author
Hugo Bettauer
1872–1925
A sharp, bestselling Viennese writer and journalist, he used satire and popular fiction to challenge the prejudice and turmoil of his time. Best known today for The City Without Jews, he wrote with urgency, humor, and a clear eye for social hypocrisy.
2 Audiobooks
Die Stadt ohne Juden: Ein Roman von übermorgen
by Hugo Bettauer
The city without Jews : A novel of our time
by Hugo Bettauer
About the author
Born in Baden near Vienna in 1872, Hugo Bettauer became one of the most widely read Austrian writers of the early 20th century. He worked as a journalist as well as a novelist, and his books often mixed entertainment with bold social criticism. During his lifetime, many of his works were popular enough to be adapted for film.
His best-known novel, The City Without Jews (1922), is a pointed satire about antisemitism and political scapegoating. Bettauer also wrote about urban life, inequality, and the moral tensions of postwar Vienna, bringing controversial subjects to a broad readership in a lively, accessible style.
He was murdered in Vienna in 1925 after being targeted by a Nazi supporter, a killing that reflected the violent political climate of the period. Today he is remembered not only as a successful author, but as a fearless public voice whose work remains strikingly relevant.