Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 April 2020
This article investigates the coinciding of the mass migration from Europe to the Americas and the emergence of mass culture, two developments that shaped everyday life, popular entertainment, and Jewish and non-Jewish relations at the turn of the twentieth century. Jewish actors and actresses were among the most prominent performers who staged in Orpheums, Varietés, and vaudevilles on both sides of the Atlantic. In their performances they drew on the notion of a new quality of mobility that society was experiencing, utilizing it to negotiate issues such as of the cultural construction of identities and Jewishness, or to critically reexamine antisemitic and nationalistic attitudes. On the one hand, mobility enabled negotiations of controversial issues. On the other hand, mobility led to accusations against popular entertainment, both legitimate and erroneous—for example, that vaudevilles functioned as covers for clandestine prostitution. Therefore, the article examines the question of how mobility influenced popular culture. What were the controversial issues that mobility raised, and what accusations did these evoke? In what ways did actors and actresses in popular culture address gender and Jewishness? To answer these questions, the article analyzes the spaces of popular entertainment in Budapest, Vienna, and New York through close examinations of newspapers, manuscripts, playbills, and records of censorship.
1 The author would like to thank Klaus Hödl, the participants of the panel session “Global Trends in the Popular Culture and Nighttime Entertainment of European Cities, 1880s–1930s” organized by Alexander Vari and Antje Dietze at the 2018 conference of the European Association for Urban Studies, and the anonymous referees for their helpful feedback on earlier drafts of this paper. Research for this article was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), project number: P31036. All translations are the author's.
2 “Auf d.e. Tour,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 8 Jan. 1894, 1–2.
3 Ibid.
4 The weekly newspaper Internationale Artisten Revue was published from 1891 until the eve of World War I in Budapest by Ferdinand Steiner. It was comparable to the German newspaper Der Artist with regard to readers, contributions, and international correspondences. See note 33.
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6 These are only three of many cities in which a myth and a sense of mourning for former times arose. For example, the journal Old New York: A Journal Relating to the History and Antiquities of New York was first published in 1890. See Pasko, W. W., ed., Old New York: A Journal Relating to the History and Antiquities of New York (New York, 1890)Google Scholar. Numerous literary journals that appeared at the turn of the twentieth century discussed the “old,” supposedly better, version of cities. See also A Hét: Társadalmi, Irodalmi és Müvészeti Közlöny [The week: Social, literary, and art bulletin] 4, no. 25 (18 June 1893). Kos, Wolfgang and Rapp, Christian, eds., Alt-Wien, Die Stadt, die niemals war (Vienna, 2004)Google Scholar.
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16 The concept of pluriculturalism builds on the assumptions of multiculturalism, though, in an attempt to overcome the problematic singularity of the concept of multiculturalism, scholars began to focus on how cultures resonate, interact, and merge through mutual mediation rather than merely tolerating or coexisting. Bhatti, Anil, “Plurikulturalität,” in Habsburg neu denken: Vielfalt und Ambivalenz in Zentraleuropa – 30 kulturwissenschaftliche Stichworte, eds. Feichtinger, Johannes and Uhl, Heidemarie (Vienna, 2016), 171–80CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
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22 Susanne Korbel, “Zwischen Budapest, Wien und New York: Jüd innen und (‚populär’-) kulturelle Transformationen um 1900” (Ph.D. diss., University of Graz, 2017), 156–57.
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25 Ibid., 140–68.
26 The term mass culture has been broadly discussed and criticized in research. In this article, I do not wish to intervene in this discussion. I here simply refer to mass culture as the phenomenon that leisure time and time for amusement had become available to the majority of people—both in terms of the availability of leisure time as well as the accessibility of various forms of popular entertainment. Maase, Kaspar, Grenzenloses Vergnügen: Der Aufstieg der Massenkultur 1850–1970 (Frankfurt, 2007), 19–25Google Scholar. For a critical examination of the term, see the Adorno, Frankfurt School. Theodore W. and Horkheimer, Max, Dialektik der Aufklärung: Philosophische Fragmente (Frankfurt, 2016), 128–76Google Scholar.
