Karl Johann Braun von Braunthal's drama Don Juan (1842) and the German translation of Felicien Mallefille's novel Les Mernoires de Don Juan (1852) were on the Austrian lists of banned books. In both cases, in addition to the immoral main character, the vehement criticism of Catholicism was decisive for the ban. Braun von Braunthal, who was compared by literary critics to the authors of the group of Young Germany, let his heroic figure evade divine justice. Feticien Mallefille presents Don Juan, ostensibly based on historical sources. Although highly objectionable during the Vormarz period, the novel made a lasting contribution to the popularization of the Don Juan figure until the late 20th century.

The first phase of research on censorship in the Habsburg monarchy can be located in the decades around 1900.Major archival documents were edited, for example material on theater censorship by Karl Glossy.The researchers of the early phase were for the most part declared opponents of all censorship; one need only recall the polemical writings of Heinrich Hubert Houben.If one disregards the work of the outstanding censorship researcher Julius Marx and a few other individual studies of merit, interest in censorship subsequently waned 1 .It is only in the last two decades that a breath of fresh air has been felt again in the field.This may be related to the recently renewed discussion of censorship and censorship-like processes concerning printed works, but above all the internet in various parts of the world.Likewise, disputes about language regulations and taboos concerning supposedly discriminating expressions up to the so-called Cancel culture are on the agenda.As far as the study of censorship in the Habsburg monarchy is concerned, new questions can now be asked and new perspectives opened up on the basis of the pool of facts that is already at hand as a result of preliminary studies.This collection of essays, compiled by Marijan Dović, following a panel discussion at the conference of the European Society of Comparative Literature in Rome in September 2022, bears witness to this.First of all, it should be noted that until a few years ago, censorship research focused strongly on individual cases of prominent authors and works, on the one hand, and on Vienna, and thus on the headquarters of the monarchy, on the other.However, the monarchy consisted of numerous lands and administrative units, 2 a number of which had national and literary languages other than German.1 The older studies are cited and listed in (Bachleitner, 2022).2 The total number of lands fluctuated considerably during the long 19th century.The 1910 census distinguished fifteen lands in Cisleithania, to which were added Hungary as well as Croatia and Slavonia, and

In the so-called hereditary lands as well as in Lombardy-Venetia and Bohemia with their old cultural centers like Vienna, Prague, Venice, or Milan and a fully developed middle class, theater activity was much more substantial than in the other Habsburg lands.In the German-speaking territories, this activity was concentrated in Hoftheater (court theaters).Vienna, which will be the focal point of this chapter, was a European center of courtly entertainment offerings, and the stage repertoire at its multinational court during the eighteenth century primarily comprised Italian opera and French drama.In addition, there was a tradition of popular theater existing since the early eighteenth century that was originally entirely in the hands of travelling companies; a permanent theater with its own ensemble was first established in Vienna in 1708 when Italian comedians founded the Komödienhaus, which was soon renamed Kärntnertortheater.It was at this location that Joseph Anton Stranitzky and Gottfried Prehauser performed their Haupt-und Staatsaktionen, a type of farcical play popular in the German-speaking territories during the first half of the eighteenth century, as well as other vernacular drama beginning in 1712.For a long time, the Kärntnertortheater remained the only theater house in Vienna besides the Hoftheater, where Italian operas were performed.Only during the final third of the eighteenth century were further privately managed and commercially oriented theaters established-and it was in this context that a systematic form of drama censorship was introduced as well.Until then, theater had been viewed by the authorities as a pure entertainment medium of modest societal value; it was considered at most able to provide solace in difficult times and channel the desire for occasional debauchery.The municipal administration was responsible for approving and monitoring theater performances, but since scripts did not exist and the actors extemporized, censorship in the strict sense of the word was impossible.Rather, the producers and theater managers had to attempt to stay within unspecified boundaries of decency and morality to prevent the forbiddance of further performances.In 1761, the Kärntnertortheater was bought up by the court, which facilitated control over its repertoire.A short time later, in 1776, Joseph ii abolished the monopoly of the two existing theaters, opening the door to an expansion of

