Berghahn Books Entangled Entertainers: Jews and Popular Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: 24 (Austrian and Habsburg Studies, 24)

Viennese popular culture at the turn of the twentieth century was the product of the city's Jewish and non-Jewish residents alike. While these two communities interacted in a variety of ways to their mutual benefit, Jewish culture was also inevitably shaped by the city's persistent bouts of antisemitism. This fascinating study explores how Jewish artists, performers, and impresarios reacted to prejudice, showing how they articulated identity through performative engagement rather than anchoring it in origin and descent. In this way, they attempted to transcend a racialized identity even as they indelibly inscribed their Jewish existence into the cultural history of the era. Review "This is an excellent book, based on fascinating primary sources, and set within a sophisticated scholarly and theoretical frame. Klaus Hödl has for many years been one of the most dedicated and interesting scholars in the field of Austrian Jewish studies, and this book shows the fruits of his efforts." - Steven Beller, author of The Habsburg Monarchy 1815-1918 About the Author Klaus Hödl is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Graz, Austria. His publications include Kultur und Gedächtnis (2012) and Wiener Juden – jüdische Wiener: Identität, Gedächtnis und Performanz im 19. Jahrhundert (2006).