DOI article:
Murár, Tomáš: ‘I am wrong about my qualifications, or I do not have any friends’: Archival Research on the First Professorship of Max Dvořák
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.73804#0065
64
of noise had been made but that no one had actually found
any reason to block his appointment. That was good news
for both Dvorak and Wickhoff, but it also meant that, as
anticipated, there would be demonstrations.
The first demonstration was held against Wickhoff
at his opening lecture on 24 October 1905 in a corridor
inside the Institute of Austrian Historical Research.55
The protestors sang German nationalist songs, through
which Wickhoff continued his lecture. When he finished
his talk, the protesters were waiting for him in the corri-
dor, but Wickhoff stayed in his university office, and af-
ter half an hour the protesters left. On the following day,
the rector of the university condemned the demonstra-
tion and warned against organising others.56 That did not
stop the protesters, and on 26 October 1905 a demonstra-
tion against Dvorak took place during his first lecture. The
press reported that the university had been expecting the
protests,57 and there were security guards in front of the
lecture hall who only admitted people with a valid student
card. Since many of the people protesting against Dvorak's
appointment were students at the university, most ofthem
connected with the 'Burschenshaft' association, many pro-
testors were able to get into the lecture hall. As 'Die Zeit'
reported, almost four hundred more German-nationalist
students gathered in the corridors outside the hall sing-
ing German-nationalist songs, and as soon as Dvorak be-
gan his lecture, the students inside the lecture hall started
shouting insults at him, and they had even brought toy
trumpets to disturb his speech.58 This went on for almost
the whole duration of the lecture.59
Another demonstration took place on 28 October,60
when Dvorak held his second lecture. He and Wickhoff
later cancelled their scheduled classes when the univer-
sity had to be shut down in early November61 after the
demonstrations went beyond what were deemed custom-
ary displays of dissatisfaction: two days after a protest was
organised in the main lecture hall on 5 November 190562
fights erupted between German-nationalist students and
55 'Eine Demonstration auf der Universitat', Neue Freie Presse, 24 Oc-
tober 1905, p. 4; 'Demonstration gegen Hofrat Wickhoff', Die Zeit,
24 October 1905, p. 2.
56 'Demonstrationen gegen Hofrat Wickhof' [sic!], Das Vaterland,
25 October 1905, p. 5.
57 'Eine neuerliche Demonstration auf der Universitat', Neue Freie
Presse, 26 October 1905, p. 4; 'Demonstrationen an der Universi-
tat', Die Zeit, 26 October 1905, p. 2.
58 'Die Kindertrompete auf der Universitat', Reichspost, 28 October
1905, p. 4.
59 See also, 'Der Rector und der deutsche Hochschulausschuss', Neue
Freie Presse, 28 October 1905, p. 9; 'Die Vorgange an der Universi-
tat', Das Vaterland, 10 November 1905, p. 5.
60 'Von der Wiener Universitat', Das Vaterland, 28 Oktober 1905, p. 5.
61 'Die Vorgange an der Universitat', Das Vaterland, 11 November
1905, p. 3.
62 'Die Protestversammlung der deutschnationalen Studenten', Die
Zeit, 11 November 1905, p. 5.
non-German students on the ramp at the entrance to the
university building on the Ringstrasse.63 Around the same
time, protests against Dvorak's professorship in Vienna
were being organised in Prague as well.64 In a letter to
Susta from 29 November 1905,65 Dvorak wrote that he and
Wickhoff knew who was behind the November protests -
it was neither Dreger nor Neuwirth, but a history profes-
sor at the Institute of Austrian Historical Research named
Alphons Dopsch (his name is omitted from the published
version of the letter, because he was still alive when the
letter was published in 1943).66 Since his student years
Dopsch had been involved in German-nationalist circles
and he probably used the Dvorak affair to foreground the
question of the 'Germanness' of the University of Vienna.