The influence of censorship on the intellectual and political life in the Habsburg Monarchy during the period under scrutiny can hardly be overstated. This study examines the institutional foundations, operating principles, and results of the censorial activity through analysis of the prohibition lists and examination of the censors themselves. The effects of censorship on the authors, publishers, and booksellers of the time are illustrated with the help of contemporary documents. Numerous case studies focus on individual works forbidden by the censors: Romanticists like Ludwig Tieck and E. T. A. Hoffmann and even authors of classic German literature like Wieland, Goethe, and Schiller saw their works slashed, as did writers of popular French and English novels and plays. An annex documents the most important regulations along with a selection of censorial reports.

The censorship practiced in absolutist-ruled states was intended to ensure that virtue was rewarded and vice punished in texts and on stages; even 'regular' drama sought to promote morality and good manners. Storm and Stress drama oscillated between conformity and rupture with social and moral norms: The Hofmeister in J. M. R. Lenz's eponymous play fails in his resistance to social constraints and appears in an ironic light; H. L. Wagner, in his Kindermorderin, indicts society for the unjust condemnation of the main character, but the play concludes with a conciliatory twist; F. Schiller's Robbers prefigured the transgression of virtually all moral precepts, but in the end Karl Moor purges himself. The pressure of censorship and the taste of the audience caused self-censorship, three central pieces of the storm and urge, usually associated with rebellion against social norms, prove to be compatible with the 'drama of obedience': irony and happy endings at least partially remove the ground from criticism.

Emile Verhaeren, considered by many contemporary critics as the most German among French-language poets, became one of Stefan Zweig's favourite writers soon after the turn of the century. His vitalist interpretation of Verhaeren's poems, highlighting life, action, and a pseudo-religious belief in modernity, was directed against the aestheticism and scepticism reigning, for instance, among the circle of Young Vienna writers. Zweig's enthusiasm for Verhaeren made him write a biography of the Belgian poet and translate, among other works, two comprehensive collections of his poetry. This chapter compares Zweig's versions of Verhaeren's poetry with translations made by ten other translators (Ludwig Scharf, Rudolf Komadina, Stefan George, Erna Rehwoldt, Richard Schaukal, Joseph Jaffé, Friedrich von Oppeln-Bronikowski, Ernst Ludwig Schellenberg, Otto Hauser, and an anonymous translator). The comparison demonstrates Zweig's creative-adaptive approach to translation, whereas other translators preferred using word-for-word translation or rather conventional 'poetic' language in Verhaeren's poems.

Die in absolutistisch regierten Staaten geübte Zensur sollte gewährleisten, dass in Texten und auf den Bühnen Tugend belohnt und das Laster bestraft wird, auch das 'regelmäßige' Drama versuchte Moral und gute Sitten zu fördern. Die Sturm und Drang-Dramatik schwankte zwischen Übereinstimmung und Bruch mit den sozialen und moralischen Normen: Der Hofmeister in J. M. R. Lenz' gleichnamigem Stück scheitert mit seinem Widerstand gegen soziale Zwänge und erscheint in ironischem Licht; H. L. Wagner klagt in seiner Kindermörderin die Gesellschaft wegen der ungerechten Verurteilung der Hauptfigur an, das Stück schließt aber mit einer versöhnlichen Wendung; F. Schillers Räuber führen die Übertretung so gut wie aller moralischen Gebote vor, aber am Ende läutert sich Karl Moor. Der Zensurdruck und der Geschmack des Publikums bewirkten Selbstzensur, drei zentrale Stücke des meist mit Aufbegehren gegen gesellschaftliche Normen verbundenen Sturms und Drangs erweisen sich als kompatibel mit dem 'Drama des Gehorsams': Ironie und happy endings entziehen der Kritik zumindest teilweise den Boden.