27 Several of these spaces were accused of being places for clandestine prostitution, for example the Prater public gardens and the two main streets connecting this entertainment ground with the inner city, the “two streets which directly led into entertainment,” as Joseph Roth wrote: the Praterstraße and the Taborstraße. See Wingfield, The World of Prostitution, 137–70.
28 Nahma Sandrow depicted the history of the Yiddish Theater as one of “vagabond stars.” Nahma, Sandrow, Vagabond Stars: A World History of Yiddish Theater (Syracuse, 1996)Google Scholar.
29 Popular culture is currently in great demand in Jewish studies. There is a discernible shift away from historiographic studies that are mainly interested in the “Jewish bourgeoisie” and that consequently made the “contribution” of Jews to “high culture” a subject of discussion. Hence, traditional narratives of the history of the Jews in Germany and Austria have been critically reexamined. Gluck, Mary, The Invisible Jewish Budapest: Metropolitan Culture at the Fin de Siècle (Wisconsin, 2016)Google Scholar. Hödl, Klaus, Zwischen Wienerlied und Der kleine Kohn: Juden in der Wiener populären Kultur um 1900 (Göttingen, 2017)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Nahson, Edna, ed., New York's Yiddish Theater: From Bowery to Broadway (New York, 2016)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
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31 Ferdinand Steiner, “An unsere geehrten Leser,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 8 Nov. 1891, 1.
32 Koller, Josef, Das Wiener Volkssängertum in alter und neuer Zeit: Nacherzähltes und Selbsterlebtes, mit Biographien, Episoden, Liedern, zahlreichen Abbildungen und Porträts nach zeitgenössischen Bildern aus dem Volkssängerleben (Vienna, 1931)Google Scholar.
33 The domain of Volkssänger became ever more institutionalized during this period. Several associations for traveling artists and performers were founded across Europe and the United States. Newspapers tried to provide transatlantic information for a lively exchange in the business. In addition, several managers tried to help the artists and performers on both sides of the Atlantic to create transnational (and transatlantic) careers. Susanne Korbel, “Zwischen Budapest, Wien und New York,” 72–86.
34 Concerning Jews and popular entertainment in Vienna, see Dallinger, Brigitte, Verloschene Sterne: Geschichte des jüdischen Theaters in Wien (Vienna, 1998)Google Scholar, as well as the works of Klaus Hödl cited in this article.
35 For example, “New York City Jottings,” The New York Clipper, 15 July 1905, 13; “Fort George Fire Swept,” The New York Clipper, 16 Dec. 1911, 14.
36 The Internationale Artisten Revue was most widely read in Austria-Hungary; in the German Empire it was the newspaper Der Artist. The New York Clipper was the English-language equivalent in the United States. The New York Clipper had been published since 1853, the Internationale Artisten Revue was first published in November 1891, and Der Artist in 1892. On Der Artist, see Myers, Margaret, “Searching for Data about Ladies’ Orchestras, 1870–1950,” in Music and Gender, eds. Moisala, Pirkko and Diamond, Beverly (Urbana, 2000), 189–213, 208Google Scholar.
37 In Vienna, the association Der Lustige Ritter was founded. Popular actors and artists in Budapest first joined the Viennese association but later founded their own, the Budapester Artisten Club. In America, circuits fulfilled the function of these associations. Korbel, “Zwischen Budapest, Wien und New York,” 156–58. On entrepreneurs and their associations in popular entertainment, see also Dietze, Antje, “Americanization of Show Business? Shifting Territories of Theatrical Entertainment in North America at the Turn of the 20th Century,” in Processes of Spatialization in the Americas: Configurations and Narratives, eds. Pisarz-Ramirez, Gabriele and Warnecke-Berger, Hannes (Bern, 2018)Google Scholar.
38 The weekly New York Clipper was published from 1853 to 1923.
39 Korbel, “Zwischen Budapest, Wien und New York,” 72–76.
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44 “Im Somossy Orpheum,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 1 Nov. 1893, 9.
