Moritz Szeps

Moritz Szeps (5 November 1835, Busk – 9 August 1902, Vienna) was an Austrian newspaper tycoon who founded and published the Neues Wiener Tagblatt (1867-1886), Wiener Tagblatt (1886-1894), and Das Wissen für Alle (1900).[1]

Moritz Szeps; caricature by László von Frecskay from Die Bombe (1877)

Early life

Szeps was born into a Jewish family in Busk, Ukraine in 1835. His father was a doctor, and he initially studied medicine in Lemberg. After going to Vienna to continue his studies, he decided to change careers and became a journalist instead.[2]

Journalism and publishing

From 1855 to 1867, he was editor-in-chief of the Morgen-Post. In 1867, following the resignation of most of its employees, he took over the Neues Wiener Tagblatt, which became the leading a liberal newspaper in Austria. As a friend of Crown Prince Rudolf,[1] Szeps published his political writings anonymously. Szeps, however, was not shy about making direct attacks on his opponents and critics. By 1876, he was sufficiently successful to build his own home, the "Palais Szeps", which is now the residence of the Swedish Ambassador.[3]

Eventually, his financial backers wanted him to be more cautious and, in 1886, eased him out of the company. With the help of a Hungarian financier, he purchased the Morgen-Post and changed its name to the Wiener Tagblatt (after 1901, Wiener Morgenzeitung). The paper eventually failed to meet expectations, and was discontinued in 1905.

Like the Crown Prince, he felt that Austria should emulate France, rather than reactionary Prussia. Therefore, he had numerous contacts in Paris, including Georges Clemenceau, who was also a newspaper editor at that time. This was met with fierce opposition by the Pro-German nationalists, who were increasingly Anti-Semitic. When the Crown Prince died in 1889, the liberal cause suffered a serious setback and Szeps's finances dwindled accordingly.

Legacy

Szeps' daughter, Berta Zuckerkandl, became a well known writer, journalist and art critic.[1][4] Berta and her husband Emil Zuckerhandl created a brilliant salon for artists and writers that was at the center of cultural life.[5] His other daughter, Sophie, married Paul Clemenceau, the brother of the prime minister of France.[6][7]

References
The Palais Szeps in 2019
  1. "Berta Zuckerkandl". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  2. "Moritz Szeps". www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at (in German (formal address)). Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  3. Buildings in Alsergrund @ the Austria-Forum
  4. Winer, Leah; Jha, Pankhuri; Cowan, Scott W.; Yeo, Charles J.; Goldstein, Scott D. (2016-03-01). "Emil Zuckerkandl, M.D. (1849–1910): Bridging Anatomic Study and the Operating Room Table". The American Surgeon. 82 (3): 189–191. doi:10.1177/000313481608200309. ISSN 0003-1348. PMID 27099052. S2CID 704871.
  5. "KUNSTRAUB UND RESTITUTION Erinnerung – Enteignung – Entschädigung".
  6. "Sophie Clemenceau-Szeps (1862-1937)". Mahler Foundation. 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  7. "Paul Clemenceau (1857-1946)". Mahler Foundation. 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2022-02-23.

Further reading
  • "Széps, Moritz (Moriz)". In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Vol. 14, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2015, ISBN 978-3-7001-7794-4, p. 148 f. (Direct links to "p. 148", "p. 149")
  • Nathalie Beer: Das Leben und Wirken des Journalisten Moriz Szeps (1834–1902). Masterarbeit Universität Wien – Historisch-Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Wien 2013 (Online)
  • Kurt Paupié: Moritz Szeps. Persönlichkeit, Werk und Beziehungen zum Kaiserhaus. Dissertation, University of Vienna, 1949
  • Lucian O. Meysels: In meinem Salon ist Österreich. Berta Zuckerkandl und ihre Zeit. Herold, Wien/München 1984, Edition INW, Illustrierte Neue Welt, Vienna, 1997, ISBN 3-9500356-0-5
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