Guardian Angels? - The Viennese Police Response to Antisemitic Violence during the 1925 Zionist Congress
Guardian Angels? - The Viennese Police Response to Antisemitic Violence during the 1925 Zionist Congress

Summary/Abstract: In the summer of 1925, as antisemitic political parties agitated against the Fourteenth Zionist Congress, attacks on Jews increased throughout Vienna. This paper examines how the Viennese police leadership at the Polizeidirektion Wien responded to the attacks and protests by increasing police presence in the streets, meeting with community leaders, and monitoring the press. It then places their behaviour in the political context of the period, arguing that despite the politicised interpretations of their role during the Congress, the best explanation for police behaviour is not political affiliation, but rather their professional commitment to ensuring public safety and maintaining Ruhe und Ordnung.

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