Lilli Tauber: Viennese Jewry In The 1930s

In this lesson, students will learn about early Zionism and Jewish life in Austria in the first part of the 20th Century. Students will engage themselves with materials on the Nuremberg Laws, the Anchluss, Kristallnacht (November Pogrom), and the American response to Jewish immigration from Europe in the 1930s. 

Students will focus on the importance of physical culture engendered by Zionist Max Nordau and the concept of Muskeljuden.  Students will use the sporting club Hakoah Vienna (“The Strength” in Hebrew) as a case study.  Using Centropa videos, students will learn about rising anti-Semitism in Austria, and the personal experiences of Jews during the Anchluss and Kristallnacht. Students will encounter material about the US response to Jewishimmigrants from Europe and subsequent Jewish migration to Palestine, Shanghai, and England.