Join us for a book talk with Richard Cockett, senior editor at The Economist, and author of VIENNA | How the City of Ideas Created the Modern World.

The event will be followed by an Austrian wine reception.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Viennese ideas saturate the modern world, from California architecture to Hollywood Westerns, modern advertising to shopping malls, nuclear fission to fitted kitchens. In these and many other aspects of our world, Viennese influence can be detected. With the rise of fascism, many thinkers and visionaries, who had called Vienna home, dispersed across the world, where their ideas continued to have profound impact. Richard Cockett traces Vienna’s rich intellectual history from psychoanalysis to Reaganomics, and encompasses everything from the communist rebels of Red Vienna to the neoliberal economists of the Austrian School. This is the panoramic account of how Austria's capital significantly shaped the modern world—and how we all remain inescapably Viennese.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Richard Cockett is a senior editor at The Economist and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Before joining The Economist he was a lecturer at the University of London in History. Vienna: How the City of Ideas Created the Modern World is his eighth book.

The book talk will be followed by an Austrian wine reception.

Image © Richard Cockett

Mark your calendars for an evening of enlightenment, empathy, and exploration. Join us for a staged reading of CONFERENCE AT EVIAN by Leon Weintraub, directed by Yvonne Paretzky, and let history's echoes guide us towards a more profound understanding of our shared humanity. The reading will be held in English.

Amidst a growing humanitarian crisis, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt convened representatives from over thirty nations at the Hotel Royal in Evian, France, in July 1938. Attendees of the Conference at Evian were to address the problem of hundreds of thousands of German and Austrian Jewish citizens in dire need to escape Nazi persecution, and to devise a rescue plan.

Drawing from official conference transcripts and the poignant narrative of the novel "The Mission," by Hans Habe, this staged reading will immerse us in the ethical, political, and religious conundrums of the time. Through the lens of professional actors, accompanied by immersive projections and sound recordings, we will experience the urgency and complexity of the ultimately doomed Evian Conference.

The event is followed by an Austrian wine reception.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Dr. Leon Weintraub had an almost 30-year career as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service.  He served at U.S. diplomatic missions in South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. He also had a variety of Washington assignments, with most of his tours having a focus on political reporting as well as human rights and UN Security Council issues. His tours included assignments as a delegate to international conferences, including one on the establishment of a new Afghanistan government after the Taliban was overthrown following 9/11, and another on the establishment of the Kimberley Process in 2003 to deal with “conflict diamonds.” 

After retiring from the Foreign Service, Dr. Weintraub was an adjunct professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and then served for ten years as the Washington director of a University of Wisconsin program that brought students to Washington for internships in international affairs.

Leon Weintraub was born and raised in New York City. He received his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College after serving in the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers in Liberia, West Africa. After his Peace Corps service, he received advanced degrees in International Affairs and Development from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Wisconsin – Madison. While in the Department of State, Dr. Weintraub received a Master of Science Degree from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (now the Eisenhower School) of the National Defense University.

Yvonne Paretzky is an actor, director, writer, and producer. During the recent actors’ strike she kept her creative juices flowing writing a feature screenplay and directing. Her directorial work was recognized with a nomination for a Helen Award for Best Ensemble Performance. In January she directed a multimedia play with 26 cast members, choreographers, videographers, composers, and set designers. Currently, she is gearing up for her next project as the executive producer of the US premiere of “Lowlands,” a play by German Nobel Prize-winning author Herta Müller. A member of Actors Equity, Yvonne has performed on many area stages, including Folger Shakespeare Theater, Atlas Center for the Performing Arts, and the Kennedy Center. She earned a BA in journalism and philosophy from The George Washington University and an MA in public policy from Antioch University. Yvonne is vice president of ExPats Theatre, a winner of the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre.

ABOUT THE PLAY

A Reflection on History: The Possibilities at the Evian Conference (by Leon Weintraub)

Just a few months after the March 1938 German Anschluss, or annexation of Austria, over 30 nations met July 6-15 in Evian, France, to discuss the urgent issue of dealing with the large number of Jews, particularly from Austria, who were desperately seeking to emigrate. 

As the conference began, the delegates were almost unanimous in condemning the harsh measures imposed by the Nazi regime against the Jewish population of Austria. The anti-Semitic measures which had been imposed incrementally over several years in Germany, were put into place in Austria in sudden and dramatic steps.

But the collective condemnation of German measures did not, alas, lead to any significant accomplishments. Apart from a small number of Jews who were permitted to emigrate to the Dominican Republic, none of the major democratic countries increased their refugee or immigration quotas, which had been limited for some time. Apart from planning for another conference, the sessions at Evian accomplished nothing beyond putting the plight of European Jews, for a limited time, on the world’s agenda.

Conference at Evian deals with an intriguing, yet little known, feature of the international meeting: the presence, though limited to the sidelines, of Dr. Heinrich Neumann von Héthárs, a prominent Viennese Jewish physician. While Dr. Neumann’s attendance was noted in the press, the reason for his presence is not clear, though there may have been a very specific goal. As fleshed out in a novel about the conference, The Mission, by Hans Habe (1965), and supported by some research, Dr. Neumann was sent by the Nazi authorities in Austria to convince the delegates at Evian to ask their governments to agree to a German proposal: the Third Reich would allow all Jews in Austria (and eventually Germany) to emigrate, if the countries represented at Evian will accept them and if those same countries will make ransom payments for them to the German government.  

Although Neumann’s presence in Evian during the conference was public knowledge, it is unclear if, in fact, he ever did meet with any of the delegates and present the proposal. The Mission and Conference at Evian present to you a version of history that may be true, illustrating the heroic measures taken by Dr. Neumann to accomplish his mission.          

Image © USHMM 

Join us for an enlightening and thought-provoking discussion on Surviving the Anthropocene and Securing Human Well-being in the 21st Century, featuring distinguished speaker, Professor Dr. Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber, Director General of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, Austria, and one of the leading voices in climate science and sustainability. With a rich background in climate science and research, Dr. Schellnhuber has been instrumental in shaping global conversations on climate change and its impacts on human societies.

In this exclusive event in cooperation with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), Dr. Schellnhuber will discuss the challenges posed by the Anthropocene – the age when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet's climate and ecosystems – and strategies for securing human wellbeing in the face of unprecedented environmental changes. Innovative solutions and pathways towards a more sustainable future will also be explored.

The lecture will be followed by an Austrian wine reception.

ABOUT DR. HANS JOACHIM SCHELLNHUBER

Hans Joachim ('John') Schellnhuber currently serves as the twelfth Director General of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). Prior to joining IIASA he led the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) from 1992 to 2018 as their founding director. He also served as research director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in Great Britain from 2001 to 2005.

Since 2019, Schellnhuber has been focusing his scientific work and communication skills on the transformation of the built environment, with a specific emphasis on the climate restoration potential of regenerative architecture. In this context, he established Bauhaus Earth as a not-for-profit company and became a member of the High-Level Roundtable of the New European Bauhaus initiative. In addition, he acted as a scientific advisor to a number of eminent public and religious leaders, institutions and government bodies and contributed in various ways to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

He is a member of numerous learned societies, including the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the German National Academy Leopoldina, the US National Academy of Sciences, the Academia Europaea, and the Academy of Athens. Throughout his career, Schellnhuber has received several notable awards, such as the German Environmental Prize (2007), the Volvo Environmental Prize (2011), the Blue Planet Prize (2017), and the Ratio et Spes Prize (2021). In 2022, he was also awarded the Honorary Edition of the German Sustainability Prize for his enormous influence on science, politics, and business by developing and communicating sustainable solutions to the global environmental crisis.

In recognition of his achievements, Schellnhuber received several prestigious honors, including being named a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II (2004). He was also awarded the Order of Merit of the State of Brandenburg (2008), the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2011), and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, of the Japanese Government (2020). In 2021, he received the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and became Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur of the French Republic.

Schellnhuber studied physics and mathematics at the University of Regensburg, where he also completed his doctorate in quantum physics. Following a postdoctoral position at the Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara, he held full professorships at the Universities of Oldenburg and Potsdam, as well as at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. Additionally, he was engaged in numerous visiting professorships and received honorary doctorates from the University of Copenhagen (2011), the Technical University Berlin (2012), and the University of Exeter (2022). He has published some 300 scientific articles and books and is listed as a Highly Cited Researcher (Cross Field) by Clarivate.

Image © IIASA | Matthias Silveri

The Stoclet House in Brussels (completed in 1911) is one of the masterpieces of the Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann and testimony to the creative genius of the Wiener Werkstätte, a group of artists and craftsmen.  Its highlight is the dining room with the famous mosaic frieze by Gustav Klimt that represents a precious and never withering garden. The utopian idea that art should permeate all walks of life and all human activities, reached its glory in this special ensemble that has been inscribed on UNESCO´s World heritage list in 2009. In her research on Josef Hoffmann´s ensembles, Anette Freytag has brought forward a method to analyze them from a “garden-viewpoint”. During the lecture, the audience is taken on a ‘promenade’ through the Stoclet House that is not open to the public and represents a lost world of utopian ideals that have been developed around 1900.

ABOUT DR. ANETTE FREYTAG

Dr. Anette Freytag is a Professor of the History and Theory of Landscape Architecture at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University. She is the author of The Landscapes of Dieter Kienast (2021, J. B. Jackson Book Prize 2022), The Gardens of La Gara (2018, European Garden Book Award 2019), and several other books and numerous peer reviewed papers and articles. She is an expert of the work of Josef Hoffmann, Gustav Klimt, and the Wiener Werkstätte, and wrote a highly regarded study on the garden of the Stoclet House in Brussels (1905-1911) that contributed to the inscription of the ensemble on the UNESO World Heritage List. Dr. Freytag’s research focuses on designed landscapes from the 19th century to the contemporary practice with a particular focus on topology, phenomenology, biophilia, and walking. In 2019, she co-founded the Arts Integration Research Collaborative (AIR), which prioritizes creative placemaking to foster spatial justice through projects that seek safe access to nature for all. Before joining Rutgers University, Dr. Freytag taught at the universities of Basel (Institute of Art History), Innsbruck (Institute of Urban Design and Institute of Art History), KU Leuven (MAS Conservation), and the ETH Zurich (Department of Architecture), from where she holds a Doctor of Sciences and the ETH Medal Award for Outstanding Scientific Research.

Image © MAK, Wien