Professor Bernhardi in Vienna: An Exhibition Exploring Censorship, Antisemitism, and the 1918 Premiere

This exhibition entry details the historical context and censorship surrounding the 1918 Viennese premiere of Arthur Schnitzler's play 'Professor Bernhardi'. It explores the play's controversial themes of antisemitism and abortion, which led to its initial ban by Viennese authorities.

The entry examines the 1918 Viennese premiere of Arthur Schnitzler's dramatic work, "Professor Bernhardi." Originally submitted to the censorship authorities in Vienna in the autumn of 1912, the play was subsequently banned due to fears of public unrest. Its world premiere consequently took place in Berlin at the "Kleines Theater" late in 1912. "Professor Bernhardi" was finally staged in Vienna after the end of the First World War, in December 1918, marking it as one of the earliest pieces performed in the newly established Republic. The play's ban stemmed from its open engagement with sensitive topics such as antisemitism and abortion. In the narrative, the character Professor Bernhardi, a Jew, denies a Catholic priest access to a dying patient who had undergone an abortion. This refusal of last rites escalates into a conflict between Bernhardi and a Catholic doctor, who are also rivals for the directorship of the clinic. The "Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung" summarized the situation on December 23, 1918, highlighting the controversy as 'Professor Bernhardi, a Jew, denies a Catholic priest access to the deathbed.'

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