There are a great number of publications, documentations, and movies on prominent figures such as Karl Marx, Viktor Adler, Rosa Luxemburg or Otto Bauer. Less famous Jewish comrades however have not had as much of a spotlight, this is in particular true of Jewish union activists.
This project aims to chart new territory in two regards. On one hand, Jewish union members are to be recorded and biographically located. In this context Jewish unionists will also be included who were not active in the social democratic or communist parties, but in the Zionist workers’ movement Poale Zion, who therefore did not place their hopes and aspirations in the integration into European society.
On the other hand, the structural organization of Jewish union members is a focal point. Since it would not be possible to ascertain all Jewish union members in the framework of this project, the research will focus on specific trade unions such as construction workers, commercial employees, and metal workers. Geographically, the states of Vienna, Styria, Upper and Lower Austria will be included.