Robert Danneberg (1885–1942) 1927 © Georg Fayer (1892–1950) OeNB 10450888

Robert Danneberg (23 July 1882, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– approx 12 December 1942, in

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n politician, a member of the

Social Democratic Workers Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...

(SDAPÖ) and a prominent

Austro-Marxist Austromarxism (also stylised as Austro-Marxism) was a Marxist theoretical current, led by Victor Adler, Otto Bauer, Karl Renner, Max Adler and Rudolf Hilferding, members of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria in Austria-Hungary ...

theoretician. Danneberg was one of the architects of

Red Vienna Red Vienna (German: ''Rotes Wien'') was the colloquial name for the capital of Austria between 1918 and 1934, when the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (SDAP) maintained almost unilateral political control over Vienna and, for a short ...

and he was killed in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

in 1942.

Life

Danneburg was born in Vienna on 23 July 1882 in to an intellectual Jewish family. He joined SDAPÖ and the Workers Youth Association in 1903. Danneberg was active in the international youth movement, and became the Secretary of the International Union of Socialist Youth Organisations in 1908, however when the war broke out he withdrew from his position because he thought working for the Youth International was pointless during war time so the chairmanship was given to

Willi Münzenberg Wilhelm "Willi" Münzenberg (14 August 1889, Erfurt, Germany – June 1940, Saint-Marcellin, France) was a German Communist political activist and publisher. Münzenberg was the first head of the Young Communist International in 1919–20 and est ...

. In the same year, he became responsible for the educational and cultural programmes of the party and took on the editorship of the SDAPÖ educational journal ''Die Bildungsarbeit''. In 1909 Danneberg obtained a doctorate in Law.Blau, Eve.
The Architecture of Red Vienna, 1919-1934
'. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1999. p. 135 During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Danneberg belonged to the 'Anti-War left' inside SDAPÖ. Nevertheless, he opposed division of the party and the launching of the Communist Party of Austria. Danneberg married Gertrud Schröbler in 1918. They had two children together. Danneberg was a parliamentarian between 1919 and 1934. Moreover, he became the president of the Vienna Provincial Assembly. Danneberg was also influential in the municipal government of Vienna.Kreisky, Bruno, Matthew Paul Berg, Jill Lewis, and Oliver Rathkolb.
The Struggle for a Democratic Austria: Bruno Kreisky on Peace and Social Justice
'. New York: Berghahn Books, 2000. p. 420Lane, A. Thomas.
Biographical Dictionary of European Labor Leaders 1. A - L
'. Westport, Conn. .a. Greenwood Press, 1995. pp. 242-243 As the author of the housing policy of the Vienna SDAPÖ and a co-author of its municipal and taxation policies, he played a pivotal role in shaping '

'. He represented the SDAPÖ in the Executive of the

Labour and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI; german: Sozialistische Arbeiter-Internationale, label=German, SAI) was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a me ...

between October 1931 and December 1935. Danneberg was arrested and jailed after the

Austrian Civil War The Austrian Civil War (german: Österreichischer Bürgerkrieg), also known as the February Uprising (german: Februarkämpfe), was a few days of skirmishes between Austrian government and socialist forces between 12 and 16 February 1934, in Aust ...

in 1934. He was, however, released the following year. After the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

'', Danneberg tried to flee to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

by train, but was arrested again.MacDonogh, G. ''1938: Hitler's Gamble''. New York: Basic Books, 2009. p 99. He was interned in three different concentration camps;

Dachau , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

, Buchenwald and

. He was killed in Auschwitz in 1942. An empty urn at

Feuerhalle Simmering Feuerhalle Simmering is a crematorium with attached urn burial ground in the Simmering (Vienna), Simmering district of Vienna, Austria. It lies at the end of an alley, directly opposite Vienna Central Cemetery's main gate. Description Opened on ...

serves as his cenotaph in Vienna. GuentherZ 2007-04-12 0235 Wien03 Gedenkstein Robert Danneberg

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Danneberg, Robert 1882 births 1942 deaths Politicians from Vienna Jewish Austrian politicians Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians Members of the Constituent National Assembly (Austria) Members of the National Council (Austria) Members of the Executive of the Labour and Socialist International Jewish socialists Dachau concentration camp survivors Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Politicians who died in Nazi concentration camps Austrian civilians killed in World War II Austrian people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp