Julius Braunthal (1891–1972) 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-born historian, magazine editor, and political activist. Braunthal is best remembered as the Secretary of the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations ...

from 1951 to 1956 and for his massive three volume ''History of the International,'' first published in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

between 1961 and 1971.

Biography

Early years

Julius Braunthal was born 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 ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

on 5 May 1891. During

World War I 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 ...

Braunthal was an officer in the

Austro-Hungarian army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

, winning a decoration for valor and rising to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

by the end of the war.James C. Docherty, "Julius Braunthal," in ''Historical Dictionary of Socialism.'' Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1997; pg. 48.

Interwar period

After the war Braunthal served as an Assistant Secretary of State for the newly established

Republic of 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 ci ...

from 1918 to 1920. A committed

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

, following his departure from government service Braunthal edited several socialist publications. He published the first article on

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

entitled "Der Putsch der Fascisten" in '' Der Kampf'', a theoretical monthly journal of the

Socialist 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 ...

(SPÖ), in November 1922 shortly after

March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, ...

which was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état by Benito Mussolini's

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. Th ...

. In 1924 Braunthal was editor of the '' Arbeiter-Zeitung,'' the official organ of the SPÖ. From 1927 to 1934 he served as editor of the popular socialist newspaper, ''Das Kleine Blatt'' (The Little Leaf), also published by the SPÖ. He also edited the illustrated magazine ''Der Kuckuck'' (The Cuckoo).

Austrofascism The Fatherland Front ( de-AT, Vaterländische Front, ''VF'') was the right-wing conservative, nationalist and corporatist ruling political organisation of the Federal State of Austria. It claimed to be a nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack ...

began to rise in the middle 1930s and Brauthal was soon embroiled with difficulties with the new right wing regime. In 1934 Braunthal was arrested and jailed, charged with

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

.Emile Schwidder
"Biography,"
Julius Braunthal Papers finding aid. Amsterdam: International Institute of Social History, 1977. He was ultimately expelled from the country in 1935, narrowly escaping the annexation of Austria to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

three years later. In 1938, Braunthal went into exile in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, where his elder sister Bertha Clark (1887-1967) had been living and working with her Scottish born husband since 1933, and where he would remain for the rest of his life. Julius Braunthal was named an assistant secretary of the Labour and Socialist International in 1938, remaining in that capacity until the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

World War II and after

During World War II, Braunthal was the editor of the journal of the Labour and Socialist International, ''International Socialist Forum.'' He would serve in that capacity until 1948. Thereafter Braunthal was named as the Secretary of the International Socialist Conference, a transitional organization which preceded establishment of the new

. In 1951 Braunthal was named the first Secretary General of this new international institution. He would hold this post until 1956. Following the end of his time as the head of the Socialist International, Braunthal turned his attention to the writing of history. He authored a three volume ''History of the International,'' detailing the institutional development of international socialism from the

First International The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

until the present day. The first volume of this work was published in 1961, with the third and final volume seeing print in 1971.

Death and legacy

Julius Braunthal died on 24 April 1972 in Teddington, England. He was 78 years old at the time of his death. Braunthal's papers reside at the

International Institute of Social History The International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG) is one of the largest archives of labor and social history in the world. Located in Amsterdam, its one million volumes and 2,300 archival collections include the papers of major figu ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Works

* ''Die Arbeiterräte in Deutschösterreich.'' Vienna, 1919. * ''Die Sozialpolitik der Republik.'' Vienna: Wiener Volksbuchhandlung, 1919. * ''Kommunisten und sozialdemokraten.'' Vienna: Verlag der Wiener Volksbuchhandlung, 1920. * ''Die Wiener Julitage 1927.'' Vienna: Verlag der Wiener Volksbuchhandlung, 1927. * ''40 Jahre 1. Mai.'' Vienna, 1929. * ''Festschrift zur 2. Arbeiter-Olympiade.'' Vienna: Rotationstiefdruck: "Vorwärts," 1931. * ''Need Germany Survive?'' London: Victor Gollancz, 1943. * ''The Future of Austria: A Plea for the United States of Europe.'' London: Victor Gollancz, 1943. * ''In Search of the Millennium.'' London: Victor Gollancz, 1945. * ''The Paradox of Nationalism: An Epilogue to the Nuremberg Trials: Common-Sense Reflections in the Atomic Age.'' London: St. Botolph Publishing Co., 1946. * ''The Tragedy of Austria.'' London: Victor Gollancz, 1948. * "The Rebirth of Social Democracy," ''Foreign Affairs,'' vol. 27, no. 4 (July 1949), pp. 586–600
In JSTOR
* ''Der gegenwärtige Stand der sozialistischen Literatur.'' Bielefeld : Verlag Neue Gesellschaft, n.d. . 1955 * ''Yearbook of the International Socialist Labour Movement.'' London: Lincolns-Prager, 1956. * ''The Significance of Israeli Socialism and the Arab-Israeli Dispute.'' With J.B. Kripalani. London: Lincolns-Prager, 1958. * ''Sozialistische Weltstimmen.'' Berlin: Verlag nach J.H.W. Dietz, 1958. * ''Geschichte der Internationale, Vol. 1.'' Hannover, Germany: Verlag J.H.W. Dietz, 1961. * ''Geschichte der Internationale, Vol. 2.'' Hannover, Germany: Verlag J.H.W. Dietz, 1963. * ''Auf der Suche nach dem Millennium.'' Vienna: Europa Verlag, 1964. * ''Socialism. The First 100 Years.'' Rome: Centre for Labour and Social Studies, 1964. * ''Victor und Friedrich Adler; zwei Generationen Arbeiterbewegung.'' Vienna: Verlag der Wiener Volksbuchhandlung, 1965. * ''History of the International: Volume 1: 1864-1914.'' New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, 1967. * ''History of the International: Volume 2: 1914-1943.'' New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, 1967. * ''Geschichte der Internationale, Vol. 3.'' Hannover, Germany: Verlag J.H.W. Dietz, 1971. * ''History of the International: Volume 3: 1943-1968.'' London: Victor Gollancz, 1980.

Footnotes

External links

* Emile Schwidder
"Julius Braunthal Papers online finding aid,"
International Institute of Social History, 1977. {{DEFAULTSORT:Braunthal, Julius 1891 births 1972 deaths 19th-century Austrian people 20th-century Austrian people Austro-Hungarian people Austrian newspaper editors British people of Austrian-Jewish descent Jewish socialists European democratic socialists Socialist International Austrian emigrants to the United Kingdom