45 On the concept of Jewish urban spaces not as enclosed areas but rather as spaces of contacts and interactions see Brauch, Julia, Lipphardt, Anna, and Nocke, Alexandra, “Exploring Jewish Spaces: An Approach,” in Jewish Topographies: Visions of Space, Traditions of Place, eds. Brauch, Julia, Lipphardt, Anna, and Nocke, Alexandra (Burlington, 2008), 1–26, 3–11Google Scholar.
46 Leopoldstadt's main streets, Taborstraße and Praterstraße, led directly into the entertainment area, as Joseph Roth mentioned in his novel Juden auf Wanderschaft. On Jewish sites in Leopoldstadt see Silverman, Lisa, “Jewish Memory, Jewish Geography: Vienna before 1938,” in Making Place: Space and Embodiment in the City, eds. Sen, Arijit and Silverman, Lisa (Bloomington, 2014), 173–97Google Scholar.
47 Situated at Annagasse 3 in Vienna's First District, the Varieté Max und Moritz was opened by Max Rott and Adolf Glinger in September 1910. Adolf Glinger and Max Rott were both the nom de plume of the two former Volkssänger who also lived under their stage names. In 1914 the Volkssänger Heinrich Eisenbach joined his colleagues from the Budapester Orpheumgesellschaft at the Max und Moritz. On Glinger and Rott see Korbel, “Zwischen Budapest, Wien und New York,” 64–66. “Ein Zwischenfall bei Max und Moritz,” Neues Wiener Journal, 19 Sept. 1910, 4.
48 In Vienna these areas overlapped with those where there was clandestine prostitution. On sites of clandestine prostitution in Vienna see Wingfield, The World of Prostitution, 145–55.
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55 “Budapester Artisten Verein,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 20 May 1900, 1. Later on, in both Vienna and Budapest members of the associations discussed separating and founding new associations. However, Der lustige Ritter and Der Budapester Artisten Verein continued to exist until the end of World War I. The Internationale Artisten Organisation was founded thereafter. Koller, Das Wiener Volkssängertum in alter und neuer Zeit, 160.
56 “Treffen des Wiener Artistenverbandes,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 1 Nov. 1893, 8. See also Matthias Bernhard Lautzky, “Artisten,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 20 Jan. 1894, 2–3. And Mehrere lustige Ritter [signature of the authors, SK], “Der Club der lustigen Ritter in Wien,” in Internationale Artisten Revue, 10 May 1895, 2–3.
57 The Association of Traveling Variety Managers frequently reported on its activities and advertised invitations to meetings in the New York Clipper. Harry Jacobs, “Call: The Regular Meeting of Association of Traveling Variety Managers of America,” New York Clipper, 9 June 1900, 348.
58 Koller, Das Wiener Volkssängertum in alter und neuer Zeit, 160.
59 Charles Haydn, “Leserbrief,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 10 Jan. 1894, 9. It should be noted that Bethlehem and Wilmington were both cities with a high German-speaking population.
60 “Miscellaneous,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 24 Jan. 1894, 10.
61 “Warnung,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 8 Dec. 1891, 32.
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71 “Folies Caprice,” Budapesti Hírlap, 7 Oct. 1893, 5.
72 “Chantant und Polizei,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 8 Mar. 1892, 1.
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76 Wingfield, The World of Prostitution, 172–78.
77 For example, Übermittlung eines Verzeichnisses der Prostitutionslokale, Varietés, Winkelhotels, Cafés und Gasthöfe der Stadt Astrackan, 20 Mar. 1914, Mädchenhandel und Prostitution, Zahl 58, 24444/1914, F52, box 45, Ministerium des Äußeren [hereafter: MdAe], Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv [hereafter: HHStA], OeStA, Vienna, Austria.
78 Stauter-Halsted, The Devil's Chain, 132.
79 “Auf d.e. Tour,” Internationale Artisten Revue, 8 Jan. 1894, 1–2.
