. Karl Schwertfeger, whose rallying-cry was: Throw out the Jews from Austria! Now, as you may be aware,”--Holborn nodded, though he knew nothing about it,--“the result of the elections was a complete collapse of the Social-Democrats, Communists, and Liberals. Even the working masses voted for ‘throwing out the Jews,’ and the Socialist party, formerly the strongest, barely salvaged eleven seats. The Pan-Germans, however, who came out with flying colors, had also taken up the cry of ‘Throw out the Jews.’
“So, with his genius, his fearless energy, his bold impetuosity and eloquence, Dr. Schwertfeger succeeded in obtaining the consent of the League of Nations for this great expulsion of the Jews; for he had placed before the League the alternative of the annexation of Austria to Germany or a free hand in this matter. And now Schwertfeger is to propose the law, which will certainly be passed. You are, therefore, witnessing an historic....”
Calls of “Hush!” came from all sides. Wiesel could not continue, for the Presiding Officer of the House, a red-whiskered Tyrolese, flourished his gavel and gave the floor to the Chancellor.
Sepulchral silence, through which the humming of the ventilators sounded weirdly. A suppressed cough, the rustling of papers in the press gallery--everything was heard distinctly.
Inordinately tall although his head was thrust forward and his shoulders stooped, the Chancellor stood on the platform. His hands, clenched into fists, rested on the desk; from under the bushy gray brows his keen, glittering eyes sped over the auditorium. He stood thus, motionless, until suddenly, throwing back his head, he began with the powerful voice that had always commanded attention at even the most turbulent meetings:
“Ladies and gentlemen! I am about to propose the law and the amendments to our constitution that purpose nothing less than the expulsion of the non-Aryan,--to be precise, of the Jewish elements from Austria. Before I proceed to this, however, I wish to make some purely personal remarks.
“For five years I have been the leader of the Christian-Socialist party; and for a year I have been Chancellor, having been chosen for this position by an overwhelming majority of this House. During these five years the so-called liberal papers and the Social-Democratic sheets,--in short, all the papers edited by Jews,--have depicted me as a sort of bugbear, a rabid Jew-hater, a fanatic enemy of the Jews and everything Jewish. Just today, when the power of this press is approaching its irrevocable end, I feel impelled to explain that all this is not true. Yes, I have the courage to state today, from this platform, that I am much more a friend than a foe of the Jews!”
The hall rustled with whispers like a field from which a flock of birds is rising.
“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I like the Jews. Before I entered the seething arena of politics I had Jewish friends; in the lecture halls of our Alma Mater I sat at the feet of Jewish teachers whom I revered, and still revere. And I am always ready to recognize--yes, to admire--the native virtues of the Jews, their extraordinary intelligence, their strivings for higher things, their model family life, their internationalism, and their ability to adapt themselves to any environment!”
Cries of “Hear! Hear!” were audible, the deputies and visitors became tense with excitement. The English journalist, who had not understood everything, curiously asked Dr. Wiesel whether the man down there were not the spokesman of the Jews.
The Chancellor went on.
“In spite of this,--or, rather, because of it,--I became more and more convinced, as the years passed, that we non-Jews can no longer live together with the Jews, that we must either bend or break, that we must give up either our Christian ways, our own life and customs, or the Jews. Ladies and gentlemen! The trouble is simply that we Austrian Aryans are no match for the Jews, that we are ruled, oppressed, and violated by a small minority because this minority possesses qualities which we lack. The Latin peoples, the Anglo-Saxons, the Yankees, even the North Germans and the Suabians can digest the Jews because these nations equal, if they do not surpass them in agility, tenacity, energy, and business sense. We, however, cannot digest them; with us they always remain a foreign element that spreads over our entire body and finally enslaves us. The vast majority of our people comes from the mountain country; it is a simple and sincere people, dreamy, playful, given to impractical ideals, fond of music and calm contemplation of nature, upright and pious, thoughtful and good. These are marvellously beautiful qualities which can give rise to a splendid culture and a wonderful new life--if they are given free play and an opportunity to develop. But the Jews among us did not permit this quiet development. With their uncannily keen intelligence, their worldliness and freedom of tradition, their catlike versatility and their lightning comprehension--with all their faculties, accentuated by centuries of oppression, they overpowered us, became our masters, and gained the upper hand in all our economic, spiritual and cultural life.”
Shouts of “Bravo!” “Quite right!” “That’s so.”
With his bony right hand Dr. Schwertfeger raised the glass to his thin lips, as his half ironic, half satisfied gaze swept the hall.
“Let us look at our little Austria today. In whose hands is the press, and therefore public opinion? In the hands of the Jew! Who has piled billions upon billions since the ill-starred year 1914? The Jew! Who controls the tremendous circulation of our money, who sits at the director’s desk in the great banks, who is the head of practically all industries? The Jew! Who owns our theatres? The Jew! Who writes the plays that are produced? The Jew! Who rides about in automobiles, who revels in the night resorts, who crowds the cafés and fashionable restaurants, who covers himself and his wife with pearls and precious stones? The Jew!