For these reasons Dvorak suspected that Dopsch was also
the person who had initiated Berger's interpellation in the
Viennese Imperial Council.67
As has been shown, the dramatic events at the begin-
ning of the fall semester in 1905 were recorded in Dvorak's
letters to Susta and they are partly traceable in his letters
to Kramaf.68 Nevertheless, most of the information about
what was going on at the time must be sought from the
daily press, because at that time Dvorak was with Wickhoff
in Vienna and they probably discussed everything in per-
son. Luckily, we also have some memoirs from Dvorak's
students at that time - besides the well-known text by Er-
ica Tietze-Conrat, in which she writes that Dvorak sug-
gested she not attend his first lecture because, he said, 'it
will be grim',69 the recollections of Dvorak's student Josef
Borovicka were discovered just a few years ago and these
have been published.70 He remembered the fights on the
university ramp and he mentioned that the university
closed after that. Borovicka added that in the middle of
November political pressure led to the reopening of the
university and Dvorak started to lecture again. But this
time no one protested during his lectures, because
'Wickhoff entered the lecture hall, he strode very slowly
through the hall and sat down on a chair in front of the
teacher's desk; [...] then Dvorak entered, and with him
like his Paladins the whole art-historical apparatus [and]
the teacher listened with attention and affection to his
student for the whole hour (fillius spiritualis they called
63 'Die Vorgange an der Universitat', Neue Freie Presse, 5 November
1905, p. 11; 'Die Vorgange an der Universitat', Das Vaterland, 7 No-
vember 1905, p. 5.
64 Ibidem.
65 aiah jp, 'Dvorak to Susta on 29 November 1905'.
66 Cf. M. Dvorak, Listy 0 zivote a umeni, p. 152 (as in note 6). Alphons
Dopsch died in 1953 at the age of 85. See Lhotsky, pp. 228-231.
67 aiah jp, 'Dvorak to Susta on 29 November 1905'.
68 ang vk, 'Dvorak to Kramaf on 28 September 1904'.
69 E. Tietze-Conrat, 'I then asked myself: what is the Wiener
Schule? Erinnerungen an die Studienjahre in Wien', Wiener Jahr-
buch fur Kunstgeschichte, 59, 2011, pp. 207-218, here 213.
70 J. Borovicka, 'Muj ucitel Max Dvorak', Sbornik archivnich praci,
2, 2020, pp. 507-536.
of noise had been made but that no one had actually found
any reason to block his appointment. That was good news
for both Dvorak and Wickhoff, but it also meant that, as
anticipated, there would be demonstrations.
The first demonstration was held against Wickhoff
at his opening lecture on 24 October 1905 in a corridor
inside the Institute of Austrian Historical Research.55
The protestors sang German nationalist songs, through
which Wickhoff continued his lecture. When he finished
his talk, the protesters were waiting for him in the corri-
dor, but Wickhoff stayed in his university office, and af-
ter half an hour the protesters left. On the following day,
the rector of the university condemned the demonstra-
tion and warned against organising others.56 That did not
stop the protesters, and on 26 October 1905 a demonstra-
tion against Dvorak took place during his first lecture. The
press reported that the university had been expecting the
protests,57 and there were security guards in front of the
lecture hall who only admitted people with a valid student
card. Since many of the people protesting against Dvorak's
appointment were students at the university, most ofthem
connected with the 'Burschenshaft' association, many pro-
testors were able to get into the lecture hall. As 'Die Zeit'
reported, almost four hundred more German-nationalist
students gathered in the corridors outside the hall sing-
ing German-nationalist songs, and as soon as Dvorak be-
gan his lecture, the students inside the lecture hall started
shouting insults at him, and they had even brought toy
trumpets to disturb his speech.58 This went on for almost
the whole duration of the lecture.59
Another demonstration took place on 28 October,60
when Dvorak held his second lecture. He and Wickhoff
later cancelled their scheduled classes when the univer-
sity had to be shut down in early November61 after the
demonstrations went beyond what were deemed custom-
ary displays of dissatisfaction: two days after a protest was
organised in the main lecture hall on 5 November 190562
fights erupted between German-nationalist students and
55 'Eine Demonstration auf der Universitat', Neue Freie Presse, 24 Oc-
tober 1905, p. 4; 'Demonstration gegen Hofrat Wickhoff', Die Zeit,
24 October 1905, p. 2.
56 'Demonstrationen gegen Hofrat Wickhof' [sic!], Das Vaterland,
25 October 1905, p. 5.
57 'Eine neuerliche Demonstration auf der Universitat', Neue Freie
Presse, 26 October 1905, p. 4; 'Demonstrationen an der Universi-
tat', Die Zeit, 26 October 1905, p. 2.
