“Red-Vienna,” a hub for illegal political migration, 1919-1938 – Scientific Mission for a joint publication and archival research

Short-Term Scientific Mission Blog: Field Notes

Action number: CA21120

Grantee name: Dr. Cristina Diac

Details of the STSM:

Title: “Red-Vienna,” a hub for illegal political migration, 1919-1938 – Scientific Mission for a joint publication and archival research

Start and end date: 15/06/2025 to 22/06/2025

Home Country: Romania

Host Country: Austria

This STSM in June 2025 brought together two members in the WG 2 ‘Documents as Proof, Documents as Past’ of the Cost Action Hidden. Dr. Sigrid Wadauer, an experienced historian of modern European history affiliated with the Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Vienna, hosted Dr. Cristina Diac from the National Institute for the Study of Totalitarianism – Romanian Academy.

The main goal of this networking was to work on a special issue of a relevant journal co-edited by Sigrid Wadauer and Beate Althammer, to which Cristina Diac will contribute. Secondly, the host researcher assisted Cristina Diac in exploring local archives relevant to the political migration of Eastern European citizens during the interwar. This scientific mission provided Dr. Diac with the opportunity to engage in extensive discussions with scholars regarding cutting-edge research methodologies and sources that can be read creatively and integrated into migration studies. The grantee also had the chance during this STSM to reflect on how to effectively return to society the main outputs of the historical research.

Work on a publication about the interwar radical left through the lenses of migration studies

Cristina Diac split the most of the working hours in this STSM between discussions with the host researcher about the special issue and the archival research. For the publication realized in the framework of WG 2 of Hidden Action, she will author an article on a peculiar case of political migration. The grantee will write about Romanian political refugees (communists) in the interwar who moved across borders using forged IDs. Previous discussions, even those at the European Social Science History Conference 2025 in Leiden, revealed the need to broaden the scope of the article to political migration in general. The feedback convinced Cristina Diac to deepen that conversation. During the time together in this STSM, Dr. Wadauer kindly suggested that Cristina Diac’s article should emphasize the relationship between forged IDs as objects and their users; the importance of ID documents for migrants’ identity in the country of arrival, and others. 

“Red Vienna,” a hub for political migration

Viena was a significant hub for political migration between 1919 and 1934. Therefore, Cristina Diac considered applying for an STSM to assess Vienna archives. The peculiarities of the targeted group make it difficult to identify in classical archives. The semi-legal status of Eastern European communists in interwar Vienna, who were travelling illegally and striving to limit interactions to a minimum complicates the historians’ task. These migrants belonged to transnational political networks of complex architecture and geographical distribution. Viennese trajectories of clandestine Eastern European political migrants may be traced in archives of the Austrian state at the local or central level, in the archives of the Austrian Communist Party, in the archives of the offices of the Third International/Comintern active in interwar Vienna, in other archives. Therefore, finding archival evidence about Romanian political migrants in interwar Vienna, who were also members of transnational communist networks, is difficult not because of a lack of archival sources on the contrary – because of their multitude, complexity, fragmentation, legal status, and geographical distribution.

To make things even more complicated, let’s say that only a bunch of scholars work on interwar left radicalism, and even fewer address the movements of political revolutionaries as migratory flows.

To maximize its outputs, Cristina Diac engaged in email conversations with Austrian historians with expertise in the history of the Austrian left before the start of this STSM. Dr. Barry McLoughlin, Dr. Manfred Mugruer from the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW) and Alfred Klahr Foundation, and Dr. Christoph Mentschl from the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Vienna provided advice.

Barry McLoughlin’s archive at the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW)

Barry McLoughlin, co-author of the monumental book Kommunismus in Österreich 1918-1938 and author of multiple publications about interwar communism, donated his personal archive to the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW)that integrated it into their regular collections. Barry McLouglin’s personal archive comprises copies of documents from the Russian State Archive for Socio-Political History, National Archives London, Landesarchiv Berlin, Archiv der Österreich Republik, Institut für Zeitgeschichte at the Universität Wien, and multiple Austrian local archives. It is worth noticing the methodology employed by this historian in his work on left radicalism: he focused on communism in interwar Austria as a piece in a bigger and complex puzzle. In Barry McLoughlin’s books and personal archive now available in DÖW, “Red Vienna” is a melting pot, a site of transnational encounters, both a destination and a departing point for political migrants of different nationalities.

Besides copies of documents, McLoughlin’s notes provide useful archival references to documents that he had not copied about foreign political migrants in interwar Vienna. It is the case of Josef Hutschnecker, a Romanian journalist arrested in 1932 with a passport that was likely forged in the Vienna workshop dismantled by the Austrian authorities in November 1931. This political refugee was likely in contact with a group of Romanian migrants who used to meet in Blumauergasse 15.

DÖW collections are relevant to the history of the European left, antifascist resistance, persecution of Austrian Jewry after Anschluss, and political emigration from Austria after 1934. This archive is easily accessible to researchers. The access is free of charge. An appointment is not mandatory, but it is recommended. The online inventory available in the reading room adds to the inventory on DÖW’s official website. Documents are provided on the arrival day, and no additional formalities are needed. The researchers may use their own electronic devices (laptops, photo cameras, smartphones).

Beyond academic research, Cristina Diac explored the DÖW permanent exhibition that documents Nazi persecutions against Austrian Jews. The exhibition documents restrictions imposed by the Nazi regime on Jews’ right to move freely by issuing ID documents marked with an indicative sign. 

Original documents regarding Eastern European political migrants in interwar Vienna held in copy by DÖW may be found in the Austrian State Archive, fund Bundeskanzleramt, Staatsamt und Bundesministerium fur Inneres, 20/1B, Ausweisungen (expulsions); and 20/1C Passwesen. The access card fee depends on the number of entries and is worth from 5 euros (2 entries, available any time within the issuing year) to 50 euros for a yearly card. The documents should be ordered three working days in advance.

Relevant documents for political migration and forgeries may be found in the Library of the Department of Contemporary History of the University of Vienna, in the microfilms collection, and concern citizens of different nationalities sent to Austrian courts for using passports likely forged in the Comintern workshop in Vienna (reels no. 220, 221). Access to this library is free of charge, and no special arrangements are required.

Further working plans in Vienna: the archive of the Austrian Communist Party at Alfred Klahr Foundation

The Comintern offices in Vienna provided help to Eastern European political refugees through the Austrian Communist Party. The Austrian branch of the International Red Aid organization provided them with lodging, minimum means of subsistence, and legal help to navigate the administrative system. Relevant information about political refugees in the interwar Vienna may be in the archive of the Austrian Communist Party. The Austrian Communist Party still holds its historical archive and administrates it through the Alfred Klahr Foundation. Discussions with local historians revealed that access to this archive requires complex conversations with the Foundation staff. Given the short time in Vienna and the unpredictable outcome, Cristina Diac decided to approach them on a future research trip.

The STSM offered Cristina Diac the opportunity to work on a publication with Sigrid Wadauer, conduct archival research, and engage in conversation with Austrian historians and archivists. Therefore, the grantee had the invaluable opportunity to explore new research methodologies and perspectives. The discussions with local specialists provided first-hand knowledge about the peculiarities of local archives, and opened new opportunities for further collaboration.