References

"Karl Lueger." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 03 Dec. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Lueger.

 

Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. Southbank, Victoria, Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006. Print.

AUSTRIA

I am proud of my native Austria, and I love Vienna. Thus, I did everything I could to keep Vienna as the shining capital of Austria. However, by the entry of World War I, even I realized that Austria was a dying power, just like the Ottoman Empire. I was an excellent politician and I quickly realized that Austria would not make it much longer. And I was right. A few idiots that somehow came to power was supported by Germany's blank check after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (who was actually quite a distasteful old man). They were heavily involved with the start of World War I, a war that Austria didn't win. In fact, we didn't even survive through the war. Austria-Hungary was divided into multiple kingdoms, and lands that originally belonged to us were paritioned to other countries such as Poland. Austria, to quote the eminent teacher-historian Mrs. Clark, was already the "sick old man of Europe". The grand kingdom of the Habsburgs became a second-rate power, one that was completely ignored at large gatherings of international powers. And then, in World War II, that odious Hitler simply marched in and annexed Austria with no trouble at all. And the League of Nations just let him do it! We were no longer important to Europe and if we were to be the sacrificial lamb of Hitler, then it was apparently worth it to sacrifice us to appease Hitler. Oh of course, the powers like France and England "denounced" it but they couldn't walk the talk.
These days, I hear Austria is a good tourist destination. That's what we were reduced to.

MY LEGACY

I was a good leader of Vienna. However, in no small part of Hitler's, I have been defamed as a Jew-hater, which is completely against my principles and ideologies. However, to those who remain informed, I am still a local hero.

In Vienna, I have a square and a section of the Ringstraße named after me, and I have had many statues erected in my honour and memory. Morever, there is a monument to me in front of the University of Vienna.

Admittedly, it has been very difficult to decide what to do with monuments honoring historical figures whose reputation has been questioned as people reflect on the contributions and historical background to the Holocaust. With the Anschluss of Austria in 1938 street names carrying Jewish names or the names of pacifists were changed. After World War II, Austria started a full-scale program of de-Nazification (after all, the Nazis were quite evil people who were the true Jew-haters). Nazi street signs were torn down and their names changed back from Nazi to heroes of Austria. My monuments present a difficult case because they are genuinely legit, although Hitler caused my infamy and was inspired by my relatively relaxed Anti-Semitism.

Recently, there has been an issue with Eric Kandel, an Austrian-born Nobel prize winner. He completely denounced me and wanted to damage my reputation. Specifically, he wanted my name removed from the street which the University of Vienna is located on. He is Jewish, but again, my Anti-Semitism was of a kind that came from a benevolent man. He was offended that my name, associated with Anti-Semitism, appeared on the address of the University of Vienna.

I am sad to show this, but this is an example of the debasement of my legacy:

HITLER

I wish I could say what I think about him, but that kind of language is quite unbecoming for the almighty and benevolent mayor of Vienna. Plus, my voters would be disgusted with me. That idiot venerated ME as the almighty guru of Anti-Semitism. As I stated in a previous post, that was all a political trick. I honestly didn't hate the Jews! I suppose that Hitler was a very impressionable and weakminded little boy when he was staying in Vienna. Either way, he prominently displayed me in his Mein Kampf as his hero of Anti-Semitism. If what he said was true, I am very sorry indeed that my political fads caused such a deep hatred of Jews in such an evil person. The thing is, I have inspired more people than just him, like Ignaz Seipel, Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt Schuschnigg. None of those three people were Anti-Semitist. Perhaps Hitler was crazy. However, HE RUINED MY LEGACY. I was so well loved before he came along. I was fair to Jews and I was almost a democratic leader. He then came along and portrayed me as a monster that hated Jews. I hate Hitler. His Nazi principles were completely against my Socialist principles. He was a monster that went ahead and killed Jews and blamed them for every bad thing in the world up to his death. I am a benevolent leader. Anti-Semitism was just an idea that the Viennese could unite under and provide me votes.

ANTI-SEMITISM AND ME

I never really truly despised Jews the way Hitler did. Honest! It was all a political move on my part. At my time, it was basically impossible to be politically successful without an Anti-Semitist platform. It was like the rad thing to do at the time. In fact, I had several Jewish friends. After, I DECIDE WHO IS JEWISH. Besides, all the citizens were Anti-Semitist, so I kept with the popular ideas and I used populism to obtain votes...just like a real politician! And in fact, my policies weren't even THAT Anti-Semitist. Even Jewish people were okay with me, as I was more tolerant of Jews than most of the citizens were. Viennese Jewish writer Stefan Zweig, who grew up in Vienna during my term of office, recalled that "His city administration was perfectly just and even typically democratic." See? I loved the Jews! Don't mind the title of my blog. It's just to attract attention and get me viewers. That is why I am still revered in Austria, even though all the other Jew-haters like Hitler are stuck with infamy. In fact, that idiot ruined my reputation in his awful book Mein Kampf. Honestly, that is a REALLY boring book and my reputation was ruined by him! I'll expand on this later.

ALL ABOUT ME

I am Karl Lueger. I was born on October 24, 1844 in Wienden, a district of Vienna, Austria. Though I was later destined for fame (and infamy, due to that idiot Hitler), I had a modest background. I attended the historical and prestigious Theresianum boarding school and I received a degree in law from the University of Vienna. I established myself as a lawyer and my reputation as a counselor grew, which eventually brought me into politics.

In 1875 I was elected deputy of the city's Gemeinderat municipal assembly. One of my first jobs in politics was as Municipal Administrator. I believe I did a very good job there: I extended the public water system, which provided clean tap water to the citizens of Vienna. I also worked on other projects, such as improvement of gas and electricity works. In addition, I worked on public transit and social welfare (mostly debt financing). Overall, I improved the city of Vienna very much in its representation of the capital city of the great power of Austria. In 1885 I achieved a seat in the Abgeordnetenhaus of the Austrian Reichsrat parliament. I became very interested and supportive of socialism and the growing labour movement. I soon realized that anti-Semitist ideas were very beneficial to my popularity as I decided that the Jewish bourgeoisie were to blame for the precarious economic situation.

In 1893 I founded the Christian Social Party, which quickly gained power and rivaled the Social Democratic Party for majority of votes. The Christian Social Party catapulted me to the position of mayor of Vienna. However, I had conflicts with Prime Minister Kasimir Felix Badeni and Emperor Franz Joseph. The two men above had personal conflicts with me and blocked my attempt at becoming mayor. Unfortunately for them, I was smarter than that. My good friend Pope Leo XIII intervened and sanctioned my election to the office of mayor of Vienna. I was an excellent mayor, according to my unbiased opinion. I kept Vienna as the shining capital of Austria and I was very well-liked by the populace. People were very supportive of me through my improvement of the Viennese infrastructure and my Anti-Semitism.

 I remained in office from 8 April 1897 to 10 March 1910 when I experienced an early death due to chronic diabetes. I died aged 65. My remains are interred at St. Charles Borromeo Church at the Zentralfriedhof (also called Dr. Karl Lueger Memorial Church). It is interesting to note that my own funeral ceremony was one that I had also performed for other people.I never married, being a bachelor BY CHOICE my entire life. It is very important to note, however, that I never truly despised Jews; rather, it was a political move on my part. Anti-Semitism kept me at the height of my career and I became an inspiration for many of the citizens of Vienna. I have absolutely nothing to do with neither Nazi Germany nor that rabble-rouser Adolf Hitler. That is why, even after the purging of anything Anti-Semitist of Austria, my statues and memorials remained.

 

Here's a picture of me. Handsome, huh? Check out that beard :)