Despite the work of church historian Karl W. Schwarz, the academic study of the history of Protestantism in Austria in the twentieth century is still in its infancy. As a religious minority in the Habsburg Empire and, from 1918, in the newly founded state of Austria, the twentieth century was a phase of permanent change, reorientation, and, in some cases, politicization for Protestants. As early as the end of the nineteenth century, parts of the German-speaking Protestant population came increasingly ideologically closer to the German Empire. An identity as “German” on the one hand and increasing racism with strong anti-Semitic traits became parts of the Austrian population in Austria from then on. The Republic of Austria, which emerged in 1918 and was perceived by many contemporary observers as weak and barely viable, enjoyed little support within the Protestant milieu. As in Germany in the 1920s and early 1930s, right-wing anti-democratic political forces enjoyed steadily growing support, especially among the Protestant parts of the population. The parliamentary coup and the establishment of the fascist Austrian corporative state in 1933/34 marked a drastic turning point for the Protestant minority in Austria: The corporative state relied on the Catholic Church to the detriment of religious minorities and decidedly set itself apart from Nazi Germany.

This is where the 777-page doctoral thesis by Viennese church historian Leonhard Jungwirth comes in. The author has set himself the goal of comprehensively examining the history of Austrian Protestantism between 1933 and 1968. Jungwirth’s main aim is to reconstruct the different phases of the politicization and depoliticization of Protestantism and their effects on the forms of action of the Protestant church in Austria. Jungwirth defines politicization as a change in political commitment and the accompanying change in self-image (17). With his book, which is based on many archival sources, the author not only aims to reappraise the history of Protestantism in Austria in the middle of the twentieth century. The book is also intended to contribute to the development of parts of Austrian society and the changes in political discourse (18). Jungwirth is also able to explain the temporal limitation of the examination to 1968 in a comprehensible manner: From 1968 onward, there is a strong generational conflict within the Protestant church in Austria. However, Jungwirth has already dealt with this development in detail in his thesis, written in 2013. It is, therefore, only logical to end the book with the beginning of this generational conflict in 1968.

J. divides his work into four main chapters: in the first 200 pages, he describes in detail the developments of the church before and during the Third Reich. The author attempts to explain why there was such a strong affinity to National Socialism within the Protestant milieu and the Protestant church in Austria. Even during the period of Austrian fascism, there were Protestant-influenced regions that showed a disproportionate affinity to National Socialism compared to other regions without a strong Protestant influence. It is refreshing to read that the author does not only examine external factors for the development of such an affinity, as has long been the case in theologically influenced church historiography. J. also explicitly addresses the ecclesiastical and theological factors that led to the closeness. That is why the church was already being decried in the 1930s as the “Nazi church.”

Only the description of National Socialism as an “anti-Christian surveillance state” (184) is out of date. A short time later, J. writes quite correctly that National Socialism represented a claim to totality and absoluteness for all areas within the Third Reich (188). Such a claim explains the actions against certain individuals and institutions of the churches, but also against trade unions, political parties, other religious communities (by no means all of them!), and many other areas as well. This is the defining characteristic of a totalitarian worldview. However, wanting to derive an anti-Christian attitude from this is unfortunately a continuation of the church’s post-war apologetics and has long been repeated outside of theological church historiography. It must be clearly stated, however, that this small objection remains the reviewer’s only critical comment.

In the second main section, J. examines the church’s actions between 1945 and 1968. As a direct reaction to the National Socialist era, the church was depoliticized – which, together with its own denazification – was interpreted as an act of penance. In the 1950s, however, there was an increasing stylization within the church – as well as in Austrian society as a whole – as a victim of National Socialism. Instead of taking a critical look at its own past, the victim myth prevailed, which still characterizes parts of Austrian society today. Accordingly, a critical approach to one’s own anti-Semitism was also lacking in large parts of the Protestant church at this time.

The third part focuses on the development of a new identity for the Protestant church in Austria. Instead of the hitherto strong orientation toward Germany, the church was trying to develop a new, Austrian identity. This is exemplified – and explained in detail by J. – in its dealings with the Catholic Church toward an ecumenical coexistence, which, however, was also subject to many strains in the 1950s. Against the backdrop of social and political disputes on the subject of abortion, the Church became increasingly politicized again from the late 1950s onwards. The insistence on a strongly conservative stance was to contribute to the emergence of a conflict between the generations and between the church base and church leadership in the course of the 1968 movement.

The final and, in comparison to the other parts, very short fourth part gives the reader an overview of the generational conflict that has taken place and the resulting changes for the church since the 1970s.

It is certainly no exaggeration to claim that J. has created the definitive book on the history of the Protestant church and society in the twentieth century with his doctoral thesis. The large number of sources and research literature consulted leaves hardly any aspect of the years 1934 to 1968 unnoticed. At the same time, the book provides the basis for further research into Protestantism in Austria in the twentieth century.