1920s: Popular Entertainment in the First Republic: Singspiel Halls, Cabaret and Vaudeville

The tradition of Viennese folk singers can be traced back to Dear Augustin, known from the 17th century (children’s) song. Until the interwar period, a lively scene of vaudeville, singspiel hall and cabaret developed from the popular entertainment provided by folk singers in the taverns of the 19th century. Often devalued with terms such as “light muse” or “kleinkunst”, cabaret, singspiel halls and vaudeville shows offered individual performers as well as groups a stage upon which to address daily politics, social norms and prejudices. Genres developed mutually and were interlocked with one another. One example of this interdependent development is the “Jewish Political Cabaret” Dear Augustin, a cabaret of the interwar period that shaped Stella Kadmon, among others. The Literatur am Naschmarkt, the ABC (“Bretteln am Alsergrund”), the Varieté Réklame or the Max und Moritz were just some of the venues of this thriving scene, which was almost entirely destroyed and whose stars were expelled and murdered by the Nazis.