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86 Risa Basté was born Sali Sarah Friedmann on 5 Apr. 1879. Meldezettel Sali Sarah Friedmann, K2 – C-Antiquariat, Historische Meldeunterlagen, Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Austria. Meldezettel Sali Sara Glinger Hargesheimer, geb. Friedmann, K4 – Meldekartei, Historische Meldeunterlagen, Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Austria. Meldezettel Sali Risa Glinger, geb. Friedmann, K5 – E-Antiquariat, Historische Meldeunterlagen, Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Austria. Todfallsaufnahme Sali Glinger, Verlassenschaftsabhandlungen: 46/68, Bezirksgericht Innere Stadt A4/3, Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Austria. Meldezettel Adolf Glinger, K2 – C-Antiquariat Historische Meldeunterlagen, Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Austria. Meldezettel Adolf Glinger Hargesheimer, K4 – Meldekartei, Historische Meldeunterlagen, Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Austria. Meldezettel Adolf Glinger, K5 – E-Antiquariat, Historische Meldeunterlagen, Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Austria. Todfallsaufnahme Adolf Glinger, Verlassenschaftsabhandlungen: 360/47, Bezirksgericht Innere Stadt A4/15, Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Austria.
87 Using the previous examples, Klaus Hödl highlighted that popular culture was constituted and consumed jointly by Jews and non-Jews. Hödl, Klaus, “The Quest for Amusement: Jewish Leisure Activities in Vienna circa 1900,” Jewish History and Culture 14, no. 1 (2014): 1–17, 1–4CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Regarding Jews and the Viennese Operetta, see Beller, Steven, Wien und die Juden 1867–1938 (Vienna, 1993), 31–32CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
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91 Ibid.
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98 András Vari has concluded that the functions of ethnic stereotypes at the turn of the nineteenth century fluctuated regularly, including both positive and negative components. Vari, András, “The Functions of Ethnic Stereotypes in Austria and Hungary in the Early Nineteenth Century,” in Creating the Other: Ethnic Conflict and Nationalism in Habsburg Central Europe, ed. Wingfield, Nancy M. (New York, 2004), 39–55, 48–54Google Scholar.
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100 I want to thank Frank Stern for bringing this fact to my attention. For further information on Zionist discourse, see Brenner, Michael, Geschichte des Zionismus (Munich, 2002)Google Scholar, particularly 44–55.
101 Such anthropological evening lectures became quite popular among the bourgeoisie around 1900 and could regularly be found in institutions like the Urania. This was also represented in the new emerging panopticons, such as Präuscher's Panoptikum in the Prater.
102 Because research has mainly focused on differences, Dorothee Kimmich and Anil Bhatti elaborated on the function of difference within societies. Bhatti and Kimmich argue that thinking about difference is based on a binary construct that solely differentiates between those who are equal and “the other”—without any range in between. However, they state that difference does not matter in the practice of everyday life but instead that the possibility to recognize difference is based on the ability to perceive similarity. Rather than merely perceiving a total difference or similarity, a person perceives a range (of stereotypes, of facets, of identities, and so on) of differences and/or similarities. The paradigm of similarity does not negate difference but elaborates on the range and practice between the dichotomous opposition of similarity and otherness. Bhatti, Anil and Kimmich, Dorothee, eds., Ähnlichkeit: Ein kulturtheoretisches Paradigma (Konstanz, 2015)Google Scholar. Johannes Feichtinger and Heidemarie Uhl highlighted that research on the Habsburg Empire has recently began to reexamine dichotomies based on differences. Feichtinger, Johannes and Uhl, Heidemarie, “Stichwort Habsburg Zentraleuropa: Ein kulturwissenschaftliches Untersuchungsfeld,” in Habsburg neu denken: Vielfalt und Ambivalenz in Zentraleuropa, 30 kulturwissenschaftliche Stichworte, eds. Johannes Feichtinger and Heidemarie Uhl (Vienna, 2016), 9–18, 15CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
103 I am here referring to what Sigmund Freud noted on the function of humor and jokes, and moreover the way popular culture works. Freud, Sigmund, Der Witz und seine Beziehung zum Unbewußten: Der Humor (Frankfurt, 2012), 193–200, 209–11, and 253–54Google Scholar.
104 Moritz Csáky coined and defined this notion of a new quality of mobility. See note 6.