“Ladies and gentlemen! I have said, and still maintain, that essentially, when considered objectively, the Jew is an excellent individual. But is not the rose-beetle with its iridescent wings essentially also a beautiful, excellent creature? And notwithstanding this is it not destroyed by the careful gardener who is more interested in the rose than in the beetle?--Is not the tiger a splendid animal, strong, fearless, intelligent? And do we not hunt it down because the struggle for our own existence necessitates it? Only from this standpoint can we Austrians view the Jewish problem. Either we, or the Jew! Either we, who make up nine-tenths of the population, must perish, or the Jew must go! And now, when at last we have the power, we would be fools--nay, criminals--we would be sinning against ourselves and our children were we not to make use of this power to expel the small minority that is destroying us. Here we cannot consider high-sounding words like humanity, justice, and tolerance--for our existence, our very lives and the lives of future generations are at stake! The past few years have increased our wretchedness a thousandfold; our state is completely bankrupt, we are headed for disaster,--in a couple of years our neighbors, under pretense of restoring order here, will pounce upon us and tear our little country to pieces. But the Jews, unaffected by all these events, will continue to thrive and flourish and to be the masters of the situation. And as they have never been Germans in their heart and soul, they will remain the masters when conditions will have changed and we are slaves!”
Fearful agitation prevailed throughout the house. Savage cries burst forth: “That must never be! Let us save ourselves and our children!” And from the street came the echo, from ten thousand throats: “Throw out the Jews!”
Dr. Schwertfeger let the excitement run its course, shook hands with his colleagues in the ministry, and then spoke on the enforcement of the law. For the sake of humanity, and in compliance with the conditions specified by the League of Nations, great consideration and absolute justice would be the rule. Everyone was to have the right to take along as much of his property as consisted of cash, valuable papers, and jewelry, as well as to sell his real estate and business as he pleased. Enterprises that could not be sold would be taken over by the state, the net profits for the past year, as entered in the tax report, being taken as five per cent of the total value. Thus, if an enterprise had produced a net profit of half a million in the past year, it could be redeemed for ten million. The Chancellor’s lip curled in a malicious smile.
“In the calculation of these amounts, as well as in giving permission for the taking along of cash, we shall of course be guided by the tax returns only. Thus a man who has claimed to have no money will not be permitted to take any with him; and if he nevertheless has some property it will be confiscated. If a man has given the net profit of his business as half a million, he may take along ten million, even though it should develop that his actual income was ten times more. In this way many a sin will receive bitter retribution,” observed the speaker, as the hall rocked with laughter. Then he continued:
“Those who do intellectual work and men who receive a definite salary, who really own no property,--like physicians,--will, on their departure, receive from the state the amount they designated as their yearly income on their tax report. So that if a physician has stated his income to be three hundred thousand kronen, he will receive this sum. To prevent any further evasion of taxes the law includes the Draconian provision that any attempt to take out sums greater than those permitted is to be punished by death. Similarly, Jews or those of Jewish origin who attempt to continue staying in Austria secretly, do so under pain of death.
“The law is to be enforced as follows:
“Unregistered merchants, retail-dealers, and so-called commission agents must leave Austrian territory within three months of the passage of the law; registered proprietors of firms, clerks, civil service employes, and manual laborers, within four months; artists, scholars, physicians, attorneys, and the like, within five months. Directors of corporations, banks, and industries that paid taxes on an income of more than two hundred million kronen in the past year are given six months’ time.
“And now I come to an important point, to which I will ask you to give close attention. As you know, the law of expulsion applies not only to Jews and converted Jews, but to those of Jewish origin as well. This term includes the children resulting from mixed marriages. If, for example, a Christian woman of pure Germanic-Aryan stock has married a Jew, he and the children of this marriage are to be expelled, while the wife is permitted to remain in Austria. After mature deliberation, however, the government has decided to consider the grandchildren of mixed marriages as being not of Jewish origin, but Aryan. Thus if a Christian has married a Jewess the children will be expelled, but the grandchildren may remain in the country, provided that their parents have not mixed again with Jewish blood. This, however, is absolutely the only concession made by the law; no other exceptions can be permitted. We have received requests from many quarters to provide for certain exemptions, that, for example, the law should not apply to people who have passed a certain age, to invalids, and to Jews who have performed special services for the state.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Had I listened to such counsel the whole law would have become a farce. Jewish money and influence would have worked day and night, tens of thousands of exceptional cases would have been fabricated, and fifty years from now we would be in exactly the same position as today. No! There will be no preference, no exception, no pity, no passive collusion. The government will place splendid hospital trains at the disposal of the sick and infirm; and only those Jews whom a medico-judicial investigation finds absolutely incapable of transportation will be permitted to await their recovery or death here.”