58 'Die Kindertrompete auf der Universitat', Reichspost, 28 October
1905, p. 4.
59 See also, 'Der Rector und der deutsche Hochschulausschuss', Neue
Freie Presse, 28 October 1905, p. 9; 'Die Vorgange an der Universi-
tat', Das Vaterland, 10 November 1905, p. 5.
60 'Von der Wiener Universitat', Das Vaterland, 28 Oktober 1905, p. 5.
61 'Die Vorgange an der Universitat', Das Vaterland, 11 November
1905, p. 3.
62 'Die Protestversammlung der deutschnationalen Studenten', Die
Zeit, 11 November 1905, p. 5.
non-German students on the ramp at the entrance to the
university building on the Ringstrasse.63 Around the same
time, protests against Dvorak's professorship in Vienna
were being organised in Prague as well.64 In a letter to
Susta from 29 November 1905,65 Dvorak wrote that he and
Wickhoff knew who was behind the November protests -
it was neither Dreger nor Neuwirth, but a history profes-
sor at the Institute of Austrian Historical Research named
Alphons Dopsch (his name is omitted from the published
version of the letter, because he was still alive when the
letter was published in 1943).66 Since his student years
Dopsch had been involved in German-nationalist circles
and he probably used the Dvorak affair to foreground the
question of the 'Germanness' of the University of Vienna.
For these reasons Dvorak suspected that Dopsch was also
the person who had initiated Berger's interpellation in the
Viennese Imperial Council.67
As has been shown, the dramatic events at the begin-
ning of the fall semester in 1905 were recorded in Dvorak's
letters to Susta and they are partly traceable in his letters
to Kramaf.68 Nevertheless, most of the information about
what was going on at the time must be sought from the
daily press, because at that time Dvorak was with Wickhoff
in Vienna and they probably discussed everything in per-
son. Luckily, we also have some memoirs from Dvorak's
students at that time - besides the well-known text by Er-
ica Tietze-Conrat, in which she writes that Dvorak sug-
gested she not attend his first lecture because, he said, 'it
will be grim',69 the recollections of Dvorak's student Josef
Borovicka were discovered just a few years ago and these
have been published.70 He remembered the fights on the
university ramp and he mentioned that the university
closed after that. Borovicka added that in the middle of
November political pressure led to the reopening of the
university and Dvorak started to lecture again. But this
time no one protested during his lectures, because
'Wickhoff entered the lecture hall, he strode very slowly
through the hall and sat down on a chair in front of the
teacher's desk; [...] then Dvorak entered, and with him
like his Paladins the whole art-historical apparatus [and]
the teacher listened with attention and affection to his
student for the whole hour (fillius spiritualis they called
63 'Die Vorgange an der Universitat', Neue Freie Presse, 5 November
1905, p. 11; 'Die Vorgange an der Universitat', Das Vaterland, 7 No-
vember 1905, p. 5.
64 Ibidem.
65 aiah jp, 'Dvorak to Susta on 29 November 1905'.
66 Cf. M. Dvorak, Listy 0 zivote a umeni, p. 152 (as in note 6). Alphons
Dopsch died in 1953 at the age of 85. See Lhotsky, pp. 228-231.
67 aiah jp, 'Dvorak to Susta on 29 November 1905'.
68 ang vk, 'Dvorak to Kramaf on 28 September 1904'.
69 E. Tietze-Conrat, 'I then asked myself: what is the Wiener
Schule? Erinnerungen an die Studienjahre in Wien', Wiener Jahr-
buch fur Kunstgeschichte, 59, 2011, pp. 207-218, here 213.
70 J. Borovicka, 'Muj ucitel Max Dvorak', Sbornik archivnich praci,
2, 2020, pp. 507-536.