The “Bärenhöhle” – a secret anti-Semitic group of professors in the inter-war period

After the First World War a numerus clausus for Jewish students and teachers was repeatedly demanded. Their number was supposed to be restricted to ten percent each. Since this contradicted the principle of equality established in the constitution, the anti-Semites had to find a different way to accomplish their goals. Among the teachers, this happened via networks such as the Spann-Circle (at the Faculty of Law and Political Science) or the covertly operating “Bärenhöhle” (“Bear Cave”) at the Philosophical Faculty. The intervention and collusion of these groups made it nearly impossible for Jewish or leftist scientists to be habilitated or appointed at the University of Vienna from the early 1920s onwards. Started by anti-Semitic paleontologist Othenio Abel, the Bärenhöhle counted several prominent humanities scholars who supported each other and partially remained influential after 1938 and 1945.