Österreich - Die ganze Geschichte

Hitler's time in Vienna was like a black hole in his biography. Later, in Mein Kampf, he distorted and drastically shortened the months he spent there—nobody was to learn how far he had truly fallen. However, a former companion from those days posed a threat to his carefully constructed "Führer" image. Reinhold Hanisch, a petty criminal, told early Hitler biographers in the mid-1930s about a failed artist who had hit rock bottom alongside him in the men's homeless shelter on Meldemannstraße.

How much did Vienna shape the future dictator and mass murderer? Did he, as he later claimed, become a fervent antisemite under the influence of Mayor Karl Lueger? Andreas Pfeifer and Mariella Gittler explore the extent to which the Viennese environment may have shaped Hitler's worldview and, ultimately, world history.

Adding to the intrigue is a curious historical coincidence: in 1913, another future dictator, Josef Stalin, also spent several weeks in the imperial city, living just ten kilometers from Hitler. The two men may even have briefly crossed paths during one of Emperor Franz Joseph's outings to Schönbrunn Palace.

When the assassin Bogdan Zerajić fired at the Habsburg governor in Bosnia in 1910, he could have sparked the global conflagration that erupted four years later with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. But Zerajić missed his target and turned the gun on himself. Meanwhile, unrest simmered across other regions of the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire, particularly among the Czechs, who were awakening to their national identity.

Through dramatic re-enactments from these hotspots, this episode chronicles the tumultuous decades when ethnic fault lines within the Habsburg state became increasingly pronounced. The Ottoman Empire's retreat from the Balkans primarily benefited Russia, which shifted from being Austria's long-standing ally to its fierce strategic adversary—largely due to missteps in Habsburg Balkan policy. This pivotal shift set the stage for World War I. The national states we know today are direct outcomes of these historical developments.

As the monarchy in Austria neared its end, an entire profession faced obsolescence: servants and maids were no longer in demand—neither at court nor in the countless households that had long since run out of money. Many struggled to adapt to this transition, while others were relieved to leave behind the drudgery they had loathed.

The new democratic society no longer required newspapers to be ironed or assistance with morning robes. However, it was markedly more socially mobile than its predecessor, offering new opportunities and career paths. Former servants transitioned into service providers, and for the first time, the disenfranchised working class began organizing politically.

This period of upheaval was marked by hundreds of assassinations targeting crowned heads and state officials, dominating the headlines. This film takes viewers on a journey through this transformative era, told through the experiences of Viennese maid Cäcilie Zwicker and Vorarlberg servant Meinhard Hämmerle.

Just a few years before the outbreak of World War I, the world is alive with revelry. Entertainment, consumerism, and sports sweep people into a frenzy of possibility—a world where everything seems achievable, except collective downfall.

In Vienna, merchant Emil Storch establishes one of the first comprehensive mail-order businesses, earning him the title of an early Jeff Bezos. Yet, the exuberance proves to be a dead end. Overextended, Storch loses everything in the postwar inflation. Similarly, the fate of daring cycling pioneer Cenzi Flendrovsky is equally tragic. Her passion for promoting the sport captivates the masses, but her life is cut short at just 28 by the consequences of a cycling accident.

The prewar years bring the world its first taste of a globalized abundance society. Yet, this euphoria is short-lived. The outbreak of World War I catches Austria's peace-loving society off guard. Overabundance gives way to scarcity, and the dividends of peace quickly evaporate. As history shows, war and prosperity have always been incompatible.