Dr. Schwertfeger bowed slightly and sank heavily into his chair. But his last pronouncement had had a peculiar effect. Only a few cheers came from the audience; a distinct, almost palpable cloud of uneasiness hung over the house; many faces reflected unmistakable terror and anxiety; there was some disturbance in the gallery, and a woman shrieking, “My children!” fell in a swoon. And though thunderous applause followed the Chancellor’s speech, yet the little group of Social-Democrats shouted in unison: “Shocking! Shameful! An outrage!”
And now the red-bearded Presiding Officer gave the floor to Professor Trumm, the Finance Minister. He was a small man, dry and shrivelled as a prune, endowed with a treble voice; and his speech suffered occasional interruptions that served to free his tongue when it became caught between his gums and the upper edge of his dental plate. He discussed the financial aspects of the expulsion law before a deeply interested house. The redemption of Jewish concerns and real estate would make heavy drains not only on the private capital of the Christians but on the finances of the state as well. Thousands of billions of kronen would barely suffice; and it had to be recognized that one of the first results of the expulsion of the Jews would be all sorts of financial difficulties.
“But, heaven be praised,” here the Finance Minister crossed himself, “we will not stand alone in the dark days to come! I bring to the House the joyful tidings that the true Christians of all the world have united to help us. Not only has the Austrian government conducted international negotiations for months, but the Pius Association has been making unobtrusive but effective propaganda that is bearing splendid fruit. The League of the Active Christians of the Scandinavian Countries, whose members include many powerful bankers and merchants, places at our disposal great credits in Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian money. The American industrial king, Jonathan Huxtable, one of the richest men of the world and a zealous champion of Christianity, has declared his readiness to invest twenty million dollars in Austria. The Christian League of France is mobilizing a hundred million francs,--in short, billions of kronen will have to be sent out of the country to let in a flood of billions in gold!”
Tremendous enthusiasm throughout the house. Several dozen deputies, hurriedly leaving their seats, dashed to the telephones to give their banks orders to sell foreign money. The switchboard could hardly manage the rush of calls for “Karpeles & Co.,” “Veilchenfeld & Son,” “Rosenstrauch & Butterfrass,” “Kohn, Cohn, & Kohen” and all the rest of the great banking-houses. And while the Finance Minister, who had wasted an entire minute to free his imprisoned tongue, went on with his speech, Holborn, the Englishman, grinned as he told the other newspapermen:
“Jonathan Huxtable is a fine fellow! He’s been raving and ranting against the Jews ever since his wife eloped with a Jewish prize fighter. He’s a strict prohibitionist, but he gets drunk every day on a cordial he buys from his druggist. Drinking a whole bottle of Eau de Cologne in one breath is said to be nothing unusual for him. And if he’s going to invest twenty million dollars here, he surely expects to make fifty.”
Dr. Wiesel’s face expressed disapproval, while the Jewish reporters quickly took down notes for some last malicious items.
Speakers, _pro_ and _con_, came forward. The Social-Democrats attacked the law; but when Weitherz, their leader, in calm and measured terms expressed his indignation and called the proposed measure a disgrace to humanity, a terrific uproar arose, the galleries threw keys and crumpled paper at the Social-Democrats, a fist fight ensued, and the small opposition left the hall under protest. Pastor Zweibacher lauded Dr. Schwertfeger as a modern apostle who deserved canonization; the Pan-German deputies Wondratschek and Jiratschek, however, discussed the law from the racial point of view only, and Jiratschek, who spoke with a pronounced Bohemian accent, wept with emotion and closed with the words: “Wotan is among us!”
The last speaker, received with cries of “Hep! Hep!” and jeering “Ai-wai” calls, was the solitary Zionist deputy, the engineer Minkus Wassertrilling. With folded arms the tall, slender, handsome young man waited until order was restored, and then said:
“My dear disciples of the Jew who, in order to save humanity, was foolish enough to let himself be crucified!”
Vehement interjections of “Throw out the Jews!”
“Yes, gentlemen, I join your cry of ‘Throw out the Jews!’ And I will gladly cast my vote in favor of this law. We Zionists welcome it, for it falls in line with all our aims and tendencies. About half of the five hundred thousand Jews expelled by this law will unite under the Zionist standard, and I know that the others will be received with open arms in France and England, Italy and America, Spain and the Balkan countries. I am not worried about the fate of my people--what your spiteful malice and stupidity intend as a curse will become a blessing.”
The hooting that again broke out drowned the rest of his speech, and finally the Zionist also was pushed out of the hall.
When the roll was called, therefore, the law was passed unanimously; and that same day it was rushed through the committee and the second and third readings.
Late at night, when the deputies were at last able to leave the hall, they saw Vienna illuminated for a celebration. Red and white flags waved over all the public buildings, fireworks were displayed, and until long after midnight processions marched past the Chancellor’s palace to cheer Dr. Schwertfeger and extol him as the liberator of Austria.