The Politics of Fin-de-siècle Anatomy

Abstract

In 1922, children of the recently deceased former Chair of the Second Anatomical Department in Vienna, Carl Toldt, published their father’s autobiography. In the preface, they described him as a ‘German-feeling and freedom-loving man’ ( deutschfühlender und freiheitsliebender Mann ) as well as ‘a true Tyrolean’ ( ein echter Tiroler ). 1 Indeed, hardly any obituary of Toldt failed to mention his affection for the German nation and his Tyrolean homeland – often linking them to his attachment to German science. 2 In contrast, around 1910 obituaries for Emil Zuckerkandl, Toldt’s contemporary and Chair of the First Anatomical Department, said little about Zuckerkandl’s place of birth and national politics. The obituarists portrayed him as a successor to an older tradition, founded by Joseph Hyrtl, which saw anatomy as the basis of and contributor to clinical knowledge. 3 In this article, I take these views seriously. 4 I demonstrate the differences between two anatomical disciplinary orientations practised in fin-de-siècle Vienna and their close links with the political views and social networks with which the two anatomists allied themselves. I show how anatomical divergences can be understood only if we place them back into the context of contemporary Austrian politics and society, and of the growing middle-class rift along ethnic and religious lines.KeywordsNational IdentityNational PoliticsGerman NationAppointment CommitteeJewish BackgroundThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.